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Dissertation by Steven Baker

Engaging with a variety of literary and historical sources, in both prose and verse, including le... more Engaging with a variety of literary and historical sources, in both prose and verse, including letters, chronicles, treaties and the neo-Latin epic, this dissertation examines the centrality of the classically-informed, philosophical idea of friendship (amicitia) in the community-building discourse of Francesco Petrarca’s Italy. The first chapter examines Petrarch’s treatment of Scipio Africanus as humanistic leader and idealized friend in the Africa. The second chapter proposes a reading of Cola di Rienzo as the first “political Petrarchist” and contextualizes his epistolary campaign to unify mid-fourteenth century Italy. The third chapter explores Petrarch’s politics of familiaritas in the letters he addressed to leaders of prominent Italian city-states attempting to reconcile old friends. This study presents an analysis of the rhetorical strategies underlying Petrarch’s career as public intellectual, diplomat and poet.

To download entire dissertation, go to: https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:161992

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Published Papers by Steven Baker

Unearthing forgotten operas from dusty libraries can be a hit-or-miss affair, since oftentimes ce... more Unearthing forgotten operas from dusty libraries can be a hit-or-miss affair, since oftentimes certain works have been forgotten for good reason. But, every now and then, a true diamond comes to light and when that happens, it’s a most exciting thing. Vertical Player Repertory’s (VPR) unearthing of Giovanni Pacini’s 1851 "Malvina di Scozia" was one of those diamonds, and a particularly sparkling and awe-inspiring one.

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Speaking Truth to Power in Medieval and Early Modern Italy, 2017

On the occasion of Cola di Rienzo’s ascension to power in Rome at the end of May 1347, Petrarch c... more On the occasion of Cola di Rienzo’s ascension to power in Rome at the end of May 1347, Petrarch composed a letter in which he likens the self-styled “liberator of the holy Roman republic” to a new Romulus, a second Camillus, and a third Brutus. In his usual pedagogical mode of teaching by exemplaritas, Petrarch even holds him up to the model of Augustus Caesar, the revered author of the period of peace to which he longed to return. The superlative tone of these historical analogues reflects the fact that Petrarch did indeed have high hopes for the initiative of his quixotic friend. Following the trajectory of Cola’s brief tenure as Roman Tribune, this paper is a study of Petrarch’s attempt to mold after his own image the opportune revolution of Cola di Rienzo in Rome in 1347.

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Friendship and Sociability in Premodern Europe: Contexts, Concepts, and Expressions, 2014

In the epistolary mode of the familiar letter that Cicero had practiced and theorized, Petrarch b... more In the epistolary mode of the familiar letter that Cicero had practiced and theorized, Petrarch begins Familiares XII.16 abruptly – in medias res – and employs a direct, informal address. “I wish to bring you together ["iungam vos," literally “join you”], O most illustrious men and pride of Florence and Naples, I wish to bring you together if you will permit me to do so and will not shudder at the touch of a friendly hand.” The first word of the letter, "iungam," gives us our first glimpse of the ways in which further along in this political letter the poet seeks to literalize the metaphor of community as a joining, a coming together, resulting in the convergence of two men into a single body, into a unique and ultimate identity, no longer separate, but united: one soul in bodies twain.

In the letter that immediately follows (XII.17) Petrarch lays out the strategy employed to get them face to face to discuss the matter in such a way that would force them to engage in direct conversation and thus also to confront their common humanity, if not their common Italian identity: “I used a method whereby I sealed both men in a single letter so that they would at least have to meet in order to read it.” My focus here is on Petrarch’s adaptation and subversion of the conventions of the familiar letter and the discourse of friendship (or amicitia) in these more official, political occasions. Regarding the humanist’s efforts to get Giovanni Barrili of Naples and Niccolò Acciaiuoli of Florence into the same room, this paper addresses the topos of physical presence in the tradition of the familiar letter and the classical philosophical idea of friendship.

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Early Modern Rome, 1341-1667: Conference Proceedings, 2011

Within the first few weeks of his tenure as Roman tribune (May 19-December 15, 1347) Cola di Rien... more Within the first few weeks of his tenure as Roman tribune (May 19-December 15, 1347) Cola di Rienzo sent slight variations of the same letter to the major city-states of northern Italy inviting them to participate in a synod that was to be held in Rome. The purpose of his epistolary campaign was to restore liberty, peace and justice to the Roman people and their provinces, as well as to renew the ancient friendship (amicitia) that had once united Italy as a whole. Advocacy for Italian unification was one of the salient features of Cola’s legendary rise to power, but the idea by no means originated with him. Scholars have long discussed the concept of Italian political unity in the fourteenth century, particularly its presence in the work of the poets of the period. In fact, Francesco Petrarca was one of the Roman tribune’s most enthusiastic supporters from the onset. Like Cola, Petrarch longed for a united Italy and a strong Rome. Several of his Familiares are dedicated to the renewal of the ancient friendships that might make unification a reality. By invoking the memory of ancient friendship in their respective epistolary campaigns to resurrect the empire of Italy under a reinvigorated Rome, Cola and Petrarch draw on a long classical tradition that equates amicitia to politics. This paper explores the rhetoric of friendship and familiarity employed in Petrarch’s and Cola di Rienzo’s attempts to conjure through language an Italy united by the renewal of ancient amicitia and the resurrection of Rome.

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Book Reviews by Steven Baker

Italian Poetry Review, 2010

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Translations by Steven Baker

Continuo a rimpiangere la scomparsa del grande Luciano Rebay. Quando mi giunse notizia dell’incid... more Continuo a rimpiangere la scomparsa del grande Luciano Rebay. Quando mi giunse notizia dell’incidente, avevo ancora tanti conti, cantieri e progetti aperti con lui, tra i quali c’era la traduzione della Ninetta del Verzee di Carlo Porta dal dialetto milanese all’inglese. Avevo studiato questo stuzzicante poemetto con Luciano nel suo corso sull’estetica dell’osceno, creato dall’ingegno di professore ribelle quale era. Dovevamo ancora finire di ripulire insieme la traduzione della "Ninetta" per la pubblicazione. Luciano mi spiegava le sfumature del dialetto milanese e aiutava a rifinire il senso delle varie frasi idiomatiche usate dalla protagonista prostituta nel corso della narrazione. Il resto della traduzione verrà pubblicato molto presto.

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In these pages, translated into English by Steven Baker, Bassani delves into questions of life, p... more In these pages, translated into English by Steven Baker, Bassani delves into questions of life, poetry, history, truth and religion. He discusses being Italian, art and his love for Truman Capote. One of the essays “On Nazism and Fascism” is an important document originally written in 1944, which Bassani describes as the ideological background of some of his novels and stories: The Garden of the Finzi-Continis or A Night in ’43 or A Plaque on Via Mazzini or Clelia Trotti.

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Pontecorboli’s book is a long overdue account of a lesser-known aspect of the Italian anti-Jewish... more Pontecorboli’s book is a long overdue account of a lesser-known aspect of the Italian anti-Jewish persecution: the exile of Italian Jews to America. Forced to the US by the Fascist persecutions during the 1930’s and 1940’s, roughly two thousand Italian Jews landed in America and continued their work in a wide range of fields, from mathematics and biology to medicine, music, banking, textile manufacturing, art and antiques. Pontecorboli retraces the threads of their stories, their strategies to exit Italy, find a visa to the US and their first steps in the new world.

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"Giuliano Bonfante and Historical Linguistics" opens a window on a lost world, a world where the ... more "Giuliano Bonfante and Historical Linguistics" opens a window on a lost world, a world where the disciplinary boundaries between Linguistics and Philology were not so firmly drawn, where key issues of doctrine—the Neogrammarian hypothesis, laryngeal theory, the methods of reconstruction—were still the subject of vigorous, often polemic, debate, where national schools of linguistics were sharply defined, where a historical linguist was an Indo-Europeanist, and an Indo-Europeanist was a person of broad culture.

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Centro Primo Levi: Printed_Matter, May 18, 2014

Emilio Gentile's review of David L. Kertzer’s "The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius... more Emilio Gentile's review of David L. Kertzer’s "The Pope and Mussolini: The Secret History of Pius XI and the Rise of Fascism in Europe" (New York: Random House, 2014). Translation by Steve Baker

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Primo Levi Center Printed_Matter, Apr 22, 2014

It took a war for everyone to understand what the regime represented, a regime highly skilled at ... more It took a war for everyone to understand what the regime represented, a regime highly skilled at cultivating consensus. Though it seemed like a harmless dictatorship, it wasn’t in the least.

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Racconti per la pace, 2013

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RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 63/64: Spring/Autumn, 2013

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Flora Ghezzo and Gian Maria Annovi, eds., "Celestial Geography: A Critical Mapping of Anna Maria Ortese's Work," Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015

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Flora Ghezzo and Gian Maria Annovi, eds., "Celestial Geography: A Critical Mapping of Anna Maria Ortese's Work," Toronto: University of Toronto Press

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Flora Ghezzo and Gian Maria Annovi, eds., "Celestial Geography: A Critical Mapping of Anna Maria Ortese's Work," Toronto: University of Toronto Press

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Transvisuality: The Cultural Dimension of Visuality. Vol. 1, 2013

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The Times of Israel, Jun 14, 2013

A growing chorus of historians studying the most celebrated ‘righteous’ Italian is saying Giovann... more A growing chorus of historians studying the most celebrated ‘righteous’ Italian is saying Giovanni Palatucci’s legacy is a myth.

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Annali d'Italianistica: Italian Critical Theory, Vol. 29, 2011, 2011

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To download entire dissertation, go to: https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/catalog/ac:161992

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Speaking Truth to Power in Medieval and Early Modern Italy, 2017

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Friendship and Sociability in Premodern Europe: Contexts, Concepts, and Expressions, 2014

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Early Modern Rome, 1341-1667: Conference Proceedings, 2011

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Italian Poetry Review, 2010

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Centro Primo Levi: Printed_Matter, May 18, 2014

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Primo Levi Center Printed_Matter, Apr 22, 2014

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Racconti per la pace, 2013

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RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 63/64: Spring/Autumn, 2013

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Flora Ghezzo and Gian Maria Annovi, eds., "Celestial Geography: A Critical Mapping of Anna Maria Ortese's Work," Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Flora Ghezzo and Gian Maria Annovi, eds., "Celestial Geography: A Critical Mapping of Anna Maria Ortese's Work," Toronto: University of Toronto Press

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Flora Ghezzo and Gian Maria Annovi, eds., "Celestial Geography: A Critical Mapping of Anna Maria Ortese's Work," Toronto: University of Toronto Press

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Transvisuality: The Cultural Dimension of Visuality. Vol. 1, 2013

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The Times of Israel, Jun 14, 2013

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Annali d'Italianistica: Italian Critical Theory, Vol. 29, 2011, 2011

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From the "Brieve raccontamento del gran macello fatto nella città di Parigi il viggesimo quartoqu... more From the "Brieve raccontamento del gran macello fatto nella città di Parigi il viggesimo quartoquarto giorno d'agosto d'ordine di Carlo Nono re di Francia, & della crudele morte di Guasparro Sciattiglione signore di Coligni & grande ammiraglio di Francia, MDLXXII."

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Res: Anthropology and Aesthetics 59/60: Spring/Autumn, 2011

In an attempt to delineate a preliminary phenomenology of the puppet, this article endeavors to d... more In an attempt to delineate a preliminary phenomenology of the puppet, this article endeavors to demonstrate that the puppet must not be taken merely as a metaphor for the passivity of man but rather as the direct inorganic expression of his conflicting existential
condition.

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Returning to the work begun in Amy Richlin's seminal essay on the unsettling topic of sexual viol... more Returning to the work begun in Amy Richlin's seminal essay on the unsettling topic of sexual violence in Ovid's work, "Reading Ovid's Rapes," this paper takes another look at the rich interpretive problems posed by the incessantly recurring theme of sexual violence in the "Metamorphoses." Though the perpetrators are almost exclusively divine, roughly a third of the myths recounted by the Roman poet features some form of sexual assault. When read in the context of conservative Augustan-era marriage legislation like the "Lex Julia de adulteriis," Ovid's insistence on the theme can be read as an indictment of Augustus himself, who after all insisted on likening himself in official imperial iconography to the cult of such gods as Apollo and Jupiter, two of the most egregious assailants throughout the long poem. However, each reiteration of the theme also reveals a series of other important concomitant concerns that arise from cases of sexual violence, including questions pertaining to illegitimate children and other unanticipated repercussions in the victim's family, that actually reveal Ovid to be more seriously engaged in thinking about the subject than he is commonly given credit for. Taking Ovid to task for the grave issues he tackles can actually provide fodder for productive discussion of topical issues effecting life on campus and in our country today. It is absolutely imperative that certain topics be addressed in productive and adult ways with our students if we expect to raise the level of our public discourse. Far from aestheticizing these topics as mere literary artifacts, Ovid's complex text demands to be read on a number of levels that are all pertinent to the world in which we live today.

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This paper proposes a rereading of Petrarch’s Familiares IV, 1, the letter that recounts his famo... more This paper proposes a rereading of Petrarch’s Familiares IV, 1, the letter that recounts his famous ascent of Mount Ventoux, in light of its position in the textual universe of the poet-humanist’s highly constructed autobiographical epistolary epic. The critical reception of the letter has tended to excerpt, anthologize and read the letter on its own, and a rich body of scholarship has pointed to its patristic sources, its failed conversion narrative and its depiction of the humanist as naturalist. When taken, however, in the context of its collocation as the first letter in book IV of the Familiares, the link between ascent to literary fame and the rise to political influence are very clearly paralleled. The letter that precedes it the autobiographical collection opens and closes with citations from the Africa, the poem that would “earn” him his laurels, and the letter that immediately follows the ascent of Mount Ventoux, is a congratulatory letter to a friend who has just ascended to a role of political prominence in the court at Naples. The next five letters then trace the courting of Paris and Rome as well as his conferring with the Colonna family and King Robert as he decides how and where to stage his coronation as poet laureate most effectively. A comparison of the language in the coronation address that he gave on the Capitoline in 1343 on the occasion itself to the language and rhetorical tropes found in Familiares IV, 1 reveals a whole set of interesting parallels in terms of finding one’s calling and ascending to positions of prominence and power as a result.

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Book II of Francesco Petrarca’s De vita solitaria starts with a long list of hermits. He tells us... more Book II of Francesco Petrarca’s De vita solitaria starts with a long list of hermits. He tells us just enough about each of them to find out that they all have something paradoxical in common. Despite their withdrawal from society, they all earned great recognition and even fame within society. Some are more “famous” than others, but he ends his list with a long description of the fame St. Anthony achieved for his contemplative ways. In much the same manner that Petrarch lived his life, the wisdom that Anthony cultivated in his life earned him so much admiration and respect that he was even sought out by the emperors of Rome and invited into relationships of amicitia with them for the sage advice he could lavish on them. Sound familiar? So much of this mini-hagiography resounds with Petrarch’s own biography. In fact, he even goes on to emphasize the fact that Anthony found himself in such intimate interaction with the emperor that he exchanged “familiar” letters with them on a regular basis, as Petrarch himself did with the powerful figures not only in the papal court at Avignon, but also in the centers of power through too Italy and across Europe. It is no mystery that Petrarch’s cultivation of the solitary life was never meant to be understood as an end in itself. It was always meant to bolster his participation and accomplishment in other areas of his life. The study of eloquence and philosophy – in short, the foundations of a liberal arts education – was always intended for the betterment of society. Proper contemplation demands the wherewithal of a wise man who is capable of transforming the fruit of his studious labors into action. Petrarchan humanism cast a coming together of the two sides: contemplation and action. Time outside of the fray spent learning in quiet contemplation is what gave the Petrarchan humanist the wings necessary for productive engagement with the world of human affairs. This paper proposes to reflect on the value of a liberal arts education in light of its Petrarchan heritage in the humanist tradition.

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Much has been made of Petrarch’s momentous discovery of Cicero’s “Ad Atticum,” which marked a tur... more Much has been made of Petrarch’s momentous discovery of Cicero’s “Ad Atticum,” which marked a turning point in the development of both Petrarch’s thought and the subsequent evolution of Renaissance humanism, but relatively little has been made of Petrarch’s analogous discovery in 1333 of the Roman orator’s famous defense of the poet Archias, the “Pro Archia.” In praising poets for the benefit they bring to the life of the republic by spreading the news of its glory, as well as to its citizens by inspiring and incentivizing them, Cicero’s “Pro Archia” presents the deep affiliation between politics and literary production that Petrarch found extremely suggestive, judging from the level to which so many of the cultural values espoused by this brief text came to permeate his own cultural and political project. The “Pro Archia” resonates in far-ranging ways through Petrarch’s humanistic project, from his coronation address on the Capitoline in 1341 to the last diplomatic orations he gave in Venice in 1373, less than a month before his death. By applying my literary training to a rhetorical analysis some of the many overlooked vestiges of these two bookend moments at the beginning and end of his career, a veritable hinterlands of Petrarchan largely lyrical scholarship, including letters, orations and some of the local chronicles that documented them at the time, this paper aims to introduce long-neglected aspects of Petrarch’s political project to the canonical understanding of Petrarchan humanism.

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Effectively bringing to life the great city in which my students live and study, each spring we h... more Effectively bringing to life the great city in which my students live and study, each spring we have an auxiliary session on Ovid at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Students are assigned stories from the "Metamorphoses" that they recount in front of the corresponding work of art that can vary from Roman frescoes, sarcophagi and sculpture to later European tapestries, statuary and paintings. Over the course of our journey, we not only meditate on the storytelling strategies of the poet but also on the narrative solutions that figurative artists come up with for the representation of time, characterization and other telling details. All exercises can also be performed in the classroom with slides.

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In "The Prince," Machiavelli departs from the practices of his humanist predecessors. He insists ... more In "The Prince," Machiavelli departs from the practices of his humanist predecessors. He insists on a greater realism than anyone writing the "mirror for princes" genre had previously attempted. His name is synonymous with the unapologetic, necessity-driven 'realpolitik' found in his notorious little pamphlet. Yet, his stance on sovereignty in "The Prince" is at odds with the republican tendencies found in the "Discourses." Guiding students through a close reading of the apparent contradictions of Machiavelli's seminal contribution to the history of political philosophy provides the perfect training ground for honing the kinds of critical thinking skills that lie at the heart of every Core Curriculum's quest for instilling excellence its students.

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With the publication of Girolamo Fracastoro’s long, narrative, neo-Latin poem "Syphilis, sive Mor... more With the publication of Girolamo Fracastoro’s long, narrative, neo-Latin poem "Syphilis, sive Morbo Gallico," the disease that had previously been the terrain of national blame finally receives its universal name. By putting forth a mythological explanation for its origin, Fracastoro’s poem eventually depoliticizes the epidemic. In part for its poetic achievement, in part for the knowledge it imparted and in part because it provided a salve to the political tensions of the time, interest in the poem spread like wild fire. Despite the depoliticizing effect Fracastoro’s wildly popular poem had on the European reception of the epidemic to which it gave a name, tracing the text’s diffusion tells another story parallel to that of the transmission of disease, namely, that of the transmission of knowledge. Taking the spread of syphilis through Europe as a specific case study, this paper surveys the multifaceted attitudes towards the transmission of knowledge and disease that appear throughout Girolamo Fracastoro’s poetic and medical-scientific work. This paper seeks to couple literary criticism and the history of science in an attempt to read the emergence of a theory of contagion in the early part of the sixteenth century as a counterpoint to the theories of genre and imitation that were also in vogue at the time. I propose a reading of Fracastoro’s revived notion of contagion as evidence of attitudes toward and as a metaphor for the transmission of both disease and ideas in the wake of the discovery of America and the scourge that would come to be known as syphilis.

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In the "Allegoria del poema," Torquato Tasso describes Jerusalem as the embodiment of civic happi... more In the "Allegoria del poema," Torquato Tasso describes Jerusalem as the embodiment of civic happiness. With its epic plot and a series of chivalric sub-plots to draw our attention away from an allegorical reading of the poem, it is easy to overlook the poet’s invitation to read the "Gerusalemme liberata" as a meditation on civic life. In fact, few critics have taken Tasso to task on his claim to there being an allegory of civic happiness embedded in the concluding image of Goffredo’s cloak caked in blood.

By examining its relationship to the long tradition of treatises on civic duty as well its relationship to precursors in the genre of the chivalric epic, this paper seeks to situate the scene of Goffredo’s prophetic dream in the beginning of Canto XIV as a pivotal moment in the poem’s meditation on civil responsibility and the free individual’s relation to the collective. The series of events that lead teleologically from the dream scene, in which Goffredo realizes how little influence he has on the way things are going to go, to the bleak conclusion of the Crusader’s mission implies that God chooses what is best even though it does not seem like it at the time.

At the point in which the "Allegoria" contradicts what happens in the poem, it becomes clear that Tasso’s idea of providence and predestination is more in line with a later Leibnizian brand of so-called “optimism.” Goffredo’s dream scene then represents a break. Tasso’s view does not fall into line with the civic humanists of the early Florentine Renaissance. His latecomer reflections on civic happiness are symptomatic of what was to come rather than what had come before.

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Civic identity in Renaissance Florence was based on a commonly held love and admiration for the c... more Civic identity in Renaissance Florence was based on a commonly held love and admiration for the city in which one lived. This love of one’s city was based on the fundamental values of civic culture and common identity. Nevertheless, civil rights were promised to no one, because they were acquired only by means of active participation in the activities of the state. The loss of membership to a civic community led to serious crises of personal identity. When the protagonist in Antonio Manetti’s redaction of "La novella del Grasso Legnaiuolo" neglects to show up to a dinner meeting of the group of artisans to which he belongs, he undergoes just such a violation of his civic identity. In focusing almost exclusively on the startling psychological depth of the novella, scholarship has neglected to pick up on the municipal undertones of the story, its thinly veiled simulated ritual of political exile and its meditation on civic identity. By historicizing our reading of Manetti’s version of the novella, this paper teases out some of the social issues that are present in the text and draws some conclusions as to how the culture of exile, which played such a prevalent role in the civic and artistic dynamics of the early-modern Northern Italian city-state, was potentially one of the destabilizing forces at work in the undoing of cities like Florence.

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Reformulating Althusser’s concept of history, Fredric Jameson states “that history is not a text,... more Reformulating Althusser’s concept of history, Fredric Jameson states “that history is not a text, not a narrative, master or otherwise, but that, as an absent cause, it is inaccessible to us except in textual form, and that our approach to it and to the Real itself necessarily passes through its prior textualization, its narrativization in the political unconscious.” Before Torquato Tasso began composing the "Gerusalemme liberata," the material of the First Crusade had already gone through many stages of prior textualization, prior narrativization in the “political unconscious.” Unlike his predecessors, who wrote for the most part embellished accounts of history, several of which will be examined in this paper, Tasso invents extended episodes, knowingly using Crusade history to write an epic poem. Nevertheless, a closer look at the early chronicles of the First Crusade reveals that the distinction between the work of the medieval historiographer and that of the poet can be extremely porous, in that the poeticizing tendency of the early chroniclers is not be underestimated.

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From the very beginning, with its in medias res amorphous opening, the uncanny score of Kaija Saa... more From the very beginning, with its in medias res amorphous opening, the uncanny score of Kaija Saariaho's L'Amour de Loin throws you into a dream-like universe. Lush and atmospheric, the Finnish composer's music suspends the listener over an indistinct watery expanse. Eschewing an overture or prelude of any kind, the first bars conjure a brine-laden formless and foggy seascape that only slowly comes into focus the way distance lies out over the ocean. Susanna Mälkki conducted an exceedingly smooth reading of this uncanny score with the utmost polish. Interestingly, in recordings with other conductors the same score seems more flush with jolting surprises from jarring horns and more pronounced cacophony from the percussion. The mood created by Ms. Mälkki was more suggestive, more oneiric. It came off to my ear more of a dreamy Debussy dream (à la Pelleas et Melisande), with some of the quirkier Messiaen eccentricities that punctuate its aural landscape toned down and mellowed out.

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Allegri con fuoco, Feb 25, 2014

Director Dmitri Tcherniakov claimed that with this production he intended to return to the source... more Director Dmitri Tcherniakov claimed that with this production he intended to return to the source material and restore Prince Igor “as Borodin left it,” which is somehow ironic because at the end of the day the Met's new production is a unique and original take on a visionary yet still fragmentary score.

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Allegri con fuoco, Jan 13, 2014

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Allegri con fuoco, Jan 8, 2014

Verdi’s farewell opera is a very Boccaccio-esque romp in the realm of appearances, practical joke... more Verdi’s farewell opera is a very Boccaccio-esque romp in the realm of appearances, practical jokes, feints and pranks. The world of the Decameron’s signature beffe and burle. There is even a sort of umbilical cord refrain that repeats throughout the opera linking the Fenton-Nannetta subplot to a kernel of Boccaccian wit. It’s a quote from the seventh story of the second day of Boccaccio’s Decameron: “Bocca baciata non perde ventura, anzi rinnova come fa la luna” (“The mouth that has been kissed does not lose its savor, indeed it renews itself just as the moon does”). The young lovers, apparently avid readers of the medieval Italian author, quote it to each other in their flirty duets, and Nannetta always finishes Fenton’s sentence for him when he starts to utter it. Even the only truly romantic bit of the opera is, thus, a nod to the jesty Boccaccio.

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Allegri con fuoco, Jan 18, 2014

Billed variously as a free form or “quasi-opera” in the manner of Robert Wilson, under the spell ... more Billed variously as a free form or “quasi-opera” in the manner of Robert Wilson, under the spell of whose "Einstein on the Beach" I fell earlier this year, "The Life and Death of Marina Abramović" (LaDoMA) was most thrilling for its musical eclecticism. Experiencing it live, I was reminded of the fact that there is no reason why opera has to maintain slavish attitudes towards its traditional roots. Like so many of his theatrical collaborations, Wilson and his collaborators draw on just some of the many musical vernaculars that are available to a contemporary opera composer. In the case of this avant-opera, the soundscape consists of an intermingling of pop music, the rock ballad, Balkan folk music, electronica, modern minimalism, simulated orchestral music, and an assortment of other Dadaist noise experiments, like the sound of a snare drum rolling through the woods down a steep hill. As ever, Wilson runs the gamut.

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Allegri con fuoco, Nov 30, 2013

Nico Muhly’s new opera, "Two Boys," is based on the real criminal case of a disturbed British 14-... more Nico Muhly’s new opera, "Two Boys," is based on the real criminal case of a disturbed British 14-year old who choreographed his own (attempted) murder by inducing a 16-year old to stab him. The murder/suicide is staged through a scheme where the younger boy assumes more than two dozen different web chat room identities, including a flirty girl, an M5 spy and a rapist, who enact all sorts of sexual and psychological harassment on the older boy before finally commissioning him the stabbing. The opera begins in the aftermath of the action, when we meet up with the detective who has been assigned the case, and we uncover the story as she does.

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"E lucevan le stelle" is without a doubt the climax of the opera, I would argue, its raison d'êtr... more "E lucevan le stelle" is without a doubt the climax of the opera, I would argue, its raison d'être. And it is not necessarily an aria in the strict traditional sense. There is no refrain, no repetition, no songy progression. It is pure poetry – a beautifully sustained single crescendo of raw emotion that departs from the sensory experience of beauty, as it is impressed on the memory, and that soars on eagle's wings to the heartfelt recognition that life never got any better than that moment, though its upward flight is stunted by the realization that now all he has to look forward to is his time to die: "Muoio disperato." It is melancholic, bittersweet, and I tingle at just the thought of hearing it sung live in its narrative context.

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Allegri con fuoco, Oct 30, 2013

Loosely following the main plot lines of Euripides' "The Medea," Donizetti's "Norma" transcends h... more Loosely following the main plot lines of Euripides' "The Medea," Donizetti's "Norma" transcends her source material in the most redeeming ways, mainly because she decides to spare her children and face her own death, which is what makes Norma a character of truly heroic dimensions.

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The Observer, 2003

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The Observer, 2002

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This semester long assignment incorporates principles of digital storytelling. By the end of the... more This semester long assignment incorporates principles of digital storytelling. By the end of the semester students are able to familiarize themselves with an Italian city (including it's famous citizens, food, culture, sites, eats, and attractions), perform online research, write clear essays, practice pronunciation and enhance their digital skills. This presentation will feature a demonstration of simple on-line applications students can use to make short films and animated slide-show presentations.

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Italian Poetry Review, 2010

"Teetering on the edge of non-meaning, 'The Dress Poems' are born from the details of a fashion s... more "Teetering on the edge of non-meaning, 'The Dress Poems' are born from the details of a fashion show and yet woven through with a denser, more faceted language – a language of ambiguity pierced with moments of clarity that transcended the subject."

From "Thoughts on Writing the Dress Poems" by Stephen Berry

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The Observer, 2003

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The Observer, 2002

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A special screening in celebration of Black History Month. The Long Road to the Hall of Fame:... more A special screening in celebration of Black History Month.

The Long Road to the Hall of Fame:
From Tony King to Malik Farrakhan

A Documentary by Réda Zine

Tony King is a man who has lived many lives. You might know him from his past as a professional football player for the Buffalo Bills, or as a movie star in iconic films like Shaft or Gordon’s War. You might have seen his face touring the world next to Chuck D of the legendary hip-hop group Public Enemy, whose security he’s been in charge of for the past 20 years. He experienced the struggle for civil rights firsthand - and inspired by Malcolm X, he changed his name and converted to Islam. The life of Malik Farrakhan, aka Tony King, is a parable spanning the last 40 years of African-American history.

For more information about the film: http://www.thelongroadproject.com/

Discussion with the filmmaker will follow the screening.

Reda Zine is an Italy-based Moroccan filmmaker, professor, activist and musician. Through his discussion, Zine will draw parallels between Tony King’s involvement in the civil rights movement and the Arab Spring, Islam and activism, and the connections between current struggles in Europe and past American movements.

Special guest Malik Farrakhan, aka Tony King, will also be present.

Thursday, February 6, 2014
Columbia University
602 Hamilton Hall
7:00-9:00pm

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This conference addresses the legacy of Greece and Rome in the literary arts from Classical Antiq... more This conference addresses the legacy of Greece and Rome in the literary arts from Classical Antiquity to Early Modernity. Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in Departments of Classics, Comparative Literature, Italian, French, Spanish, German, English, and Philosophy, among others, participated with papers of approximately twenty minutes.

Keynote Speakers:
Prof. Leonard Barkan (Princeton University, Comparative Literature)
Prof. Joseph Farrell (University of Pennsylvania, Classics)

Sponsored by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation

Organized by Steve Baker, Charles McNamara and Leah Whittington

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The greatest Italian tenor of his generation will sing a selection of musical arrangements of poe... more The greatest Italian tenor of his generation will sing a selection of musical arrangements of poems by Carducci, Fogazzaro, Boito, D’Annunzio, Pascoli and Deledda.

With piano accompaniment by William Lewis.

During the performance, coordinated by Paolo Valesio (Columbia University), there will be commentary by: Joseph Colaneri (Conductor, Metropolitan Opera House,) Robert Sutherland (Chief Librarian, Metropolitan Opera House), Nicola Di Nino (Columbia University), Fiorella Sampirisi (State University of New York) and Amelia Moser (Bard College).

Tickets: 35/35/35/20 students

Buy your ticket now! For reservations and ticket information please write to Nicola Di Nino at nd2268@columbia.edu

MARCELLO GIORDANI, tenor

Since his professional debut in 1986, Marcello Giordani has emerged as one of the most prominent and sought-after opera singers on the stage today. In a recent article in the magazine Opera News, he was hailed as “arguably, the greatest leading tenor of his generation.” He has sung in over 175 performances at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, and has appeared in all the major opera houses of the world.

In addition to his extraordinary career on the opera and concert stage, Marcello Giordani plays an active role in the development of young opera singers through the recent establishment of the “Marcello Giordani Foundation”, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to help promising young singers achieve their professional goals.

Marcello Giordani is a native of Augusta, Sicily, where he resides with his wife Wilma, and their two boys, Michele and GerardAndré.
For more detailed information, visit Marcello Giordani’s official website at www.marcellogiordani.com.

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Book presentation with editor and commentator of Dante's Lyrics Teodolinda Barolini (Columbia Uni... more Book presentation with editor and commentator of Dante's Lyrics Teodolinda Barolini (Columbia University) in discussion with Fabio Finotti (U. Penn). Tuesday, October 27, 2009. Presented by the Italian Department at Columbia University and the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America.

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John Ashbery accepts the Premio Napoli at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at ... more John Ashbery accepts the Premio Napoli at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University in the City of New York in December 2009. The poet also reads one of his early poems: "And You Know."

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Thanks to its irreverence and its lack of interest in puristic distinctions, including its capaci... more Thanks to its irreverence and its lack of interest in puristic distinctions, including its capacity to find redeeming value in banality, Futurism will survive the process of “touristicization” and fetishization that characterizes a good part of the current approach to this avant-garde movement. But the victim of this process has paradoxically been its founder, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, who has been even too successful in confusing metonymically the movement as a whole and his own oeuvre. The time has come to begin to redress such a confusion, concentrating on the still imperfectly known writings of Marinetti – one of the most remarkable post-symbolist poets and narrators in twentieth-century Italian, and European, literature.

The centennial anniversary of the foundation of the Italian avant-garde movement, which was famously inaugurated by Marinetti in the French paper Le Figaro in 1909, is an auspicious occasion for a renaissance of futurist studies, contemplating the figure of Marinetti as a writer. This two-day symposium will bring together a variety of international critical perspectives. Our admittedly ambitious aim is to begin a general process of redefinition and rediscovery of the Italian Novecento on an international scale, going beyond defeatist clichés.

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Canoni Assenti. Opening Statement, di Teodolinda Barolini For de la bella bella cayba, di Paol... more Canoni Assenti. Opening Statement, di Teodolinda Barolini

For de la bella bella cayba, di Paolo Valesio

Storie di canone, di Franco Buffoni

Fine del canone/Necessità del canone nella poesia italiana del pieno Novecento, di Daniele Piccini

Analogia e anomalia, di Carlo Alberto Sitta

Social Irrelevance and Self-Generated Canons, from the 20th Century to Neo-Italian Poetry, by Francesco Stella

Si può ancora insegnare la poesia?, di Alberto Bertoni

Overcoming debts: on canons, anxiety, and American poetry, by Richard Deming

Amelia Rosselli e la liberazione del canone, di Lucia Re

Il canone come una passerella, di Davide Rondoni

An Italian Canon for Contemporary American Poetry? by Antonella Francini

Revue de Littérature Générale and the Extreme Contemporary, by Jean-Jacques Poucel

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