{"id":12027,"date":"2016-07-06T09:00:15","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T07:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=12027"},"modified":"2016-06-30T21:55:31","modified_gmt":"2016-06-30T19:55:31","slug":"an-italian-poetess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/an-italian-poetess\/","title":{"rendered":"An Italian Poetess"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was in the mood for a poem. A poem full of beautiful words, which played with words in unexpected ways, a poem which was just plain poetry, music to my ears. So after much reading I finally turned to one of my favourite Italian poets, Alda Merini<\/strong> (1931-2009) known as la poetessa dei Navigli<\/strong> (the poetess of the Navigli), from the canals which run through her home town, Milano. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"alda-merini-1441\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Alda Merini never disappoints me, I love the way in which she juxtaposes words and then forges them in the crucible of her poetry. But perhaps it’s better to let Alda speak for herself and describe to us what poetry means to her.<\/p>\n

From the 1997 collection of poems “La volpe e il sipario”<\/strong> (The fox and the stage curtain):<\/p>\n

Io non ho bisogno di denaro.<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n Ho bisogno di sentimenti,<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n di parole, di parole scelte sapientemente,<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n di fiori detti pensieri,<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n di rose dette presenze,<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n di sogni che abitino gli alberi,<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n di canzoni che facciano danzare le statue,<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n di stelle che mormorino<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n all\u2019orecchio degli amanti.<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n Ho bisogno di poesia,<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n questa magia che brucia<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n la pesantezza delle parole,<\/em><\/strong><\/span>
\n che risveglia le emozioni e d\u00e0 colori nuovi.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t need money.<\/em><\/span>
\n I need feelings,<\/em><\/span>
\n words, wisely chosen words,<\/em><\/span>
\n flowers called thoughts,<\/em><\/span>
\n roses called presences<\/em><\/span>
\n dreams that live in the trees,<\/em><\/span>
\n songs that make the statues dance,<\/em><\/span>
\n stars that whisper<\/em><\/span>
\n in the lovers’ ear.<\/em><\/span>
\n I need poetry,<\/em><\/span>
\n this magic that burns<\/em><\/span>
\n the heaviness of the words,<\/em><\/span>
\n that awakens emotions and creates n<\/em>ew colours.<\/span><\/p>\n

La mia poesia \u00e8 alacre come il fuoco<\/em><\/strong>
\n trascorre tra le mie dita come un rosario.<\/em><\/strong>
\n Non prego perch\u00e9 sono un poeta della sventura<\/em><\/strong>
\n che tace, a volte, le doglie di un parto dentro le ore,<\/em><\/strong>
\n sono il poeta che grida e che gioca con le sue grida,<\/em><\/strong>
\n sono il poeta che canta e non trova parole,<\/em><\/strong>
\n sono la paglia arida sopra cui batte il suono,<\/em><\/strong>
\n sono la ninna nanna che fa piangere i figli,<\/em><\/strong>
\n sono la vanagloria che si lascia cadere,<\/em><\/strong>
\n il manto di metallo di una lunga preghiera<\/em><\/strong>
\n del passato cordoglio che non vede la luce.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

My poetry is as brisk as fire<\/em>
\n flows through my fingers like a rosary.<\/em>
\n I don’t pray because I’m a poet of misfortune<\/em>
\n who sometimes doesn’t talk about the long lasting labour pains,<\/em>
\n I’m the poet who screams and plays with her own screams,<\/em>
\n I’m the poet who sings and can’t find words,<\/em>
\n I’m the dry straw upon which the sound beats,<\/em>
\n I’m the lullaby that makes the children cry,<\/em>
\n I’m the vainglory that let’s itself fall,<\/em>
\n the metallic mantle of a long prayer<\/em>
\n from the past grief that cannot see the light.<\/em><\/p>\n

You can read more about Alda Merini in here: Omaggio ad Alda Merini<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

I was in the mood for a poem. A poem full of beautiful words, which played with words in unexpected ways, a poem which was just plain poetry, music to my ears. So after much reading I finally turned to one of my favourite Italian poets, Alda Merini (1931-2009) known as la poetessa dei Navigli…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":12040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[625,292148,385875],"class_list":["post-12027","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alda-merini","tag-italian-poetry","tag-italian-poets"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t