Carcanet Press - History and Chronicle of the Songbook

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History and Chronicle of the Songbook by Umberto Saba (1883-1957) , the great Italian poet, is a unique book of self-criticism, memoir and criticism. Here we have Saba writing about the art of poetry, the birth and meaning of his own poems.

Contents:

Translator's Foreword
Author's Preface
History and Chronicle of the Songbook
Saba's Strengths and Weaknesses and a Few Reasons for his success
Juvenilia and Early Works: Saba's Education and Origin (1900-1910)
Military POems (1908)
House and Country (1909-1910)
Trieste and a Woman (1910-1912)
Serene Desperation (1913-1915)
Poems Written During the War
Light and Airy Things (1920)
The Loving Thorn (1920)
Prelude and Canzonettas (1922-1923)
Autobiography (1920)
The prisoners (1924)
Girls (1925)
Dying Heart (1925-1930)
The Man (1928)
Prelude and Fugues (1928-1929)
Little Berto (1929-1931)
Words (1933-1934)
Five Poems for the Game of Soccer
Last Things 1935-1943
1944
Miscellany
Conclusion
Notes

Umberto Saba

Umberto Saba was born Umberto Poli in 1883. He married Carolina Woelfler in 1909, and their only child, Lina (Linuccia) was born the following year. They lived in various places in northern Italy until Saba bought a bookshop in Trieste in 1919. The first edition of his great Canzoniere, 'a ... read more

'Saba's poetry seems like the pure sound of a voice, a voice nearly freed from the bonds of words. The monody is pure feeling, in a musical state. The Language of Italian poetry which has almost always sought transfiguration in plasticity and relief, has rarely known an exception so singular. Saba attains the lied as if without realising it'
Eugenio Montale 'The moral physiognomy of Saba is very powerfully alive in his work, and makes him, now and forever, a great author. To this vast, complex, long-suffering personality, his poems bear witness, and from it draw their light....I have the impression that Saba, in our day, has been just discovered, and that the task of evaluating the full scope of his greatness will have to fall to others, when distance will have further clarified the perspectives. Saba will have to wait. Yet how many in Europe, can be as certain in their wait as he?'
Quarantotti Gambini
Praise for Umberto Saba 'Unlike in previous translations, Saba's very familiar and dramatic rhymes, as well as the metrics of the texts, are here preserved with that impossible combination of fidelity and necessary betrayal that characterises the best translation. The rhythm, the sound, the startling rhymes of Saba's prosody are preserved by Worsnip with a clever play of rhymes, half-rhymes and assonance; the Italian hendecasyllable is dropped, but without thereby forgoing a coherent metrical or rhythmic structure in the last line. (The Random Order series and Target are among the book's most exceptional renderings, along perhaps with Poems for the Game of Football). The effectiveness of this translation lies, in fact, in this consistency with the most typical features of Saba's poetry: making them enjoyable in English means making Saba knowable by those who cannot appreciate him in the original.'
Olmo Calzolari, Italian Studies
'Patrick Worsnip's anthology draws on the whole span of Saba's career... As a translator he has opted for prosy, highly readable English, with a certain measure of half-rhyme... He has also provided an excellent general essay and helpful notes. An English speaker without Italian will find much here to enjoy, as well as much to puzzle over.'
Peter Hainsworth, TLS
'An impressive selection that offers a thorough understanding of the Italian poet's work... in versions that are pleasant to read and offer a thoughtful and precise approach to his poetry. The volume is not only a perfect introduction but goes beyond this, accomplishing a comprehensive and insightful appreciation of Saba's career and poetical development'

Carla Scarano, London Grip

'The life that emerges revolves around small things, memories of the poetâs own childhood, his wife and daughter, street scenes, personal acquaintances, animals, his own career... Worsnip's translations are as carefully faithful to the Italian as they can be while remaining sensitive to the fundamental difficulty of transferring formal structures from Italian, in which rhyming is so easy, to English, in which it is so much more difficult'

Edmund Prestwich, The High Window

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History and Chronicle of the Songbook Umberto Saba Translated by Stephen Sartarelli Categories: 19th Century, 20th Century, Italian, Memoirs Imprint: Sheep Meadow Press Publisher: Carcanet Press Available as: Paperback (250 pages) (Pub. Jul 2011) 9781878818393 Out of Stock Description Excerpt Author Contents Reviews History and Chronicle of the Songbook by Umberto Saba (1883-1957) , the great Italian poet, is a unique book of self-criticism, memoir and criticism. Here we have Saba writing about the art of poetry, the birth and meaning of his own poems. Contents: Translator's Foreword Author's Preface History and Chronicle of the Songbook Saba's Strengths and Weaknesses and a Few Reasons for his success Juvenilia and Early Works: Saba's Education and Origin (1900-1910) Military POems (1908) House and Country (1909-1910) Trieste and a Woman (1910-1912) Serene Desperation (1913-1915) Poems Written During the War Light and Airy Things (1920) The Loving Thorn (1920) Prelude and Canzonettas (1922-1923) Autobiography (1920) The prisoners (1924) Girls (1925) Dying Heart (1925-1930) The Man (1928) Prelude and Fugues (1928-1929) Little Berto (1929-1931) Words (1933-1934) Five Poems for the Game of Soccer Last Things 1935-1943 1944 Miscellany Conclusion Notes Umberto Saba Umberto Saba was born Umberto Poli in 1883. He married Carolina Woelfler in 1909, and their only child, Lina (Linuccia) was born the following year. They lived in various places in northern Italy until Saba bought a bookshop in Trieste in 1919. The first edition of his great Canzoniere, 'a ... read more 'Saba's poetry seems like the pure sound of a voice, a voice nearly freed from the bonds of words. The monody is pure feeling, in a musical state. The Language of Italian poetry which has almost always sought transfiguration in plasticity and relief, has rarely known an exception so singular. Saba attains the lied as if without realising it' Eugenio Montale 'The moral physiognomy of Saba is very powerfully alive in his work, and makes him, now and forever, a great author. To this vast, complex, long-suffering personality, his poems bear witness, and from it draw their light....I have the impression that Saba, in our day, has been just discovered, and that the task of evaluating the full scope of his greatness will have to fall to others, when distance will have further clarified the perspectives. Saba will have to wait. Yet how many in Europe, can be as certain in their wait as he?' Quarantotti Gambini Praise for Umberto Saba 'Unlike in previous translations, Saba's very familiar and dramatic rhymes, as well as the metrics of the texts, are here preserved with that impossible combination of fidelity and necessary betrayal that characterises the best translation. The rhythm, the sound, the startling rhymes of Saba's prosody are preserved by Worsnip with a clever play of rhymes, half-rhymes and assonance; the Italian hendecasyllable is dropped, but without thereby forgoing a coherent metrical or rhythmic structure in the last line. (The Random Order series and Target are among the book's most exceptional renderings, along perhaps with Poems for the Game of Football). The effectiveness of this translation lies, in fact, in this consistency with the most typical features of Saba's poetry: making them enjoyable in English means making Saba knowable by those who cannot appreciate him in the original.' Olmo Calzolari, Italian Studies 'Patrick Worsnip's anthology draws on the whole span of Saba's career... As a translator he has opted for prosy, highly readable English, with a certain measure of half-rhyme... He has also provided an excellent general essay and helpful notes. An English speaker without Italian will find much here to enjoy, as well as much to puzzle over.' Peter Hainsworth, TLS 'An impressive selection that offers a thorough understanding of the Italian poet's work... in versions that are pleasant to read and offer a thoughtful and precise approach to his poetry. The volume is not only a perfect introduction but goes beyond this, accomplishing a comprehensive and insightful appreciation of Saba's career and poetical development' Carla Scarano, London Grip 'The life that emerges revolves around small things, memories of the poetâs own childhood, his wife and daughter, street scenes, personal acquaintances, animals, his own career... Worsnip's translations are as carefully faithful to the Italian as they can be while remaining sensitive to the fundamental difficulty of transferring formal structures from Italian, in which rhyming is so easy, to English, in which it is so much more difficult' Edmund Prestwich, The High Window You might also be interested in: The Stories and Recollections of Umberto Saba Umberto Saba, Translated by Estelle Gilson	Share this... Quick Links Carcanet Poetry Carcanet Classics Carcanet Fiction Carcanet Film Lives and Letters PN Review Video Carcanet Celebrates 50 Years! The Carcanet Blog Coco Island: Christine Roseeta Walker read more that which appears: Thomas A Clark read more Come Here to This Gate: Rory Waterman read more Near-Life Experience: Rowland Bagnall read more The Silence: Gillian Clarke read more Baby Schema: Isabel Galleymore read more
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History and Chronicle of the Songbook

Umberto Saba

Translated by Stephen Sartarelli