Transmutations

Persistence and evolution of Giorgio Orelli's poetic language

Abstract

The aim of this essay is to investigate the language and style of the poetry of Giorgio Orelli (1921-2013), who was active over a period of fifty years: starting with Né bianco né viola (1944), through the personal collection L’ora del tempo (1962), Sinopie (1977), Spiracoli (1989), Il collo dell’anitra (2001), until the work left incomplete and published after his death L’orlo della vita (edited by Pietro De Marchi in 2015). Orelli always remained true to himself and to the tradition, especially the Italian one, which he cultivated also as a critic and prose writer. Nevertheless, in time he changed topics and linguistic register, making his text more narrative, using dialoguing voices different from his, contemporary words, languages of Europe, regional elements and even poems in the dialects of Canton Ticino, place of origin of his family. Despite not being a regional poet, he was able to combine illustrious quotes (such as Dante) with bitter observations from contemporary life.