What Sex Is Death?

Dario Bellezza (1944-96) was one of Italy's most significant and prolific poets, authors, and playwrights. He published more than twenty books over the course of twenty-five years and won the Viareggio Prize, Italy's most prestigious poetry award, and the Montale Prize for lifetime poetic achievement. Peter Covino is an award-winning translator, editor, and poet. He is an associate professor of English at the University of Rhode Island, the founding editor and faculty advisor of the Ocean State Review, and a founding editor-trustee of the nonprofit press Barrow Street Inc.

Introduction: Oltraggio e scandalo - (Out)rage and Scandal: Rediscovering Dario Bellezza (i-xv/xvi-xxii) with endnotes Da Invettive e licenze / From Invective and License (1971) Quale sesso ha la morte? / What Sex Is Death? Infante di una infanzia un po' cresciuta / Infant of a slightly precocious infancy L'insonnia che mi prende / The insomnia that grips me Ascoltavo la morte nel mio sogno / I listened to death in my dream A Elsa Morante / To Elsa Morante A Pier Paolo Pasolini / To Pier Paolo Pasolini Se viene la guerra / If the war comes All'Ambra Jovinelli / At the Amber Palace Ti cadono i capelli, qualcuno / Your hair falls out, someone Da Morte segreta / From Secret Death (1976) da Apologia / from Apologia E abbandono morte. Giocattolo di Dio. / And I abandon death. Plaything of God. da Paranoia / from Paranoia Ad Anna Maria Ortese / To Anna Maria Ortese Ho paura. Lo ripeto a me stesso / I'm afraid. I repeat it to myself da Appunti / from Notes L.S.D. / L.S.D Fosse l'ultimo amore il tuo / If yours were the last love da Storia Personale (1974) / from Personal History (1974) La mattina, birre, "salade," un po' di caviale / In the morning, beer, "salade," a bit of caviar Da Libro d'amore / From Lovebook (1982) da Amore / from Lover Nella mia notte il pessimo tuo mattino / In my night the worst of your mornings Sulla mi vita scatenata non entri / You no longer enter into my unraveled Il passato della felicita. La sigaretta / The passing of happiness. A cigarette Di la ti masturbi senza lode / From the other room you masturbate without praise Dove riposi io guardo. / Where you rest I watch. da De profundis: / from The Depths: Pallido, scarmigliato. I tuoi capelli / Pale, disheveled. Your hair Le trombe squilleranno / The trumpets will blare Ti leccavo tra le sporche lenzuola. / I licked you between dirty sheets. Da io / From i (1983) Polvere e Cenere / Ashes and Dust da Il Viaggatore D'Ombra: / from Traveler of Shadow: Non raggiungero il Sublime perche sono vivo / I will never arrive at the Sublime because I'm alive Penso che dovrei avere un figlio / I believe I should have a child da Gatti: / from Cats: Uscita da una tomba / Exited from a tomb Rimorso a guardarti nella confusione / I feel remorse looking at you in confusion Cessa di puntarmi come il cane / Stop staring at me like the dog Una giornata di maggio, piovosa / May, a rainy day La gattita / Catness da io / from i Dura legge sapere che niente / Harsh law to know nothing Felice te passero (impudicizia mi spinge / Happy sparrow (shamelessness drives me da Il Dopo: / from The After: La Fine Del Mondo / The End of the World Quando si abbandona la strada / When one abandons the road Non c'E niente di meglio che barare / There's nothing better to barter Da Serpenta / From Snakewoman (1987) Lingua, tu non rispondi, ne apri / Tongue, you do not respond, nor unleash da Lo sguardo punisce chi guarda / from The Gaze Punishes the Gazer Ma il quotidiano insiste. Ed io volo / But the quotidian insists. And I fly da Lodi del corpo maschile: / from Praise of the Male Body: Se e giovanetto il corpo maschile / If the male body is boyish Ne maschile ne femminile, il suo sguardo / Neither male nor female, that gaze Ragazzo laggiu, tesoro nascosto / Hey boy down there, hidden treasure Ad Hart Crane / To Hart Crane Il Tevere si perde nella notte / At night we lose sight of the Tiber Sottoponte / Below Bridge da Serpenta: / from Snakewoman: Fuggono tutti i miei giorni / All my days escape Quando sarai chiamata in Paradiso / When you are called to Paradise Da Libro di poesia / From Poetry Book (1990) da Il Viaggatore D'ombra: / from The Traveler of Shadow: Lacrima amoris: / Lacrima Amoris: da Casa: / from Home: La mia casa, l'entrata / My House, the Entrance Way Un Trasloco / A Relocation AIDS / AIDS I giovani padri / The Young Fathers Pratiche attivita / Practical Activities ll' "Appendice 1968-1988": Colosseo / Coliseum Da L'avversario / From The Adversary (1994) I / I II / II III Roma 1989 / III Rome 1989 VIII / VIII da L'avversario / from The Adversary L'avversario / The Adversary In Calabria / In Calabria da Ritrovate / from Rediscovered L'ombrello di Elsa / Elsa's Umbrella da Inquiete larve / from Restless Larvae Ieri un famoso libro mi tenne compagnia / Yesterday a famous book kept me company Scaricato alla stazione a Martina Franca / Cast-off at the station in Martina Franca da Congedi / from Good-byes Gatti / Cats Proclama sul fascino / Proclamation on Glamor (1996) Il Fascino / Glamor Marilyn / Marilyn da Il Nulla: / from Nothingness: Traditore, menagramo, sporcificante assedio / Traitor, mishap, filthy besieger Laggiu, oltre il telefono / Down there, beyond the telephone Sei Dio forse / You are God perhaps Ora, tra i morti, mio libero fratello / Now, among the dead, my liberated brother Saresti morto di AIDS / You would be dead of AIDS Congedo / Farewell da Appunti per un romanzo in versi / from Notes for a Romance in Verse Di nuovo ecco la ripetizione / Once again behold repetition Bibliography

"Dario Bellezza remains one of the essential Italian voices of the latter half of the twentieth century. Thanks to poet-translator Peter Covino's scrupulous yet daring versions, which are labors of both love and skill, American readers can now trace the arc of Bellezza's career, an aching, disruptive testament to 'this infected world.'" - Geoffrey Brock, judge, Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation "Groundbreaking. Covino introduces an English-speaking audience to Dario Bellezza's riveting work through a complex theoretical introduction, incisive selection, and nuanced translation. The volume emphasizes Bellezza's invaluable impact on the emergence of an Italian queer culture and contributes to the shaping of a transnational Italian queerness." - Caterina Romeo, Sapienza Universita di Roma "A carefully curated volume composed of more than seventy essential translations of Bellezza's poems. A prizewinning multivolume author of verse in his own right, Covino offers non-Italian readers a most adept and lyrical series of translations that seem, in themselves, original compositions." - Anthony Julian Tamburri, Calandra Italian American Institute