Lorenzo Calogero: The Rediscovered Poet Who Died in Obscurity

Lorenzo Calogero (1910-1961), a poet from Melicuccà, Reggio Calabria, is being rediscovered posthumously. Born to Michelangelo and Giuseppa Cardone, he studied engineering then medicine in Naples, suffering from pathophobia. His hermetic poetry, influenced by Leopardi, Pascoli, and Ungaretti, was self-published in 1936 as "Poco suono." After graduating, he practiced medicine in his hometown but struggled with mental illness, attempting suicide in 1942. He sent manuscripts to publishers including Einaudi without success. In 1955, he contacted Leonardo Sinisgalli, who became a supporter and called his verses "arabesques." His mother's death led to a nervous breakdown; he was hospitalized at Villa Nuccia in Gagliano, Catanzaro, where he slit his wrists. In 1957, Sinisgalli published his poems in La Fiera Letteraria, winning the Premio Villa San Giovanni. After failed attempts to find a publisher, he retreated to Melicuccà and was found dead in 1961 with a note asking not to be buried alive. Posthumously, L'Europa Letteraria published his work with an introduction by Giancarlo Vigorelli, who compared him to Campana and Artaud. A website dedicated to him features a video of Roberto Herlitzka reading his poems within Nino Cannatà's "Città fantastica," performed at Teatro Belli in Rome on November 16, 2011, with Herlitzka and Lydia Mancinelli.