Ligurian:
# Roberto Giannon (1934–2016)

Fonçionäio da RAI, o Giannon o l’à passou a ciù tanta parte da seu vitta lonxi da Zena. O l’aiva comensou a seu attivitæ poetica in italian, ma solo che in zeneise o l’à attrovou un seu stile personale e vertadeo, con çercâ into subconscio, inti sotteranei de l’anima, e cöse che maniman o no se saieiva incallou à dî. Pe-o Giannoni s’é parlou de «poexia antilirica»[^1], ma fòscia saieiva ciù giusto dî ch’a l’é unna poexia chi refua l’abandon a-o canto, à l’exibiçion ciù desfacciadda di sentimenti. In realitæ, o sentimento o l’é tanto presente, quante trategnuo, e o poeta o l’é chì coscì comme un muxico, ch’o seunna co-a sordiña. Fiña in ponto lenguaggio, o Giannon o cava inte unna smersa de memöia collettiva çitteña, con particolâ attençion a-a borghexia commerçiale e affaristica de unna vòtta, in çercâ à restituîne o profî, a mainea de esprimmise, a mentalitæ, into contesto de un fondamentale pescimiximo in sciâ natua umaña, ch’a l’à pe destin o descazzimento e l’annintamento, fiña – co-o passâ do tempo – inta memöia de chi o l’arresta.

[^1]: F. Brevini, _Le parole perdute_, p.374, Einaudi, Turin, 1990.

Inte unna mainea semeggeive à quello che emmo osservou inta poexia do Sileri, ven feua into Giannon o ligammo con unna religioxitæ tipicamente ligure, scombattua e compricâ, da-e sfummatue giansenistiche e rigoriste, ch’a l’à a-e seu base un dexidëio de emançipâse da-a scciavitù do dinâ e da matëia, insemme à l’imposcibilitæ de libeâsene.

Confrontemmo sta curta poexia con L’ægua a l’é storbia do Guidon, ch’a desgheugge pöcassæ un temma analogo, l’indifferensa da natua de fronte a-a sofferensa umaña, ma con di exiti fondamente despægi; donde into Guidon sorvevive unna quarche speransa de riscatto rappresentâ da l’amô, o Giannon o sottolinia solo che l’incomprenscion da parte do mondo natuâ e tòsto a seu nesciaia.

A registraçion do dæto de fæto natualistico, che into Giannon a vorrieiva ëse freida e oggettiva, a no manca mai, in realitæ, de unna sentia parteçipaçion personale a-i destin mancæ de tanti infeliçi.

Un temma tradiçionale inta poexia zeneise, o mercou do pescio, ch’o l’à de longo offeio occaxoin bossettistiche e folcloristiche, chì coscì o vëgne à ëse unna smersa de metafora do mondo uman destinou a-a mòrte e a-a dissoluçion. Gh’é stæto chi, à propòxito de sto testo chì, o l’à parlou de «euggio da anatomista» (F. Brevini) freido e raçionale, ma l’intençion scimbòlica de l’autô a l’arresta ciæa into deuvio de scimilitudine (pan vellui de gexa), into retropensceo de òerte poule spia (çimitëio, dormitöio, mortöio), inte l’atmosfera da obitöio ch’a dà o ton à tutta a compoxiçion.

Se retreuva into Giannon, in accòrdio co-e conçeçioin letteräie de l’autô, de scingolare revixitaçioin in ciave «bassa» de di miti fondamentali de l’umanitæ: Odino, Teseo e Arianna, i personaggi de l’Iliade, Edipo, de vòtte mescciæ con di elementi træti da-o melodramma italian (Butterfly) e con di scenäi exòtichi (Conrad); no pe fâne unna parodia, ma pe sottoliniâ l’universalitæ de sti miti e fòscia o descazzimento de varsciue donde o ’é cheito o mondo moderno. Da osservâ, anche inte sta poexia, o scingolare conçetto da sessualitæ ch’o l’à o Giannon, comme quello de unna coæ de pösâse da-a vitta, ançi quello da fin da vitta, un atro nomme da mòrte.

[2] guercia: poula de zerbo pe indicâ i genitali da dònna, chì in ciæa relaçion co-a mutilaçion do protagonista.

[3] ch’o cammiña: traduçion approscimativa de Wanderer, tradiçionale appellativo de Odino.

Fiña di temmi filosòfichi e existençiali vëgnan trattæ da-o Giannon in recore à di termini e scimilitudine tiæ feua da-a vitta de tutti i giorni, commun à l’espeiensa che se presumme a l’appartëgne à chi parla tutti i giorni o «dialetto».

Ascì ben che o Giannon o se deciarava nemigo da poexia «lirica», tutti i mòddi o l’à scrito ascì quarche testo ch’o se peu fâ intrâ de seguo inte quella categoria.

English translation:
# Roberto Giannoni (1934–2016)

As an executive of the Italian national broadcaster RAI, Giannoni spent most of his life away from Genoa. He began his poetic activity in Italian, but only in Genoese did he find a personal and authentic voice, searching in the subconscious, in the dungeons of the soul, for things he otherwise would not have dared to say. In regards to Giannoni critics have spoken of “antilyrical poetry”[^1], but perhaps it would be more correct to say that it is a poetry that refuses the abandonment to song, to the most blatant display of sentiment. In fact, feeling is as much present as it is restrained, and the poet is here like a musician playing mutedly. In terms of language, too, Giannoni delves into a kind of collective town memory, with special predilection for the commercial and business bourgeoisie of yesteryear, trying to reproduce their profile, manner of expression, mentality, in the context of a fundamental pessimism about human nature, whose fate is in any case decay and annihilation, even – in the long run – in the memories of those who remain.

[^1]: F. Brevini, _Le parole perdute_, p.374, Einaudi, Turin, 1990.

Similarly to what we have observed in the poetry of Sileri, in Giannoni too we see the emergence of a link with a typically Ligurian religiosity, conflicted and complex, with Jansenist and rigorist overtones, which has at its basis a desire to emancipate oneself from the slavery of money and matter, along with the impossibility of escaping from it.

Compare this short poem with L’ægua a l’é storbia by Guidon, which develops an essentialy similar theme – the indifference of nature in the face of human suffering – but with profoundly different outcomes. Whereas in Guidoni some hope of redemption represented by love survives, Giannoni only emphasizes the incomprehension on the part of the natural world and almost its foolishness.

The recording of naturalistic fact, which Giannoni would like to be cold and objective, never lacks, in reality, a heartfelt personal participation in the missed fates of so many unhappy people.

A traditional theme in Genoese poetry, the fish market, which has always offered stereotypical and folkloric cues, here becomes a kind of metaphor for the human world destined for death and dissolution. There have been those who, with regard to this text, have spoken of an «anatomist’s gaze» (F. Brevini) that is cold and rational, but the author’s symbolic intent appears evident in the use of similes (pan vellui de gexa), in the underthought of certain telling words (çimitëio, dormitöio, mortöio), in the morgue-like atmosphere that informs the entire composition.

In Giannoni we find – in accordance with the author’s literary views – singular revisitations in a “low” key of fundamental myths of humanity: Odin, Theseus and Ariadne, the characters of the Iliad, Oedipus, sometimes mixed with elements taken from Italian melodrama (Butterfly) and with exotic scenarios (Conrad). Not to parody them, but to emphasize the universality of such myths and perhaps the decadence of values into which the modern world has plunged. Also to be noted in this poem is Giannoni’s singular concept of sexuality as that of a desire to rest from life, indeed that of the end of life, another name for death.

[2] guercia: slang term for “vulva”; here in obvious relation to the protagonist’s mutilation.

[3] ch’o cammiña: rough translation of Wanderer, traditional appellation of Odin.

Philosophical or existential themes are also developed by Giannoni by resorting to terms and similes drawn from everyday life, common to the experience supposedly belonging to those who speak the “dialect” on a daily basis.

Although Giannoni declared himself an enemy of “lyric” poetry, nevertheless he also wrote some texts that can safely be made to fall into that category.