Deadline: August 30, 2021
In the last two decades, there has been a renewed interest in Decadent literature, and a reassessment of the Decadent movement in relation to a poetics of circulation and reception. Scholarship of Decadence have been especially productive in unveiling the crucial role of translation, the extent to which Decadent authors read, cited and plagiarized one another. Novels previously judged derivative or stylistically lacking have been re considered in light of their participation in a network; moreover, scholars have demonstrated that Decadence’s focus on style did not preclude engagement in socio-political issues. Most importantly, while studies of Decadence were until recently focused on France, or at the most on French-Anglo relationships, recent scholarship has highlighted how Decadence functioned as a transnational, cosmopolitical movement that found disciples across and beyond Europe.
This project builds on these developments to examine the work of the Italian author Gabriele D’Annunzio (1863-1938) within a world literature framework, from his own engagement with translation and multilingualism to the international circulation and reception of his work.
Poet, novelist, journalist, political agitator, D’Annunzio was the leading figure of the Decadent movement in Italy. One of the few fin-de-siècle authors to receive global attention, he stirred the enthusiasm of figures such as James Joyce and Henry James. While his experimentations across media, his portrayal of fluid gender identities and his cosmopolitan outlook continue to interest scholars today, the afterlife of his works has been marred by his association with fascism and acute misogyny. Moreover, his own linguistic experimentations and the extent to which he deploys erudite references make his work challenging to translate. Today, he remains an ‘uncomfortable’ presence in today’s Italian canon, and rarely features in syllabi on Italian literature in foreign context.
We invite contributions for this edited volume on the following topics, although we welcome proposals for related topics not included:
Translation within D’Annunzio’s texts, including:
Multilingualism in D’Annunzio’s texts
Translingual writing (e.g. D’Annunzio’s writing in French)
Self Translation
Rewriting and plagiarism
D’Annunzio’s theorizing on translation
Gender and translation (including gender as a productive category of translation)
Immediate reception, including:
Fin-de-siècle translations of D’Annunzio
D’Annunzio’s translators, their habitus, translating strategies and relationship to the Decadent movement
D’Annunzio’s relationship to translators, editors and other literary agents
Censorship and political contexts of reception
D’Annunzio’s impact on modern/modernist writers across Europe and the world
Multimedia contexts and responses
The afterlife of D’Annunzio’s text, including:
D’Annunzio’s place in Italian and foreign canons (i.e. school and university syllabi)
Recent and contemporary translations or adaptations of D’Annunzio
D’Annunzio’s impact on contemporary texts (i.e. citations; D’Annunzio as a character)
The deadline for submission for completed essays is August 30, 2021. We ask that interested scholars contact us with a proposal (short abstract and bio) in advance.
Completeed essays should be between 6,000 and 10,000 words in length. They should be written in Italian or English (we encourage contributors to opt for their strongest language) and accompanied by an abstract (250 world) and a short bio (max 150 words).
All contributions will be refereed.
Please send questions and inquiries to both:
Elisa Segnini, University of Glasgow (elisa.segnini@glasgow.ac.uk(link sends e-mail))
Michael Subialka, UC Davis (msubialka@ucdavis.edu(link sends e-mail))