Gillian Ania (University of Salford)
Present and Future Trajectories of Apocalypse in Contemporary Italian Literature
In its original context (St John's account of the 'last things', the book of the 'Apocalypse', or 'Revelation'), the term apocalypse encapsulates notions of comment, warning, consolation and encouragement. In its darkest interpretation, it is a series of revelatory visions, or signs, of 'the end'. Yet, as many have rightly observed (eg Eco, Apocalypse Postponed, 1994), apocalyptic visions are not all concerned with the future or the hereafter: a 'judgement' is being made on the present, and believers are encouraged to heed the visions, or warnings.
Apocalyptic writings have a long history, and predictions of imminent end have continually had to be 'revised'. This paper will look at those Italian writers at the turn of the second millennium who have felt drawn to apocalyptic paradigms or discourse, who express fears, frustration, bewilderment and horror, in present or future settings. While it is true that today apocalyptic literature tends to be symbolic, poetic or abstract, rather than factual, writers using the form, I will claim, want their warnings to be taken seriously. They write to try and make sense of the world, to reveal and confront the new 'forces of evil', to warn of impending catastrophe, or to admonish. In all cases the traditional element of consolation is absent. I will be looking principally at texts by novelists Avoledo and Vassalli, with some reference to Capriolo, and poet, Giovanna Capucci.
Apocalyptic writings have a long history, and predictions of imminent end have continually had to be 'revised'. This paper will look at those Italian writers at the turn of the second millennium who have felt drawn to apocalyptic paradigms or discourse, who express fears, frustration, bewilderment and horror, in present or future settings. While it is true that today apocalyptic literature tends to be symbolic, poetic or abstract, rather than factual, writers using the form, I will claim, want their warnings to be taken seriously. They write to try and make sense of the world, to reveal and confront the new 'forces of evil', to warn of impending catastrophe, or to admonish. In all cases the traditional element of consolation is absent. I will be looking principally at texts by novelists Avoledo and Vassalli, with some reference to Capriolo, and poet, Giovanna Capucci.
