Italo Calvino

Set in Italy in the summer of 1940, this trio of stories explores the relationships between the different generations caught up in the war as well as Calvino's own experiences as a teenager. In the title story, 'Into the War', we are given an insight into what life was really like for those too young to be conscripted into Mussolini's army, while in 'The Avanguardisti in Menton', Calvino and his friends take a revealingly anti-climactic trip to the garrisoned French town of Menton, the sole Italian conquest of the early months of the conflict. The final story, 'UNPA Nights', is a touching, comic tale of friendship in a blackout, where the narrator's imagination wanders as he roams through the seedier parts of the darkened town instead of guarding the school buildings. Into the War is Calvino at his autobiographical best, combining brilliantly recollected memory with compelling wit and perfect prose.

Italo Calvino once said that he preferred to give false details about his biography since he felt that even the genuine data of a writer's life shed no light on the creative work. But this volume of posthumously collected personal writings is the closest we will ever come to the autobiography of this most private of writers. The pieces collected here range from the early 1950s to his last interview, completed just before his sudden death in 1985. Apart from providing a glimpse into his own formative experiences and evolution as an author, Calvino's autobiographical writings also examine the major events of twentieth-century history from a very personal viewpoint. This volume is full of ideas on literature and other writers, all conveyed with the author's distinctive lightness and intelligence. Italo Calvino, one of Italy's finest postwar writers, has delighted readers around the world with his deceptively simple, fable-like stories. Calvino was born in Cuba in 1923 and raised in San Remo, Italy; he fought for the Italian Resistance from 1943-45. His major works include Cosmicomics (1968), Invisible Cities (1972), and If on a winter's night a traveler (1979). He died in Sienna in 1985.

Italo Calvino's enchanting stories about the evolution of the universe, with characters that are fashioned from mathematical formulae and cellular structures, The Complete Cosmicomics is translated by Martin McLaughlin, Tim Parks and William Weaver in Penguin Modern Classics.'Naturally, we were all there, - dld Qfwfq said, - where else could we have been? Nobody knew then that there could be space. Or time either: what use did we have for time, packed in there like sardines?' The Cosmicomics tell the story of the history of the universe, from the big bang, through millennia and across galaxies. It is witnessed through the eyes of 'cosmic know-it-all' Qfwfq, an exuberant, chameleon-like figure, who takes the shape of a dinosaur, a mollusc, a steamer captain and a moon milk gatherer, among others. This is the first complete edition in English of Italo Calvino's funny, whimsical and delightful stories, which blend scientific fact, flights of fancy, parody and wordplay to show the strangeness and the wonders of the world. Italo Calvino (1923-1985), one of Italy's finest postwar writers, has delighted readers around the world with his deceptively simple, fable-like stories. Calvino was born in Cuba and raised in San Remo, Italy; he fought for the Italian Resistance from 1943-45. Among his other works published in Penguin Modern Classics are Italian Folktales, Hermit in Paris, Into the War, The Path to the Spiders' Nests, Numbers in the Dark, Six Memos for the Next Millennium and Why Read the Classics? If you liked The Complete Cosmicomics, you might enjoy Jorge Luis Borges' Fictions, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'The complete and definitive collection ... a masterpiece' Gilbert Adair, Evening Standard'Dazzling ... a book of revelation' Tim Adams, Observer 'If you have never read Cosmicomics, you have before you the most joyful reading experience of your life' Salman Rushdie'A landmark in fiction, the work of a master' Ursula K Le Guin, Guardian

A collection of five autobiographical essays by one of the masters of Italian literatureIn these five elegant autobiographical meditations Italo Calvino delves into his past, remembering awkward childhood walks with his father, a lifelong obsession with the cinema and fighting in the Italian Resistance against the Fascists. He also muses on the social contracts, language and sensations associated with emptying the kitchen rubbish and the shape he would, if asked, consider the world. These reflections on the nature of memory itself are engaging, witty, and lit through with Calvino's alchemical brilliance. Translated from the Italian by Tim Parks

Numbers in the Dark is a collection of short stories covering the length of Italo Calvino's extraordinary writing career, from when he was a teenager to shortly before his death. They include witty allegories and wise fables; a town where everything has been forbidden apart from the game of tip-cat; a pitiable tribe watching the flight paths of guided missiles from outside their mud huts; a computer programmer considering the possible sequence of a series of brutal acts; and dialogues with Henry Ford, a Neanderthal and the gloomy, overthrown Montezuma ...

Why Read the Classics? is an elegant defence of the value of great literature by one of the finest authors of the last century. Beginning with an essay on the attributes that define a classic (number one - classics are those books that people always say they are 'rereading', not 'reading'), this is an absorbing collection of Italo Calvino's witty and passionate criticism.

A couple on an epicurean journey across Mexico are excited by the idea of a particular ingredient, suggested by ancient rituals of human sacrifice. Precariously balanced on his throne, a king is able only to listen to the sounds around him - sure that any deviation from their normal progression would mean the uprising of the conspirators that surround him. And three different men search desperately for the beguiling scents of lost women, from a Count visiting Madame Odile's perfumery, to a London drummer stepping over spent, naked bodies.

Pin is a bawdy, adolescent cobbler's assistant, both arrogant and insecure who - while the Second World War rages - sings songs and tells jokes to endear himself to the grown-ups of his town - particularly jokes about his sister, who they all know as the town's 'mattress'. Among those his sister sleeps with is a German sailor, and Pin dares to steal his pistol, hiding it among the spiders' nests in an act of rebellion that entangles him in the adults' war. Italo Calvino, one of Italy's finest postwar writers, has delighted readers around the world with his deceptively simple, fable-like stories. He was born in Cuba in 1923 and raised in San Remo, Italy; he fought for the Italian Resistance from 1943-45. His major works include Cosmicomics (1968), Invisible Cities (1972), and If on a winter's night a traveler (1979). He died in Siena in 1985. Martin L. McLaughlin is Professor of Italian and Fiat-Serena Professor of Italian Studies at the University of Oxford where he is a Fellow of Magdalen College. In addition to his published academic works he is the English translator of Umberto Eco and Italo Calvino among many others.

From fabulous enchantments and supernatural horrors to subtler, more psychological terrors, the best of nineteenth-century fantastic literature is collected here by Italo Calvino. These mysterious and macabre tales include Hoffmann's nightmarish 'The Sandman', Poe's terrifying 'The Tell-Tale Heart' and Dickens's chilling ghost story 'The Signal-Man', and relatively unknown works from celebrated writers including Honoré de Balzac, Henry James, Sir Walter Scott, Guy de Maupassant and Robert Louis Stevenson, alongside lesser-known contributors. Each story comes with a fascinating introduction by Calvino.

Marco Polo berichtet von unerhörten, rätselhaften, von unsichtbaren Städten, in denen sich unendlich viele Wünsche und Ängste verkörpern: von Perinthia, das exakt nach den Berechnungen der Astronomen erbaut wurde, und heute einem Moloch gleicht; von Armilla, der angeblich verlassenen Stadt, die aber doch noch voller junger schöner Frauen ist. Mit ihrer phantastischen Atmosphäre, mit ihren kunstvoll arrangierten Labyrinthen, mit ihren unendlichen Variationsmöglichkeiten zählen "Die unsichtbaren Städte" zu Italo Calvinos größten Werken.

En man anländer till ett lantligt och avsides liggande slott. Runt middagsbordet sitter en samling resenärer; de är alla stumma, traumatiserade av fasansfulla händelser som de bara kan berätta om genom en tarotkortlek. Korten - Sjuan i svärd, Kungar och Drottningar i Bägare och i Mynt, Lyckohjulet, Den Hängde, Tornet, Döden - bildar berättelser som alluderar på myter som de om Oidipus, Hamlet och Faust, och De sammanflätade ödenas slott blir till en enastående allegori över litteraturen och läsandet. Romanen är en av den postmoderna litteraturens mest centrala texter. Italo Calvino (1923-1985) föddes på Kuba, och växte upp i Italien. 1973, samma år som Il castello dei destini incrociati kom ut, fick han det prestigefyllda Premio Feltrinelli-priset. De sammanflätade ödenas slott ingår i Modernistas serie Moderna klassiker. Romanen utkommer nu för första gången i svensk översättning. Pressröster: »Sällan har 1: den relativa omöjligheten i att förstå en annan människa, 2: din ömtåliga självförståelse, med det opålitliga minnet och de nervösa sinnena som sina enda instrument, och 3: din i grunden godtyckliga tillhörighet med det samhälle du lever i - i litteraturhistorien behandlats på ett originellare och vackrare sätt.«Henrik Petersen, Helsingborgs Dagblad »Boken är lika förtrollande som Calvinos andra mästerverk.«Stefan Jonsson, Dagens Nyheter

Elämme vuotta 1985: vain viisitoista vuotta erottaa meidät uuden vuosituhannen alusta. Tällä hetkellä minusta tuntuu, ettei tuon vuosiluvun lähestyminen herätä mitään erityisiä tunteita. En ole kuitenkaan tullut puhumaan teille tulevaisuuden tutkimuksesta vaan kirjallisuudesta. Kohta päättyvällä vuosituhannella ovat syntyneet ja levinneet länsimaissa nykyisin puhutut kielet sekä kirjallisuus, jonka avulla noiden kielien ilmaisukykyä, tiedollisia ja luovia mahdollisuuksia on koeteltu. Se on ollut myös kirjan vuosituhat, jonka kuluessa kirja on esineenä saanut meidän tuntemamme muodon. Vuosituhannen lopun läheisyyttä ilmentää ehkä yhä useammin toistuva kysymys kirjallisuuden ja kirjan kohtalosta niinsanotulla jälkiteollisella teknologian aikakaudella. En aio uskaltautua esittämään mitään siihen liittyviä ennusteita. Luotan kirjallisuuden tulevaisuuteen koska tiedän, että joitakin asioita vain kirjallisuus voi antaa omien erikoispiirteittensä ansiosta. Haluaisinkin omistaa nämä luentoni eräille kirjallisuuden arvoille tai ominaisuuksille tai erityispiirteille, jotka ovat minulle erityisen läheisiä, ja yritän lähestyä niitä uuden vuosituhannen näkökulmasta. Kuusi muistiota seuraavalle vuosituhannelle on Italo Calvinon kirjallinen testamentti – luentosarja, jota hän valmisteli Harvardin yliopistoon ennen kuolemaansa. Hän paneutui tehtävään niin perusteellisesti, että ’Amerikan luennoista’ tuli käsite hänen tuttavapiirissään. Kuudesta aiotusta luennosta Calvino ennätti kuitenkin saada valmiiksi vain viisi; niissä hänen pitkäaikainen kokemuksensa kirjailijana ja kustannustoimittajana sekä syvällinen kirjallisuuden tuntemuksensa tiivistyvät kiehtovan kauniiksi esseiksi. Calvino esittää näkemyksensä arvoista, jotka ovat kekeisiä kirjallisuudessa, ja kaikessa inhimillisessä toiminnassa: keveys, nopeus, täsmällisyys, näkyvyys ja nopeus. Niitä perustellessaan Calvino johdattaa lukijan kirjallisuuden historiaan antiikista omaan aikaamme, ja avaa myös oven omman kirjallisuuden laboratorioonsa. ’Kukaan ei ole kirjoittanut paremmin Italo Calvinosta, nerokkaasta italialaiskirjailijasta, kuin mestari itse näissä varsin henkilökohtaisissa pohdinnoissaan kirjoittamisen taidosta.’ – New York Times Book Review ’Calvino on yhtä lumoava teoreetikkona kuin tarinankertojana.’ – Los Angeles Times Book Review ’Bellissimo’ – Alberto Cottini

From one of modern literature's most captivating and elusive masters comes a posthumous volume of thoughtful, elegant, and quick-witted autobiographical writings, all previously unpublished in English. Here is Italo Calvino paying homage to his literary influences and tracing the evolution of his signature style. Here are his reminiscences of Italy's antifascist resistance and the frenzy of politics and ideas of the postwar era. The longest and most delightfully revealing section of the book is Calvino's diary of his travels in the United States in 1959 and 1960, which show him marveling at color TV, wrinkling his nose at the Beats, and reeling at the outpouring of racial hatred attending a civil rights demonstration in Alabama. Overflowing with insight and amusement, Hermit in Paris is an invaluable addition to the Calvino legacy.

This book documents a year-long exhibition entitled Knots + Surfaces, at Dia Center for the Arts from January 2001 through January 2002, in which Diana Thater presented a large-scale, multiprojection video installation specifically designed to interact with the open architectural space of Dia's third-floor gallery. A charged environment, combining layered projections with a wall of clustered monitors, becomes a metaphorical charting of multidimensional space. Referring to a recent mathematical hypothesis that correlates a complex, six-dimesional spatial model to a map of a honey bee's dance, Thater expands her abiding concern with the intersection of nature and culture. Along with an introduction to both her work and the exhibition by Lynne Cooke, the book will include an essay on Thater's work by Akira Lippit.