Antonio Tabucchi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 24 September 1943 Pisa, Italy |
| Died | 25 March 2012 (aged 68)[1] Lisbon, Portugal |
| Occupation | Novelist, short-story writer |
| Nationality | Italian, Portuguese |
| Period | 1969–2012 |
| Spouse | Maria José de Lancastre |
Antonio Tabucchi (Italian: [anˈtɔːnjo taˈbukki]; 24 September 1943 – 25 March 2012) was an Italian writer and academic who taught Portuguese language and literature at the University of Siena, Italy. Deeply in love with Portugal, he was an expert, critic and translator of the works of Fernando Pessoa from whom he drew the conceptions of saudade, of fiction and of the heteronyms. Tabucchi was first introduced to Pessoa's works in the 1960s when attending the Sorbonne. He was so charmed that when he returned to Italy, he took an introductory course in Portuguese for a better comprehension of the poet.
His books and essays have been translated in 18 countries. Together with his wife, Maria José de Lancastre, he translated many works by Pessoa into Italian and has written a book of essays and a comedy about the writer. Tabucchi was awarded the French prize "Médicis étranger" for Indian Nocturne (Notturno indiano) and the premio Campiello, and the Aristeion Prize for Sostiene Pereira. In later life, he was mentioned as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature, a feat he never achieved.[2][3]
- ^ AGI – Agenzia Giornalistica Italia. "Writer Antonio Tabucchi dies in Lisbon". AGI.it. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
- ^ Flood, Alison (23 September 2009). "Amos Oz is bookie's favourite for Nobel". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
Ladbrokes's top 10 is rounded out by Syrian poet Adonis at 8/1, with last year's favourite, the Italian scholar Claudio Magris, at 9/1 together with Italian novelist Antonio Tabucchi and Japanese author Haruki Murakami.
- ^ "There is no better man than Banville for Nobel Prize". Irish Independent. 8 October 2011.
And I learn from other sources that the Nobel is also being whispered in conjunction with the name of Antonio Tabucchi, a 68-year-old Italian writer of whom I'd never heard until recently when I read two ecstatic reviews of his 1994 novel Sostiene Pereira, which is translated into English as 'Pereira Maintains'. The superlatives were justified.