The Poet and the Dictator: Lauro De Bosis Resists Fascism in Italy and America

by Mudge, Jean McClure

• ISBN13: 9780275969646
• ISBN10: 0275969649
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-05-30
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group

Summary

This vivid biography is a study of the life and times of the Italian poet-activist, Lauro de Bosis. Remarkably productive as a poet, cultural diplomat, and political subversive, de Bosis founded and lead an underground resistance group, the National Alliance for Liberty. His actions culminated in a dramatic solo flight over Rome in October 1931, showering the city with protest leaflets against the Fascist dictatorship before plunging to his death. This feat brought world attention to the existence of anti-Fascism, much to Mussolini's chagrin and rage. De Bosis's story, told against the backdrop of Rome's politics in the 1920s, is at once personal, national, and international. World figures --- from Mussolini, Croce, Ezra Pound, to Walter Lippmann, Thornton Wilder, and his lover, the actress Ruth Draper --- were all within de Bosis's compass. Gifted, quirky, original, and impulsive but principled to the point of giving up both personal love and family for his cause, his life shows how Mussolini's regime systematically cleared out the cream of Italy's young liberal intellectuals. Based on previously untapped archival resources, this is the first biography of a young, gifted Italian poet who dared to challenge the power of a totalitarian state with his practical idealism and fierce determination to protect Italy's fragile democracy from il Duce.

Author Biography

JEAN MUDGE is an independent scholar and documentary film maker. This is her fourth book.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	xi
Preface	xiii
Stories Behind the ``Story''	1	(8)
Growing Up to Encounter Mussolini 1901-1923	9	(16)
Family Reactions to Mussolini 1922-1924	25	(16)
Mussolini Seen from America 1924-1926	41	(16)
Ducismo and ``Icaro'' in Rome 1926-1928	57	(16)
Fighting Fascism in New York 1928-1930	73	(20)
Leader of the National Alliance 1930	93	(18)
In Exile Awaiting the Trial, December 1930	111	(16)
A New Offensive from Paris and London 1930-1931	127	(18)
Preparations and Flight, July-October 1931	145	(18)
Romantic Pragmatist	163	(18)
Appendix A: ``The Story of My Death'' (Lauro de Bosis 2 October 1931)	181	(8)
Appendix B: Lauro de Bosis, Chronology and List of Publications	189	(2)
Appendix C: Abbreviations of Archival Sources and Names	191	(2)
Bibliographical Notes	193	(2)
Selected Bibliography	195	(2)
Index	197