What Sex Is Death? by Dario Bellezza

Dario Bellezza—Italy’s first openly gay, major prizewinning poet-novelist-playwright—was a bold, daring writer who energetically explored love, sexual transformation, and death. Bellezza embraced a variety of forms, from unabashed love-lyric to political narrative, and the fervor of his voice makes a compelling argument for his lasting importance as one of the most remarkable poets of the late twentieth century. Yet, until now, his work has never been available in English.

Award-winning translator Peter Covino offers a wide-ranging selection of representative poetry from Bellezza’s career. Influenced by Rimbaud, the Beats, and the growing European gay rights movements, his poetry remains innovative and timely. Ranging from stray cats in the graveyards of Rome, to the literal and metaphoric fallout from the Chernobyl disaster, to the joys and disappointments of random hookups, Bellezza’s dazzling visions will sparkle in readers’ eyes like sunspots long after they complete this magnificent volume.

"Dario Bellezza remains one of the essential Italian voices of the latter half of the twentieth century. Thanks to poet-translator Peter Covino's scrupulous yet daring versions, which are labors of both love and skill, American readers can now trace the arc of Bellezza's career, an aching, disruptive testament to 'this infected world.'"--Geoffrey Brock, judge, Wisconsin Prize for Poetry in Translation

"Groundbreaking. Covino introduces an English-speaking audience to Dario Bellezza's riveting work through a complex theoretical introduction, incisive selection, and nuanced translation. The volume emphasizes Bellezza's invaluable impact on the emergence of an Italian queer culture and contributes to the shaping of a transnational Italian queerness."--Caterina Romeo, Sapienza Università di Roma

"A carefully curated volume composed of more than seventy essential translations of Bellezza's poems. A prizewinning multivolume author of verse in his own right, Covino offers non-Italian readers a most adept and lyrical series of translations that seem, in themselves, original compositions."--Anthony Julian Tamburri, Calandra Italian American Institute

"Groundbreaking. . . . This new book does more than just unearth Bellezza's body of work, it re-introduces Bellezza as a vital queer literary figure to an international audience."-- "Accenti"

Paperback / 232 pages