Cesare Pavese

About

Twentieth-century Italian poet, author, and translator known for La luna e i falo (The Moon and the Bonfires), Il Compagno (The Comrade), and other works. His literary works typically focus on an isolated protagonist who has only shallow relationships.

Before Fame

He graduated from the University of Turin, where he was mentored by Russian literary critic Leone Ginzburg.

Trivia

He was arrested in 1935 for his antifascist activities; he later joined the Italian Communist Party.

Family Life

Prior to his suicide at the age of forty-one, he spent many summers in his father's home village of Santo Stefano Belbo, Italy.

Associated With

He wrote his university thesis on the poems of Walt Whitman.