Giacomo Leopardi

John Gordon Nichols

Trapped between an admiration for the classical past and a disappointment in the impoverished present, Leopardi rejected both the easy allure of Catholic faith and the unbridled optimism proposed by science and the Enlightment. In his world view, all that we love and value is illusion, the truth existing deep in our minds and souls as poignant memories, unrequited passion and stoical acceptance of nature's bleak elementals.

Canti

Dante Alighieri

Gustave Doré

A new verse translation by acclaimed prize-winning translator J.G. Nichols, with Gustav Doré's iconic illustrations Dante's dramatic journey down the circles of Hell, up the mountain of Purgatory, and through the spheres of Heaven in search of redemption—and his encounter with devils, monsters, and the souls of sinners and saints—is one of the cornerstones of Western literature, the summit of medieval thinking, and arguably the highest poetic achievement of all time.

The Divine Comedy

Gabriele D'Annunzio

This carefully organized sequence of 88 lyrics is a diary of a summer spent in Tuscany—part of the time spent with the Italian actress Eleanora Duse. The poems evoke specific times and places and they conjure up emotions, memories, and myths associated with each place. Beginning in early summer, they move through the seasons, changing in verse form and mood, and always reflecting the sensuous qualities of language.

John Gordon Nichols

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