Abstract/Summary

Michele Prisco (1920-2003) has been removed from the twentieth century literary canon for many years. The reception of his work was affected at first by the left wing hegemony in Italian culture from the mid 1940’s to the mid 1950’s, and later in the 1960’s by the New Avant-Garde. I intend to cast a light on a few key moments of his initial literary output and in particular his interpretation of the “myth of Naples”, a fascinating and at the same time repulsive theme for him. By analysing a specific part of Prisco’s extensive unpublished epistolary (1939-1962) and examining the political, editorial and cultural context in which he wrote his novels and short stories, I aim to contribute to his revival and provide a better understanding of a crucial period in Italian editorial and cultural history. I have focused on four main correspondents: Marino Moretti (1885-1979), a reference for the young Prisco; Gino Montesanto (1922-2009), a writer he was very close to; Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989), an expert of Southern Italy fiction and historical narrative; Carlo Cassola (1917-1987), an author with whom Prisco discussed the fundamentals of the contemporary novel. Each of them offers a new point of view on the role of Naples in Prisco’s writing and proves once again how essential, intriguing and boundless this cultural area of interest was in the last century.