Agostinelli Virginia - Pasolinis Lasting Impressions: Death, Eros, and Literary Enterprise in the Opus of Pier Paolo Pasolini

FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Madison Teaneck

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Calabretta-Sajder, Ryan, editor.

Title: Pasolinis lasting impressions : death, eros, and literary enterprise in the opus of Pier Paolo Pasolini / edited by Ryan Calabretta-Sajder.

Description: Madison ; Teaneck : Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2017. | Series: The Fairleigh Dickinson University Press series in Italian studies

Identifiers: LCCN 2017045227 (print) | LCCN 2017047666 (ebook) | ISBN 9781683930198 (electronic) | ISBN 9781683930181 (cloth : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Pasolini, Pier Paolo, 1922-1975--Criticism and interpretation.

Classification: LCC PQ4835.A48 (ebook) | LCC PQ4835.A48 Z8375 2017 (print) | DDC 858/.91409--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017045227

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

I would like to dedicate this collection to William Van Watson (19592014), who was one of the groundbreaking Pasolini scholars in North America. At Pier Paolo Pasolinis funeral, Alberto Moravia stated the following:

Poi abbiamo perduto anche il simile. Cosa intendo per simile: intendo che lui ha fatto delle cose, si allineato nella nostra cultura, accanto ai nostri maggiori scrittori, ai nostri maggiori registi. In questo era simile, cio era un elemento prezioso di qualsiasi societ. (Alberto Moravia, Orazione di Moravia ai funerali di Pasolini, Corriere della sera, November 5, 1975)

Then we lost our counterpart. What do I intend for counterpart: I mean that he did things, he aligned himself with our culture, alongside our most noted writers, our greatest directors. In this he was our counterpart, therefore he was a precious element of any society.

Recalling Pasolinis nature as a poeta civile, this citation underscores the great loss to Italian society. As a Pasolini scholar who also had various other interests, Van Watsons contribution to the field of Italianistica was grand, and his imprint, like Pasolinis, will be everlasting.

Van Watson held a PhD in theater, with secondary areas in both film studies and Italian from the University of Texas, Austin. He devoted the early part of his scholarly career to Pasolini, in particular to his theatrical opus. He spent the larger portion of his career examining cinemamostly Italian, but his research even extended beyond the Mediterranean. As a true thespian in every aspect of his life, Van Watson inspired nearly three generations of students across various disciplines. Moreover, he introduced and utilized new theoretical approaches to Italian studies, including a variety of gender theories. Although Van Watson is no longer with us, he and his works will never be forgotten.

The publication of this collection never would have been possible without the assistance and support of several people. First and foremost, I would like to thank all of my collaborators. They are the fabric of the volume presented here. This experience has been a partnership, through which I have enriched my knowledge of Pier Paolo Pasolini and Italian culture, history, and politics. This collection provides a plethora of thought-provoking discussions founded on Pasolini studies and will initiate new theoretical directions in the field, attesting that even forty years after Pasolinis assassination, his opus continues to influence contemporary Italian culture.