Dante Alighieri, whose death arrived at its seventh centenary in 2021, is known in Italian as the Sommo Poeta or more simply as the Poeta, much as Shakespeare is referred to as the Bard, and of course he is famous for having written the Divine Comedy, a long narrative poem in three parts in which he is himself the main character along with Virgil and the aptly named Beatrice for whom he’d had a childhood crush. The literary value of this monumental work is without question, and T.S. Eliot said that we should all learn Italian simply to be able to read it. He also asserted that Dante was at least as great as Shakespeare.
The medieval historian and prize-winning novelist, Alessandro Barbero, is uniquely placed to take on the task of writing Dante’s biography which is not a simple one, given the considerable gaps in our knowledge. Barbero is rigorous in his analysis and never projects a hunch as a historical fact, something that happens far too often. But in spite of this, he manages to create a compelling historical narrative, in which we come to know as much as we can about this intriguing and often contradictory figure as well as the society in which he grew up and thrived until his political activities led to his exile, his painful humiliations and the writing of this masterpiece. Barbero does not ignore Dante’s other output as a bilingual writer in Latin and in the vernacular which eventually would become the Italian language. His biography, simply entitled Dante, has been translated into English and published by Profile Books.
Alessandro Barbero will talk about his book “Dante” on Friday 21st April, at 6.30pm, at the Italian Institute of Culture in Edinburgh. The author will be in conversation with the English translator Allan Cameron.
Alessandro Barbero teaches History at the University of Eastern Piedmont. He is an Italian historian, novelist and essayist. He won the 1996 Strega Prize for “Bella vita e guerre altrui di Mr. Pyle gentiluomo”. Barbero is a scholar of medieval and military history: he is the author of “The Battle”, an account of the Battle of Waterloo; “The Day of the Barbarians, the story of the Battle of Adrianople” and “Charlemagne” — all published in Britain. His many publications have crossed over borders; his latest book is “Brick for stone” (2023) published by Sellerio.
Allan Cameron has translated twenty-six books from Italian including three works by Barbero and has published various translated works from Italian and several other European languages through his publishing house Vagabond Voices, which was established in 2008.
The event is free, but ticketed. Please register below.
