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A Test of Powers
Writings on Criticism and Literary Institutions
Series: The Italian List
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Brief Description
Originally published in Italian in 1965, A Test of Powers was immediately seen as one of the central texts of Italian intellectual life. By the time of the 1968 student revolts, it was clear that Franco Fortini had anticipated many of the themes and concerns of...
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Description
Originally published in Italian in 1965, A Test of Powers was immediately seen as one of the central texts of Italian intellectual life.
By the time of the 1968 student revolts, it was clear that Franco Fortini had anticipated many of the themes and concerns of the New Left. This is no surprise, given that Fortini had spent more than two decades immersed in fierce ideological debates over anti-Fascism, organizing, and the alliance between progressivism and literature. These topics found their way into A Test of Powers.
In addition to politically focused essays, the book also features essays on a range of writers who influenced Fortini, including Kafka, Pasternak, Eric Auerbach, Proust, and Brecht.
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Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781803095950
Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 05 November 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Seagull Books London Ltd
Contributors:
- Translated by Alberto Toscano
Audience: General / adult, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 30.0mm
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 680g
Pages: 468
About the Author
Franco Fortini (1917–94) was a poet, essayist, literary critic, Marxist intellectual, and translator of Brecht, Goethe, and Kafka, among others. He is the author of The Dogs of Sinai, also published by Seagull Books. Alberto Toscano teaches at the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. He is the author of Fanaticism and Late Fascism and coeditor of The SAGE Handbook of Marxism.
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