Re: AUT: Balestrini

["alessandro coricelli" <alessandro.coricelli@xxxxxxx>]

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>From: Steve Wright <pmargin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

> I'm sure others on the list (eg Alessandro) know more than me,

as usual, your description is very accurate.


> Balestrini already made a name for himself as a writer in the sixties,
> working (amongst others) with Eco.

I'd say that his contribution as a writer and intellectual was huge. He was
one of the founders of "Gruppo 63", a literary movement about the
"neo-avanguardia" which shaped Italy's literary and cultural landscape(Eco
was another member of the group), changing it forever(the effects of that
"movement" are still widely present today).

> He was in Potere Operaio, and then Rosso/Collettivi Politici Operai with
> Negri within Autonomia.

I might add that he was, from the times of Potere Operaio on, a very
"normal" type of militant. His modesty and availability were almost
unbelievable to the eyes of a young militant of those times.
He'd been also a victim of repression(he had to escape to Paris because of
the "7 Aprile" investigation in 1979, and he was cleared from those
accusations only in 1985).
These features, in my humble opinion, made possible a sort of deep
authenticity as a poet and writer as well. Moreover, the same "modesty" made
him a great "cooperator"(he's published works in many different mediums,
radio, television etc., with several other intellectuals over the years).

> In a similar fashion, Balestrini's novel Vogliamo tutto (We Want
> Everything) is based on the life story of Alfonso Natella, who was a
> Potere Operaio militant at FIAT ...

who was the personification of the "operaio massa" and truly a
character(Alfonso Natella's speech at the "conferenza di organizzazione" in
Rome, September 1971,  was a masterpiece of colors(it has been, probably,
the funniest speech I've ever heard).

ciao,
alessandro


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