23
What kinship did Silone: Interview with Grimaldi, “Alcune domande a un francotiratore del socialismo.”
23
“quite ordinary, simple”: “In Celestine’s Footsteps,” in The Story of a Humble Christian, p. 17.
23
“glimpsed the possibility”: The encounter is described ibid., pp. 18–9. The South African veteran and author was Uys Krige and his book is The Way Out (Cape Town: Maskew Miller, 1955).
23
“everything that I may have written”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 64.
24
Twenty years later: Diocleziano Giardini recounted this story to me as we warmed ourselves by the annual St. Anthony’s bonfire in Pescina, January 2007.
24
“When I came from Rome”: The Seed Benath the Snow, p. 726.
24
“made up of a hundred”: “Simplicio,” in Mr. Aristotle (English translation of Viaggio a Parigi), p. 93.
24
“the ruins of an ancient castle”: “Visit to a Prisoner,” in Emergency Exit, pp. 2–3.
25
“I drank that water”: Silone to Gabriella Seidenfeld, July 29, no year, Archivio Franca Magnani Schiavetti; quoted in Biocca, Silone. La doppia vita di un italiano, p. 18.
25
“of a singular beauty”: Ferdinand Gregorovius, preface to Bindi, Monumenti storici e artistici degli Abruzzi; quoted by Silone in “La terra e la gente,” in ISRS, vol. 2, p. 1390.
25
Needless to say: “La terra e la gente,” p. 1391.
26
“as sour as lemon juice”: Foreword to Fontamara, p. 9.
26
“Just because you are from somewhere”: Quoted in Judt, The Burden of Responsibility, p. 97.
26
“I had never seen it”: “Visit to a Prisoner,” p. 4.
27
“some good and some less good”: Giardini, Scorre la vita, pp. 76–79.
27
In a 1937 letter: ISRS, vol. 1, pp. 1375–76.
28
“its only illustrious sons”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 64.
29
“I was born in 1900”: Quoted in Castagnola Rossini, Incontri di spiriti liberi, p. 30.
30
(Yet as the town historian Diocleziano Giardini): See the parochial archive of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Pescina, Liber Baptizorum, act no. 85, 2 May 1900, in Giardini, Ignazio Silone: Cronologia, pp. 7, 133n1.
30
“I remember the combination”: Partisan Review, February 1938; translated and reprinted as “Un ricordo d’infanzia,” in ISRS, vol. 1, pp. 1379–80.
30
In an interview: Origo, A Need to Testify, pp. 92–93.
31
One summer evening: Howe, A Margin of Hope, p. 1.
31
“there were three great events”: Castagnola Rossini, Incontri, pp. 30–31.
31
“Look how funny he is!”: “Visita al carcere,” from Uscita di sicurezza; reprinted in ISRS, vol. 2, p. 751.
31
“the most restless”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 52.
32
As Silone himself admitted: “Some Facts of My Life,” Twice a Year, Autumn–Winter 1938; reprinted in ISRS, vol. 1, p. 1383.
33
“In school”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 62.
33
“Many babies died”: Bread and Wine, p. 256.
34
“My memories of childhood”: “Dati di una vita,” in Craxi, Ignazio Silone. La via della verità, p. 28. Not all was unrelieved misery. In a letter to Nicola Chiaromonte in 1956 from the seaside town of Pescara, Silone nostalgically recalled how his family had visited the Adriatic town in 1909, a vacation impossible to imagine for most of Pescina’s peasants. Nicola Chiaromonte Papers, Gen. Mss. 113, box 3, folder 77.
34
The novelist Ferdinando Camon: The Fifth Estate, trans. John Shepley (Marlboro, VT: Marlboro Press, 1987); Life Everlasting, trans. John Shepley (Marlboro, VT: Marlboro Press, 1987); and Memorial, trans. David Calicchio (Marlboro, VT: Marlboro Press, 1983).
34
“it was not a very stimulating”: “Parliamo di me,” in Il Resto di Carlino, January 18, 1963; reprinted in ISRS, vol. 2, p. 1255.
35
“But the most interesting”: Castagnola Rossini, Incontri, p. 31.
35
“its own laws”: Bread and Wine, p. 253.
35
peasants all over the world: Foreword to Fontamara, pp. 5–6.
35
“At the head of everything”: Fontamara, pp. 26, 36.
36
“peasants go caroling”: Foreword to Fontamara, pp. 11, 12.
36
“intimate contact with”: “Le idee che sostengo,” in ISRS, pp. 1388–90.
37
“I am proud”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 85.
37
“those traits of generosity”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 85.
38
It left an indelible impression: “Parliamo di me,” p. 1256.
38
“An imbalance”: “La narrativa e il sottosuolo meridionale,” Quaderni di prospettive meridionali, January 1956; reprinted in ISRS, vol. 2, pp. 1369–80.
38
“the work that today”: Ibid.
39
“creative vision sprang”: McDonald, “Il caso Silone,” p. 77.
39
An incident from childhood: Uscita di sicurezza, in ISRS, vol. 2, pp. 806–808.
40
“When the earthquake”: The Seed Beneath the Snow, p. 741.
41
“All of a sudden”: “Quand Silone raconte sa vie,” interview with Paul Guth in Le Figaro Littéraire, January 29, 1955.
42
A pathetic letter: Reprinted in its entirety in Giardini, Ignazio Silone: Cronologia della vita e delle opere, pp. 137–39.
43
“Any unlucky person”: Uscita di sicurezza, p. 814.
43
“In an earthquake”: Ibid., pp. 817–18.
45
a half century later: “Una piazza è una piazza,” speech given at the conference “Incontro con l’architettura,” March 26, 1962; reprinted in ISRS, vol. 2, p. 1383.
45
“must have been surprised”: “Encounter with a Strange Priest,” in Emergency Exit, p. 16.
46
Silone was astonished: “What Remains,” in The Story of a Humble Christian, pp. 30–31.
46
“Try to encourage vice”: “Ecco perché mi distaccai dalla Chiesa,” in La Discussione; reprinted in ISRS, vol. 2, pp. 1266–71.
46
“How could one remain?”: “What Remains,” in The Story of a Humble Christian, pp. 30–31.
46
“was the object”: A Handful of Blackberries, p. 84.
48
“how fond these”: Hyde, God’s Bandit, p. 81.
48
The train ride: “Encounter with a Strange Priest,” pp. 15–30, and “Restare se stessi,” pp. 1261–66.
49
the seminary’s “donkey”: Hyde, God’s Bandit, p. 26.
49
“better an asino di cartone”: Magnani, Una famiglia italiana, pp. 152–53. Magnani’s mother brought the news of Silone’s arrest to the family by saying “hanno arrestato cavallo di cartone,” p. 177.
49
“the goodness and clear-sightedness”: “Encounter with a Strange Priest,” pp. 26, 29–30.
50
“Certain things that he told me”: “Restare se stessi,” p. 1266.
50
“I would prefer to remain”: Quoted in Flavio Peloso, “Don Orione, lo ‘strano prete,’ e i fratelli Secondino e Romolo Tranquilli,” in Silone and Bagnoli, Per Ignazio Silone, p. 121.
50
“It’s been so long”: Ibid.
50
> Silone’s portrait: Ignazio Silone, “A costo di essere frainteso,” Vogue, 1949; quoted ibid., p. 119.
51
“I have a great fear of myself”: Ibid., p. 122.
51
“fountains of science”: Quoted in ISRS, vol. 2, p. xlvi.
52
“Father, my health”: Silone to Don Orione, July 29, 1918, in the Archivio Don Orione; quoted in Peloso, “Don Orione,” pp. 125–26.
52
“the strategist of charity”: Pronzato, Il folle di Dio.
53
“Lenin. I have met.”: Hyde, God’s Bandit, p. 121.
53
“The motive for the paradoxical paragon”: Ignazio Silone to Don Paolo Bidone, September 15, 1957, in the Archivio Don Orione; quoted in Peloso, “Don Orione,” p. 129.
53
“was a natural demagogue”: Hyde, God’s Bandit, p. 122.
53
The “strange priest”: Ibid., 90–91. Silone, having read the book, sent Paolo Bidone a letter correcting four minor mistakes but not denying this episode. See Peloso, “Don Orione,” p. 129n46.
53
Orione had a special desire: Hyde, God’s Bandit, p. 77.
54
“if Christ had not”: Ibid., p. 120.
54
“It is not among the palm trees”: Ibid.
55
“It’s not true! I bring the bread”: Quoted in Peloso, “Don Orione,” p. 132.
55
“Romolo was not a wicked boy”: Ibid., p. 133.
55
On the sixth anniversary: Ibid., pp. 134–35.
56
“I’m sorry because”: Ibid., p. 136.
57
Pomponio Tranquilli recalled: Ibid., p. 138.
57
“removing him from the malevolent influence”: Silone’s “malevolent influence” was from the perspective of Don Orione, not Romolo; quoted ibid., p. 139n76.
57
“I’m in trouble”: Antonio Ruggeri, Don Orione, p. 61.
57
“It would be incorrect to conclude”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 55.
TWO THE CHOICE OF COMPANIONS
58
“A good Christian”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 59.
58
“In my rebellion”: Ibid., pp. 63–64.
59
drowning out the voices of the speakers: La Discussione, October 31, 1965; reprinted in ISRS, vol. 2, p. 1268.
59
At the local school: Ibid., p. 1270.
61
“The women went to church”: “Polikushka,” in Emergency Exit, p. 31.
62
“ ‘What do we do now?’ ”: Uscita di sicurezza, pp. 816–17.
63
“The Great War”: “The Choice of Companions,” in Emergency Exit, p. 112.
63
“During my youth”: Paul Guth, “Quand Silone raconte sa vie,” Le Figaro Littéraire, January 29, 1955, pp. 1–4.
64
“The companions I preferred”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 48.
64
“That which defined”: The Italian word compagni can be translated as “comrades” or “companions.” “La scelta dei compagni,” in Uscita di sicurezza, now in ISRS, pp. 883–84.
64
“a profound change”: “The Choice of Companions,” p. 119.
64
“Even in the best books”: “Alcuni fatti della mia vita,” in ISRS, vol. 1, p. 1384.
65
He once asserted: “Parliamo di me,” p. 1259.
65
“I felt strangely attracted”: “Polikushka,” pp. 32, 34.
65
“I left at night”: “The Painful Return,” in Emergency Exit, p. 145.
65
On his leaving Pescina: The scene is recounted in Quinzio, La speranza nell’apo-calisse, p. 119. Quinzio contributed to Tempo Presente, the journal edited by Silone and Nicola Chiaromonte, for twelve years (1956–68) and Quinzio and Silone often spoke of Silone’s life in Pescina.
65
“a sort of flight”: “Emergency Exit,” pp. 64–65.
66
“Those were times when”: Uscita di sicurezza, p. 824.
67
the Church of Sant’Anna: The tale is told by Don Gaetano Piccinini in Ruggeri, Don Orione, and recounted in Gurgo and de Core, Silone, pp. 39–40. Darina confirms the episode in her Colloqui, pp. 91–92.
68
Silone was not alone: Gurgo and de Core, Silone, pp. 37–38.
69
Three points in particular: De Grand, The Italian Left in the Twentieth Century, p. 41.
70
Even an innocuous motion: Gurgo and de Core, Silone, p. 44.
70
Antonio Gramsci did not: Ibid., p. 45.
71
So began his clandestine career: Silone’s intellectual contribution to the PCI can be traced through the nearly three dozen essays he wrote for the PCI, now collected in Gasbarrini and Gentile, Ignazio Silone. Comunista.
71
“living like a foreigner”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 66.
71
A half century after: “La valigia di Terracini,” interview with Marco Cesarini, Il Mondo, January 24, 1971.
71
“there were no hotels”: Interview on Antenne 2, quoted in Gurgo and de Core, Silone, pp. 50–51.
71
“The first time I saw him”: Interview with Alfredo Todisco, Corriere della Sera, April 22, 1970, p. 3; quoted ibid., p. 48.
72
“bureaucratic involution”: Ignazio Silone, “Lenin: le idee e la realtà,” Panorama, April 23, 1970.
72
Silone refused to be cowed: Gasbarrini and Gentile, Ignazio Silone. Comunista, p. i. To his credit, Paolo Spriano, in his monumental Storia del partito comunista italiano, vol. 1, p. 267, recognized Silone’s important role in the history of the party, even quoting from Silone’s Uscita di sicurezza.
72
“even in truly exceptional”: “Emergency Exit,” p. 68.
73
“It’s true that we”: Quoted in Gasbarrini and Gentile, Ignazio Silone. Comunista, p. xl.
73
“Every little thing”: Camilla Ravera interview with Daniella Ambrosino, reproduced in Gasbarrini and Gentile, Ignazio Silone: Tra l’Abruzzo e il mondo, pp. 275–76.
74
“I knew him well”: Silone with Enzo Biagi, quoted in de Core and Gurgo, Silone, un alfabeto, pp. 71–72.
74
“fundamental ambiguity”: Ignazio Silone, “Agenda,” Tempo Presente, January 1958.
74
“stripping Gramsci”: “Antonio Gramsci,” Tempo Presente, February 1958; reprinted in ISRS, vol. 2, p. 1313.
75
“understood him very”: Gasbarrini and Gentile, Ignazio Silone: Tra l’Abruzzo e il mondo, pp. 275–76.
75
Gabriella Seidenfeld, one of three sisters: For biographical material on Gabriella Seidenfeld, I rely here on her unpublished memoir, “Le tre sorelle” (The Three Sisters), and I thank Elizabeth Leake for making it available to me.
76
“He was a solitary”: Ibid., p. 5.
76
“I wish I could”: Quoted in Biocca, Silone, p. 88.
76
“It was a very agitated time”: Seidenfeld, “Le tre sorelle,” p. 6.
76
Vanni Buscemi: On Buscemi and his many guises, including Fascist spy, see Ottanelli, “Fascist Informant and Italian American Labor Leader,” pp. 104–16.
77
Put on a train to Barcelona: Origo, A Need to Testify, p. 205.
78
Improbable as it may seem: “Primo incontro con Dostoievski,” La Fiera Letteraria, March 4, 1956; reprinted in ISRS, vol. 2, pp. 1244–46.
79
“You’ll see”: Seidenfeld, “Le tre sorelle,” p. 10.
79
&
nbsp; To avoid detection: Ibid.
80
“What I want”: Quoted in Colloqui, pp. 117–18.
80
Most damaging: See Spriano, Storia del partito comunista italiano, vol. 2, pp. 119–20.
81
“I’ve just realized”: January 13, 1928, Collezione Franca Magnani Schiavetti, quoted in Biocca, “Ignazio Silone e la polizia politica,” p. 78.
81
When Tresso was expelled: Seidenfeld, “Le tre sorelle,” p. 22.
82
“In the party you”: Ibid.
82
an evening twenty-three years earlier: “Emergency Exit,” pp. 41–47.
83
He was only a child: Ibid., pp. 47–48.
83
“When you grow up”: Ibid., p. 48. The Harvard University political scientist Edward Banfield, struck by this ancient piece of “peasant wisdom,” crafted an entire theory of “amoral familism” from it. “Act only for the immediate short-term interest of the family, and assume all others will do likewise.” Banfield argued that this accounted for the political and economic failure of the Italian south, confusing cause and effect. Banfield, The Moral Basis of a Backward Society. See a critique in Silverman, “Agricultural Organization, Social Structure, and Values in Italy” and Three Bells of Civilization.
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