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Guide to the Resource Centre

Hubristic implications included, building a web site on Gadda is arguably no less of a challenge than the one undertaken by Arachne. The hope is, it will not prove to be as foolish. As webs go, this is, nonetheless, as intricate as they can get. While the structure of this site may reflect the legendary complexity of Gadda’s world, it is of course intended as a clarification of its many strands. It remains the privilege of the user to decide whether this avoids the pitfalls of oversimplification, or the even worse charge of adding further layers of obscurity.

But let’s get spinning right away.

The Resource Centre opens with a section Introducing Gadda to the complete novice, providing a short profile of the author.

From this, ideally, one should move to the Companion section, where 33 guided walks will explore most of the themes that run through Gadda’s work and life. They can be done in any order, although there is a progression of some kind in the way in which they are assembled. Some of them connect to further walks, digging deeper into Gadda’s defences. Links and a further readings card are included at the end of each walk, leading up to other parts of the site that expand or illustrate the theme.

A rather generous anthology follows, made possible by the kindness of Garzanti. Divided into two sections, Fiction and Essays, it is an ample and substantial gallery of the best of Gadda. Some of the most beautiful writing in Italian is to be found here, and it should give weight to the claim that Gadda has given us the best ever pages in the language.

To help place Gadda in context, an ever expanding Archive of useful articles by leading scholars has been included, with links reaching back to it from all corners of the site.

Gadda’s supreme, unparalleled mastery of the many styles and dialects of Italian makes his works notoriously difficult to translate. While a true appreciation of the linguistic delights of this great wordsmith may be evinced only in the original, brave attempts have been made to render his peculiar world in many languages. An English section offers some samples of a Saxonised Gadda, as well as the secondary texts in English available within the site. Our ever-expanding BabelGadda section includes French, German and Spanish texts by and on Gadda.

The relative paucity of University options on Gadda in the English-speaking world may be a reflection of the considerations above. Some course material suitable for both undergraduate and graduate study is presented here. That students find Gadda rewarding and stimulating is apparent from the essays to be found in the Student Portfolio – surely the best indication that, contrary to current opinion, Gadda can be successfully taught.

There is also a Reviews section that will eventually contain both classic and modern dissections on Gadda and Gaddists.

To search the site for a specific query, you may use the Edinburgh University Search Engine. If you only need to look up the title or author of a file, you could use the site index.

Finally, the same abbreviations & author-date reference system are used throughout the site. The extensive Primary Bibliography & Secondary Bibliography provide full publication details.

Federica G. Pedriali

proceed to Introducing Gadda