[01/07/25] Persi, Appunti Sparsi e / Antognini & Woodard (trs.): Notes Scattered and Lost

Entre Ríos Books, paperback

Translated by: Roberta Antognini, Deborah Woodard

Publication Date: January 7, 2025

Publisher Marketing: Primarily consisting of "discards" from her third major collection, Document (I976), the fragments of Notes Scattered and Lost provide insight into Amelia Rosselli's creative process and her remarkable linguistic originality as a self-described "refugee." While Rosselli's published poems and collections are known for their structure— what she called "almost architectural work"— these bursts of inspiration that she enjoyed writing out by hand on tracing paper, along with passages cut from longer work she found unsatisfactory, reveal her humor and wit combined with a sharp sense of injustice and deep political engagement. Notes is also among her most accessible work. "…since the author runs after the impossible and the public doesn't always keep up, I thought that being a little obvious or accessible wouldn't hurt…" Amelia Rosselli (1930-1996) is now recognized as one of the most striking and experimental poets of twentieth-century Italy. This edition marks the first complete English translation of Notes Scattered and Lost, one of her final works, concluding a trilogy of her shorter writings published by Entre Ríos Books. Our bilingual edition includes an audio download of selections read in Italian and English by translator Deborah Woodard and actor Ricardo Pieri.