Beppe Fenoglio

Alba, 1 March 1922 - Turin, 18 February 1963. Writer, partisan, Italian playwright and translator.
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The eldest son of three children, Beppe was born at dawn on March 1 1922 by Amilcare, boy Socialist faith butcher and follower of Filippo Turati, and Margaret Affair, women of strong character who sought for his children a better life of their. In the 1928 the father managed to get in just, by purchasing a butcher shop in piazza del Duomo, which provided him with good income. Student and passionate model of English, He was voracious reader and also began some translations, that would be the first in a long series.
In the 1940 He enrolled at the Faculty of letters of the University of Turin, that was until 1943, When he was called back to arms and training course for officers.

«The show of local 8 September, the surrender of a barracks with an entire regiment in front of two German armoured cars not entirely manned, deportation to Germany in wagons had convinced all come, family members and hangers-on, that Johnny would never back»
(from “Il partigiano Johnny”)

After disbanding following the September 8 1943, in January 1944 He joined the first partisan formations. At first he joined the “rossi” Garibaldi brigades, but soon passed with self or badogliani of 1° Gruppo Alpine Divisions commanded by Henry Martini “Mauri” and his 2nd Division Langhe, Belbo Brigade, commanded by Piero Balbo “Poli” and operating in Langhe, between Mango, Murazzano and Mombarcaro. He participated in the ill-fated battle of Carrù and ephemeral experience of the partisan Republic of Alba Free, independent between the 10 October and 2 November 1944.

At the end of the war, shooting for a short time university studies before deciding, with great regret of parents, to dedicate himself entirely to literary activity. In may 1947, Thanks to his fluency in English, was hired as foreign correspondent of a winery in Alba. The work, undemanding, allowed him to contribute to family expenses and to dedicate himself to writing.
In the 1949 his first story appeared, entitled The trick and signed with the pseudonym of John Frederick Biamonti, on goldfish, the Bulletin Editorial by Bompiani. In the same year he presented to Einaudi i Stories of the civil war and La paga del sabato, the novel that won a favorable judgment by Italo Calvino.

In the 1950 He met in Turin Elio Vittorini, that was preparing for Einaudi new necklace “Coins”, designed to accommodate the new writers; on the same occasion he met in person Calvino Fenoglio (with whom he had hitherto only a friendly match) and Natalia Ginzburg.
Encouraged by Vittorini, shooting Saturday pay and implemented a revised, but in September he abandoned the novel to organize a collection of twelve short stories, some of which are already included in the Stories of the civil war.
In the 1952 the collection of short stories was released, in the series “Coins”, with the title I ventitré giorni della città di Alba. The following year he completed the short novel The drain, released in August 1954.
Followed an intense activity as a translator from English: in 1955 came out in the journal translation Routes de La rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Meanwhile began a big novel about years 1943-1945, that showed up in reading the Publisher Garzanti in summer 1958.
In April 1959 went out, in the series “Modern Novels Garzanti”, Spring beauty; Livio Garzanti signed a five-year contract on his new songs. In the same year he received the award “Prato” and he began to write a new novel by partisan argument.
In the 1961, stimulated by Calvino to collect his new stories in order to present the international award “Formentor”, He began working for the collection Tales of peoples; the signing of the contract with Einaudi, however, He accepted the title of a day of fire. The publication was suspended: Garzanti claimed rights and two publishing houses failed to reach a compromise.
Thus began to write Epigrams and a new series of short stories, In addition to collaboration with a screenplay by peasant theme.

In the 1960 He married civilly with Luciana Bombard, who knew already from the immediate post-war period, and the honeymoon took place in Geneva. His wife survived him by almost 50 years old, dying only in 2012 in Alba.
Their daughter Margaret was born on 9 January 1961; for the occasion, Fenoglio wrote two short stories, The tale of grandfather and The boy who stole a shield.

«Always on tombstones, I will do my name, the two dates that sole count, and partisan and writer»
(from “The twenty-three days of Dawn”)

In the winter between the 1959 and 1960, following a medical examination, He established an infection to the Airways, with complications due to the form of bronchial asthma that plagued him for years now which had degenerated into Pleurisy, because of excessive smoking habit.
In the 1962, While in Versilia to receive the award “Alpi Apuane” given for the story But my love is Paco, He was struck by a bout of hemoptysis.
He moved for a short time (September and October) in Bossolasco, at 757 m above sea level, where he spent the time reading, writing and receiving the visit of friends. But soon for a worsening of the disease was hospitalized, first Bra and then at Molinette of Turin, and he was diagnosed with cancer of the bronchial tubes. Each treatment was useless: in a few months the writer deteriorated irreversibly.
The he died, After two days of coma, on the night of 18 February 1963; He was buried in the cemetery at dawn with civil ceremony, with a few words on the Tomb by the priest don Christmas Bussi, friend and former high school Professor.
His most famous novel, Il partigiano Johnny, It was published posthumously in 1968.

Works

• I ventitré giorni della città di Alba, Einaudi, Turin, 1952
• The drain, Einaudi, Turin 1954
• Spring beauty, Garzanti, Turin, 1959

Posthumously

• A day of fire, Garzanti, Milan, 1963
• A private matter, Garzanti, Milan, 1963
• Il partigiano Johnny, Einaudi, Turin, 1968
• La paga del sabato, a cura di Maria Corti, Einaudi, Turin, 1969
• A Fenoglio to World War I, Einaudi, Turin, 1973
• The voice in the storm, adaptation of Wuthering Heights, curated by Francesco De Nicola, 1974
• The affair of the soul and other stories, Einaudi, Turin, 1980
• La sposa bambina, drawn from the collection “A day of fire”, Einaudi, Turin, 1988
• The ambush, Einaudi, Turin, 1992
• Appunti partigiani 1944-1945, edited by L. World, Einaudi, Turin 1994
• Quaderno di traduzioni, edited by Mark Pietralunga, Einaudi, Turin, 2000.
• Letters 1940-1962, curated by Luca Bufano, Einaudi, Torino in collaboration with Fondazione Ferrero in Alba, 2002
• A cruise to the Antipodes and other fantastic tales, curated by Luca Bufano, Einaudi, Turin, 2003
• Epigrams, edited by Gabriele Pedullà, Einaudi, Turin, 2005
• All stories, curated by Luca Bufano, Einaudi, Turin, 2007

Discover Beppe Fenoglio's Itinerarari at dawn
Mango il paese del partigiano Johnny