Since Manzoni began to write I promessi sposi (The Betrothed) in 1821, the novel has acquired almost biblical status in Italy. Required reading in school, to the despair of many students, and copiously annotated by some of the country’s great philologists and literary scholars, the novel has acquired a thick crust of erudition and reverence that obscure its best qualities. Manzoni states it quite simply in his introduction, “It was as a story, although the reader might disagree, that I found beautiful, quite beautiful.”
Michael F. Moore, in conversation with Michael Subialka, will discuss how his new translation of The Betrothed into modern American English restores the popular appeal of the novel. Using illustrations from the original 1840-42 edition and excerpts from his own translation, he will highlight how Manzoni’s constant interjections, hybrid style, and compelling storytelling make him a thoroughly modern writer.
Michael F. Moore has recently completed a multi-year project of translating the great Italian novel, The Betrothed, by Alessandro Manzoni, into American English (NY: Modern Library, 2022). His published translations range across genres, from modern classics to contemporary fiction and non-fiction, including, most recently: The Drowned and the Saved, by Primo Levi; Agostino, by Alberto Moravia; Quiet Chaos, by Sandro Veronesi; and Live Bait, by Fabio Genovesi. He is currently working on a new translation of Moravia’s short story collection, Rome Tales.
Michael Subialka is Associate Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Davis. In addition to his research on Italian modernism and his recent book, Modernist Idealism: Ambivalent Legacies of German Philosophy in Italian Literature, he is an active translator, having co-translated Luigi Malerba’s novel Fantasmi romani as Roman Ghosts and now working as the co-editor of a digital translation project, Stories for a Year (https://www.pirandellointranslation.org/), which is publishing the first complete English-language translation of Luigi Pirandello’s Novelle per un anno.
This event is organized in collaboration with the network of Italian Cultural Institutes of North America. With a contribution of the Leonardo da Vinci Society San Francisco.
Free Admission | Registration required
Doors open at 6 PM
