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Steins 7-89.78

17-15031

Modern

Italian

Fiction

in America , 1929-1954

An Annotated Bibliography of Translations N her valuable work , Italian Translations

INhas listed

in America , Nancy C. Shields

chronologically ,among other items ,the English versions of Italian novels and collections of Italian short stories published in the United States through the year 1928.ยน Now that more than a quarter of a century has elapsed since that date ,we feel that a supplement to her bibliography would not only be desirable but well -nigh indispensable to students of comparative literature ,particularly in view of the recent resurgence in popularity of Italian fiction both here and abroad .It is our purpose to list all translations of any work of Italian fiction that has appeared within this period since the first edition of Manzoni's IPromessi Sposi (1825-26 ).We shall ,therefore ,include not only novels and volumes of short stories but also tales found in periodicals as well as in general and special anthologies . It seems to us that the quarter of a century under consideration may be logically divided into three distinct periods :(1) the pre -war era ,1929-1940 , in which ,partly for political reasons ,Italian fiction enjoys but a moderate degree of popularity ;(2)the war period ,1941-1946 ,in which it is pitifully neglected ;(3)the post -war era ,1947-1954 ,in which the Italian novel and short story become quite popular .

I

THE PRE-WAR PERIOD (1929-1940)

In this period we are struck by a number of phenomena .The great interest evinced in Pirandello the dramatist since the early 'twenties has now finally called attention to his work as a novelist and shortstory writer. Collodi's Pinocchio continues to be extremely popular, whereas De Amicis' Cuore (last American edition, 1922) is now seemingly forgotten. The post-war vogue, 1947-1954, of Moravia and Svevo has its humble beginnings in this period, whereas D'Annunzio, Fogazzaro, and Serao, who had enjoyed great prestige in the first quarter of the century, have by now ceased to interest American publishers. There is no new edition of Manzoni's Promessi Sposi

1 Nancy C. Shields, Italian Translations in America, New York, Institute of French Studies, 1931 ( Ph.D. dissertation ,Columbia University ) [3 ]

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