Between History and Fantasy: The Poet as “Other-than-Human” in Michele Mari’s Novel Io venia pien d’angoscia a rimirarti (I Anxiously Return To Gaze Upon You Again) (1990)

Abstract

Michele Mari’s novels are highly original disquisitions on intertextual referencing. The postmodern amalgamation of history and intertextuality in his novel Io venia pien d’angoscia a rimirarti (1990), undertakes a fantastic reworking of the historical facts associated with the life of the Italian Romantic poet Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837). Constructed around references drawn from Leopardi’s canon, particularly the 1819 poem “Alla luna”, these erudite and hyperbolic references are woven into a new, alternative text that uses the fantasy genre to challenge literary canonicity with ironic distance, positing an alternative reality to the ends of drawing attention to the text’s clearly defined parameters of fictionality.

Opsomming

Michele Mari se romans is hoogs oorspronklike stellings oor intertekstuele verwysings. Die postmoderne samesmelting van geskiedenis en intertekstualiteit in sy tweede roman Io venia pien d’angoscia a rimirarti (1990), onderneem ’n fantastiese herbewerking van die historiese feite wat verband hou met die lewe van die Italiaanse romantiese digter Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837). Opgestel rondom die intertekstuele verwysings na Leopardi se kanon, veral die 1819 gedig “Alla Luna”, word hierdie geleerde en hiperboliese verwysings saamgevleg om ’n nuwe, alternatiewe teks te vorm.  Die nuwe teks gebruik die fantasie-genre om literêre kanonisasie met ironiese afstand uit te daag en ’n alternatiewe werklikheid daar te stel om aandag te vestig op die teks se duidelik omskrewe parameters van fiksionaliteit.