Comments on: Italo Calvino, 1923-1985

Italo Calvino, 1923-1985

matteo — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 15:45:40 -0800

"If time has to end, it can be described, instant by instant," Mr. Palomar thinks, "and each instant, when described, expands so that its end can no longer be seen." He decides that he will set himself to describing every instant of his life, and until he has described them all he will no longer think of being dead. At that moment he dies.
In memoriam of Italo Calvino, who died exactly 20 years ago.
"Calvino's novels" by his friend Gore Vidal. Calvino's obituary by Vidal, il maestro William Weaver's essay on Calvino's cities, Jeanette Winterson on Calvino's dream of being invisible, and Stefano Franchi's philosophical study on Palomar's doctrine of the void. More inside.

By: matteo

matteo — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 15:49:37 -0800

For the Calvino beginner, a good starting point -- Calvino's wikipedia page. Learning to be Dead, excerpted from Mr Palomar When Calvino died, he was about to go to Harvard, and deliver the Norton Lectures: his six memos for the current millenium. and by the way,

Palomar is on the beach at Castiglion: he is trying to figure out the nature of waves. Is it possible to follow just one? Or do they all become one?

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 15:53:37 -0800

his six memos for the current millennium. Whenever you're looking for something else to read, the six memos is a treasure trove of terrific recommendations (as well as a great read in and of itself).

By: gleuschk

gleuschk — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 16:00:16 -0800

Thanks, matteo.

By: melissa may

melissa may — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 16:18:51 -0800

Thanks, matteo. Another great resource is Lush's beautifully crafted May post about Calvino's Invisible Cities.

By: freebird

freebird — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 16:53:58 -0800

Great post (this and Lush's), thanks for the reminder. He's one of the all time greats in my book. My understanding is that he committed suicide, which has always been unsettlling for me, because I think of his as an honest and direct vision, but a somehow happy one. .

By: matteo

matteo — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 16:57:44 -0800

freebird, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, you must be thinking of Primo Levi instead

By: Verdant

Verdant — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 17:13:24 -0800

Thanks for this Matteo. Calvino is one of my all time favorites. The Castle of Crossed Destinies and Invisible Cities find their way back into my reading periodically.

By: hopeless romantique

hopeless romantique — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 17:27:03 -0800

Thanks, matteo. This post is wonderful.

By: freebird

freebird — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 18:04:54 -0800

Hey, right you are Matteo. I'm nearly certain I remember a collection preface saying suicide, but I'm so very pleased to be wrong! And while poking about I found this essay about Calvino as game-master, which looks vaguely interesting if something of a reach.

By: Creosote

Creosote — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 18:13:22 -0800

"If time has to end, it can be described, instant by instant," Mr. Palomar thinks, "and each instant, when described, expands so that its end can no longer be seen." He decides that he will set himself to describing every instant of his life, and until he has described them all he will no longer think of being dead.

Wow. Up to this point, it sounds like Calvino prefigured Frank Tipler's Omega Point theory under which information processing becomes infinite in the moment of singularity before the end of the universe.

... At that moment he dies.

Ah well. Surprise endings are more fun than immorality anyway, no?

By: shoepal

shoepal — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 18:34:26 -0800

Thanks, matteo.

By: speicus

speicus — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 20:43:36 -0800

I love Calvino. I'm a bit miffed I didn't think of making a post like this, which is my oblique way of saying thanks, matteo. The Naked Bosom, also from Palomar, is another great example of how he could be funny and thoughtful at the same time.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 21:26:15 -0800

I've been a fan for a long, long time. This post will probably get me to pull down some of my books and read them again, thanks, matteo!

By: snoktruix

snoktruix — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 21:50:47 -0800

Palomar is on the beach at Castiglion: he is trying to figure out the nature of waves. Is it possible to follow just one? Or do they all become one? So maybe he should study, you know, the physics of waves, instead of postmodern mumbo jumbo.

By: piers

piers — Sun, 18 Sep 2005 22:27:08 -0800

Thanks for an excellent post. I wanted to put my two cents in here and heartily recommend two short stories from his collection t zero - "The Chase" and "The Night Driver" - for those new to Calvino.

By: barjo

barjo — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 03:46:28 -0800

Calvino was once asked by the New York Times Book Review which fictional character he'd most like to be. His answer: 'Mercutio. Among his virtues, I admire above all his lightness in a world of brutality, his dreaming imagination - as the poet of Queen Mab - and at the same time his wisdom, as the voice of reason amid the fanatical hatreds of Capulets and Montagues. He sticks to the old code of chivalry at the price of his life, perhaps just for the sake of style, and yet he is a modern man, skeptical and ironic - a Don Quixote who knows very well what dreams are and what reality is, and he lives both with open eyes.'

By: snarfodox

snarfodox — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 05:36:14 -0800

"If on a Winter's Night a Traveller" made me throw the book at the wall... and then pick it up and read some more... and then throw it again... and then read some more... Ah, good times.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 05:43:25 -0800

Very nice post. Thanks matteo. I'll spend some time with these links, for sure.