Carlo Bo | |
|---|---|
_-_BEIC_6341421.jpg) Bo in 1954 | |
| Member of theSenate of the Republic | |
| Life tenure 18 July 1984 – 21 July 2001 | |
| Appointed by | Sandro Pertini |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1911-01-25)25 January 1911 Sestri Levante,Italy |
| Died | 21 July 2001(2001-07-21) (aged 90) Genoa, Italy |
| Profession | Professor, writer |
Carlo Bo (25 January 1911 – 21 July 2001) was anItalian poet, literary critic, distinguished humanist, professor andsenator for life from 1984.
Bo was born on January 25, 1911, inSestri Levante,Italy.[1][2]
From 1929 to 1934, he attended the Faculty of Humanities at theUniversity of Florence. Although he began studying classical literature, he soon switched to modern literature, in which he received his laurea in 1934.[3]
Bo wrote his first book in 1935, amonograph onJacques Riviere.[4] Before theSecond World War, in the year 1936, he published anessay on the literarymagazineIl Frontespizio which gathered together the most relevant poets likeMario Luzi, and contemporary artists fromOttone Rosai toGiorgio Morandi andQuinto Martini. His essay was titled "Letteratura come vita (Literature as a way of life)", containing the theoretical-methodological fundamentals ofhermetic poetry.[5][6]
In 1939 he began teachingFrench literature at theUniversity of Urbino.[4] Bo was therector of University of Urbino from 1947 until his death, for more than 50 years.[1][7]
Bo was appointed asenator for life on July 18, 1984, and has been a member of several parties.[6][8] He served with theChristian Democrats from 1987 to 1994; theItalian People's Party from 1994 to 2001; andThe Daisy from 2001 until his death later that year.[2]
Bo died in Genoa on July 21, 2001.[1][2]
His focus on hermetic poetry was to become a strong poetical movement comprising important poets, such asSalvatore Quasimodo andEugenio Montale, both of whom would go on to receive theNobel Prize in Literature (1959, 1975). Carlo Bo himself, however, never did and, at the age of 86, was rendered incapable of understandingDario Fo's 1997 receipt of the Nobel Prize in Literature, saying "I must be too old to understand. What does this mean? That everything changes, even literature has changed."[9]
Bo is credited with writing roughly 40 books and would also found the national Gentile da Fabriano prize.[4][10]
