Why did the author of "Cipollino" become famous first in the USSR and only then in his homeland: Communist storyteller Gianni Rodari

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In the Soviet Union, they loved him as their own - everyone, young and old. Both children and adults were read by Gianni Rodari's books, films were made and performances based on his fairy tales - at the very time when he was considered almost an enemy in his homeland. Italy will appreciate Rodari's legacy later, truly appreciate it, with all the warmth that the inhabitants of the Apennines are capable of. But on the territory of the former USSR, this writer, who glorified communist ideals, was not forgotten. Moreover, now it is published constantly, and "Cipollino" remains one of the most popular children's books.

Gianni Rodari's childhood and adolescence: poverty and war

Gianni Rodari's talent made his way not "thanks", but "in spite of", the circumstances in which he had to live seem too unsuitable for a children's writer. Rodari's early childhood, however, was quite happy. He was born in 1920 in the small Italian town of Omene in Piedmont, the son of a baker Giuseppe and his second wife Maddalena. In addition to Gianni - or Giovanni Francesco, as his full name sounds - there were two other boys in the family, Mario, the son of Giuseppe from his first marriage, and Cesare, the youngest.

A warm, friendly atmosphere reigned in the family, parents talked a lot with their sons, taught them music and drawing. But when Gianni was nine, his father died, leaving his wife practically without a livelihood. She was forced to work as a servant to feed the children, and sent the future writer to a Catholic seminary, where the boy could receive not only knowledge, but also food. Gianni Rodari, a weak, sickly boy from childhood, played a lot on the violin and read, dreamed of becoming an artist or making toys. In general, then he knew how to dream well, and somehow magically retained this ability in adulthood - for this, children and those who remember themselves as children will love him later.

For some time Rodari studied at the faculty of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. And besides, he taught in the lower grades of various schools. When World War II began, Rodari received an exemption from service due to poor health. In the biography of the writer, there are several years of membership in one of the organizations of the Italian fascist party. But during the war, his close friends died, brother Cesare ended up in a concentration camp, and in 1943 Gianni joined the Italian Resistance movement. The following year, he joined the Italian Communist Party, and remained faithful to its ideology until the end of his life.

Italian children's writer who became famous thanks to Soviet readers

In 1948, Gianni Rodari began working for the newspaper Unita, the official publication of the Italian Communist Party and one of the largest and most influential in the country. Rodari was entrusted with leading a children's section - despite the fact that as a teacher he did not grab stars from the sky and considered himself a mediocre teacher, he knew no equal in terms of his ability to captivate children, inspire, and cheer. Gradually, the first works of Rodari began to appear in this section. Then he worked as editor of the Italian magazine Pioneer, wrote for Paese Sera. In the early fifties, the first collection of poems by Gianni Rodari was published. But the communist writer in Italy at that time is not the same as the communist writer in the Soviet Union, and therefore the book "The Adventures of Cipollino", written in 1951, was met at home Rodari is pretty restrained.

But in the Soviet Union, the tale of the adventures of the onion boy and his struggle against the oppressors was accepted with a bang. The book was translated by Zlata Potapova, but the real success was ensured by her participation in the work of Samuil Marshak. Thanks to him, poetry and prose, translated from Italian, retained both humor and the original national flavor. In Italy almost no one knew Rodari, his books were burned publicly by the Catholic Church, and in the Soviet Union he was a favorite storyteller and a welcome guest. The first visit of the writer to Moscow took place already in 1952. In 1953 he got married, four years later his daughter Paola was born, who then came with her father to the USSR and was very happy seeing in the shop windows the books written by her father - at home for the time being, we could only dream of this.

"Cipollino" has remained one of the favorite fairy tales of Soviet children. In 1961, the cartoon of the same name was released, and in 1973, a feature film was shot, in which Gianni Rodari performed a cameo role. Even the ballet "Cipollino", created by the composer Karen Khachaturian, appeared.

Fantasies by Gianni Rodari

One after another, new fairy tales by Gianni Rodari were born, countless stories, poems in which he, without edification, without boring author's notations, told the children about how he himself would like to see the world, at the same time giving him the opportunity to connect his fantasy and come up with your own fairytale reality. In general, Rodari considered fantasy, the ability to invent and improvise, almost the most important child's talent, which must be cherished and developed. In 1973 he published his “Grammar of Fantasy. An introduction to the art of making up stories”, a book for parents and educators. She was devoted to this very issue - how to help open up the child's imagination, which often suffers from the excessive desire of adults to reduce everything to logical thinking.

Repeatedly coming to the USSR and visiting Soviet schools, Rodari was puzzled by how suppressed in children the desire to compose, fantasize, and how early and irrevocably manifested in them the desire to copy adults, respond with ready-made phrases, forbid themselves to deviate from templates.

Gianni Rodari visited not only Moscow, but also other Russian cities - Yaroslavl, Uglich, Krasnodar, he also visited the countries of the Eastern bloc. Recognition at home came in the second half of the 50s, the writer's poems and fairy tales began to be published, and he himself increasingly appeared on the radio and broadcast on television. In 1970, Rodari was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Prize, established by UNESCO and considered the most prestigious for children's writers.

The writer died in 1980 from complications after surgery. But the publication of new works by Rodari did not stop - it continues to this day. A huge number of manuscripts, sketches, drafts are still found by publishers and published.

Surprisingly, the writer is still perceived differently in different countries. For example, in England it will not be possible to buy a book with the works of Gianni Rodari. It is almost forgotten in many countries that were once closely associated with the USSR. But Russian children are still surrounded by the books of the Italian - not only those that were read and saved by their parents, but also those that are reprinted every year. Cipollino, The Blue Arrow Journey, The Planet of the Christmas Trees - and hundreds more, among which every child - or former child - has a favorite.

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