Ligurian:
# Doardo Firpo (1889–1957)

Do Doardo Firpo, che tanti tëgnan pe-o ciù grande poeta do Neuveçento in zeneise, s’é scrito pe coscì inte sti urtimi quarant’anni, fòscia fiña tròppo, e s’é finio pe mitizzâne a figua. Quelli, che no conoscian a lettiatua zeneise avanti de lê, gh’an vosciuo dâ o meito de avei trattou pe-o primmo o zeneise comme unna lengua; à un çerto momento s’é formou unna vea e pròpia corrente letteräia ch’a çercava à imitâ a seu mainea de scrive, inti argomenti, inti ritmi, fiña inta neccia de poule. Comme i sostegnitoî do Firpo, à seu tempo, aivan dovuo battise contra unna vixon da poexia in zeneise ch’a â limitava à un passatempo da rie, à rincianze o passou, coscì quelli da mæ generaçion s’en attrovæ à scombatte pe fâ capî che a poexia in zeneise a no doveiva ëse pe fòrsa pægia à quella do Firpo. Oua comme oua, sta smangiaxon de fâ o verso a-o poeta do Grillo Cantadô a pâ un pittin finia e se peu ammette che o l’é stæto davei un grande poeta; seguo, o zeneise che lê o deuvia de belle vòtte o lascia l’amao in bocca: baste pensâ à di versci comme o finâ de unna poexia comme Da-o tempo ciù lontan, donde quello «lasciando à galla appena qualche fiore», o l’é italian sccetto, con solo un pittin de vernixe zeneise. Escì, a mentalitæ «dialettale» do Firpo, comme de tanti atri à quelli tempi, a no poeiva permettighe nint’atro. Pe-o Firpo, fâ sfummâ o zeneise verso l’italian voeiva dî «elevâse» à unna lengua ciù spituale, e e ciù vòtte no porriëscimo dâ a-i seu versci unna forma «ciù zeneise» sensa rovinâli. Sens’atro, o Firpo o dà de Zena unn’imagine che omai a fa parte do sentî commun; ançi vorriæ dî ch’o l’à cangiou a perçeçion che tutti gh’emmo da çittæ, ciù che atro di quartê de Levante, ma ascì de l’entrotæra, e a-a giornâ d’ancheu no poemmo pensâ a-a Foxe, à Boccadase, à Vernasseua, à Caroppoa, sensa pensâ a-i versci do Firpo e a-a seu mainea de fâ de sti pòsti a scena de l’eterna tragedia umaña e do mâ de vive.

English translation:
# Edoardo Firpo (1889–1957)

A great deal has been written about Edoardo Firpo, whom many consider to be the greatest 20th century poet in Genoese, in the last forty years, perhaps even too much, and his figure has ended up being mythologised. Those unfamiliar with Genoese literature before him, have wanted to credit him with having first treated Genoese as a language; at a certain point, a veritable literary current was formed that tried to imitate his way of writing in topics, rhythms, even word choice. Just as Firpo’s supporters, in his time, had to fight against a view of poetry in Genoese that limited it to a humorous pastime, or to regretting the past, so those of my generation found themselves fighting to make it clear that poetry in Genoese did not have to be the same as Firpo’s. Nowadays, this eagerness to make the poet of the Grillo Cantadô seem to have died down a little, and it can be admitted that Firpo was indeed a great poet; admittedly, the Genoese he used often leaves a bitter taste in the mouth: suffice it to think of lines such as the finale of a poem like Da-o tempo ciù lontan, where that “lasciando a galla appena qualche fiore” is straightforward Italian, with a bit of Genoese varnish. Yet Firpo’s “dialectal” mentality, like that of so many others in those days, could not allow him anything else. For Firpo, fading Genoese towards Italian meant “elevating” himself to a more spiritual language, and in most cases we could not give his verses a “more Genoese” form without ruining them. Undoubtedly, Firpo communicates an image of Genoa that is now part of the common feeling, indeed I would say that he has changed the perception we all have of the city, especially of the Levante districts, but also of the hinterland, and nowadays we cannot think of places such as Foce, Boccadasse, Vernazzola, Carupola, without remembering Firpo’s verses and his way of making these places the scene of eternal human tragedy and the evil of living.