Giancarlo Pontiggia on Poetry, Education, and Strega Prize Nomination

Giancarlo Pontiggia, a Milanese poet born in 1952, discusses his new collection 'La materia del contendere' (Garzanti, 2025), published eight years after his previous work 'Il moto delle cose' (Mondadori, 2017). The book, a finalist for the 2025 Strega Poetry Prize, is compiled from notes, journal publications, and scattered fragments rather than conceived as a unified volume. Pontiggia, who taught Latin and Italian literature in high schools and contributed to textbooks, reflects on the influence of classical authors (Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Tacitus, Ammianus Marcellinus) and modern thinkers (Rosario Assunto, Gaston Bachelard, Cesare Pavese) on his poetry. He criticizes the decline of Western education, citing Milan Kundera, Federico Fellini, and George Steiner, and argues that schools must restore formative value before poetry can thrive. Pontiggia's poetic process emphasizes a 'austere heart' and rigorous linguistic work, blending materiality with the spiritual. His previous collections include 'Con parole remote' (Guanda, 1998; reissued Vallecchi, 2024), 'Bosco del tempo' (Guanda, 2005), and theatrical works 'Stazioni' (Nem, 2010) and 'Ades. Tetralogia del sottosuolo' (Neos, 2017). He also translates from French and classical languages.