Fabian Alfie - Böcker

Homoerotic Poets of the Italian Trecento explores same-sex desire in the work of three skilled medieval Italian poets, bringing their verse and expression to English readers.Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italy produced a wide range of literature, from the courtly love of the Sicilian School, to the spiritualized love of the dolce stil nuovo and Dante, to the comic poetry that flourished with authors such as Cecco Angiolieri and Folgore da San Gimignano. Author Fabian Alfie, through his translations of these poets, shows how this cultural context allowed three medieval Italian poets—Meo dei Tolomei, Cecco Nuccoli, and Marino Ceccoli—to openly discuss their sexual relationships with other men in their own poetic verse. These three poets adapted the languages of comic literature and courtly love to the new topic of homoeroticism. The result is a unique form of poetics that blended traditional expressions with innovative material.While homoerotic subtexts in the canonical works are often highlighted in the scholarship, the expression of same-sex desire ran deeper and was more prominent than in those works alone. For these poets, same-sex desire is not the subtext to their verse—it is the text itself. Through their poems, presented in facing Italian/English format, we are given a glimpse into the range of sexual attraction available to men in medieval Italy.

Homoerotic Poets of the Italian Trecento explores same-sex desire in the work of three skilled medieval Italian poets, bringing their verse and expression to English readers.Thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italy produced a wide range of literature, from the courtly love of the Sicilian School, to the spiritualized love of the dolce stil nuovo and Dante, to the comic poetry that flourished with authors such as Cecco Angiolieri and Folgore da San Gimignano. Author Fabian Alfie, through his translations of these poets, shows how this cultural context allowed three medieval Italian poets—Meo dei Tolomei, Cecco Nuccoli, and Marino Ceccoli—to openly discuss their sexual relationships with other men in their own poetic verse. These three poets adapted the languages of comic literature and courtly love to the new topic of homoeroticism. The result is a unique form of poetics that blended traditional expressions with innovative material.While homoerotic subtexts in the canonical works are often highlighted in the scholarship, the expression of same-sex desire ran deeper and was more prominent than in those works alone. For these poets, same-sex desire is not the subtext to their verse—it is the text itself. Through their poems, presented in facing Italian/English format, we are given a glimpse into the range of sexual attraction available to men in medieval Italy.

The Poetry of Burchiello: Deep-fried Nouns, Hunchbacked Pumpkins, and Other Nonsense is the first complete English translation of the poetry of Domenico di Giovanni, nicknamed il Burchiello (ca. 1404–1449). A highly influential Florentine poet of the fifteenth century, and a barber by trade, Burchiello composed poetry that inspired numerous imitators and influenced writers for centuries afterwards. Ironically, however, he specialized in a nonsensical style that destabilized semantic meaning and that continues to baffle readers. In this bilingual edition of Burchiello’s poetry, Fabian Alfie and Aileen A. Feng attempt to render Burchiello’s non-sensical poetry into readable English while maintaining the experimental spirit of the original.

This translation brings the complete works of three minor but important Italian poets — Dante’s contemporaries at the turn of the 14th century — to English speakers for the very first time. Taken together, the three authors sketch an idealized portrait of courtly life juxtaposed to the gritty, politically fractured world of northern Italy’s mercantile urban centers in which they lived. One poet, Folgore di San Gimignano, idealizes court life during the period; the second, Cenne da la Chitarra, looks at it more realistically and parodies Folgore; and the third, Pietro dei Faitinelli, takes inspiration from Folgore’s political writings and focuses on the politics of the times. The juxtaposition of the three poets in this work is effective and arguably shows them to be a poetic school. Tournaments, dinner tables, and public squares spring to life through vivid, material details, which should catch the interest of cultural historians and literary scholars alike. This translation is especially deft at reproducing the rich variety of culinary and sartorial vocabulary offered by the poets, and the translations of Pietro dei Faitinelli are especially well-executed.

‘And by now, mind, it’s too late to redeem your debts by giving up guzzling.’Dante's poetic correspondence (or tenzone) with Forese Donati, a relative of his wife, was rife with crude insults: the two men derided one another on topics ranging from sexual dysfunction and cowardice to poverty and thievery. But in his Commedia, rather than denying this correspondence, Dante repeatedly acknowledged and evoked the memory of his youthful put-downs.Dante's Tenzone with Forese Donati examines the lasting impact of these sonnets on Dante's writings and Italian literary culture, notably in the work of Giovanni Boccaccio. Fabian Alfie expands on derision as an ethical dimension of medieval literature, both facilitating the reprehension of vice and encouraging ongoing debates about the true nature of nobility. Outlining a broad perspective on the uses of literary insult, Dante's Tenzone with Forese Donati also provides an evocative glimpse of Dante's day-to-day life in the twelfth century.

This collection of essays is the first comprehensive study on Dante and satire within his entire corpus that has been published. Its title evokes the moment when Virgil leads Dante through Limbo, the uppermost portion of Hell. There, they are joined by four classical poets, and Virgil describes one of them as “Horace the satirist” (“Orazio satiro,” 4:89). By applying the expression to Dante himself, this volume seeks to explore the satirical elements in his works. Although Dante is not typically described as a satirist, anyone familiar with his works will recognize the strong satirical element in his many writings. Ultimately, this study shows that Dante engages in satire in order to attain the primary literary tool at his disposal for his prophetic objectives: the castigation of vice.

This collection of essays is the first comprehensive study on Dante and satire within his entire corpus that has been published. Its title evokes the moment when Virgil leads Dante through Limbo, the uppermost portion of Hell. There, they are joined by four classical poets, and Virgil describes one of them as “Horace the satirist” (“Orazio satiro,” 4:89). By applying the expression to Dante himself, this volume seeks to explore the satirical elements in his works. Although Dante is not typically described as a satirist, anyone familiar with his works will recognize the strong satirical element in his many writings. Ultimately, this study shows that Dante engages in satire in order to attain the primary literary tool at his disposal for his prophetic objectives: the castigation of vice.