Poetry. Translated from the Italian with an Introduction by Gianpiero W. Doebler. First published in 1976, Il disperso (THE MISSING) was the initial collection by the Milanese poet Maurizio Cucchi. Part of the first generation of writers born after the Second World War, Cucchi's debut drew praise from such critics as Pier Paolo Pasolini, who described his verse as an "Italian revelation." Using both literary language and everyday speech, the multiple voices in these poems explore themes of loss, uncertainty, curiosity and sexuality in "narratives" full of temporal shifts and fragmentary thoughts.

Author Hometown: Milan ITA



About the author: Born in Milan in 1945, Maurizio Cucchi has published ten collections of poetry, starting with Il disperso in 1976. His most recent work in verse, Jeanne d'Arc e il suo doppio, was published by Guanda in May of 2008. In addition to poetry, Cucchi has published many reviews, essays (most recently, the collection La traversata di Milano, 2007) and a novel, Il male e nelle cose (2005). Cucchi has also translated into Italian such authors as Flaubert, Mallarme, Stendahl, and Poe.