I nomi di uno sconosciuto: sui “Diari” di Antonio Delfini

Abstract

Antonio Delfini (1907-1963), regarded as a minor writer, «unknown» according to his own ironic definition, was the author of prose works, short stories, articles, essays, even of a Manifesto per un partito conservatore e comunista and, not least, of some papers partially published in 1982 by Giovanna Delfini and Natalia Ginzburg under the title of Diari (1927-1961). In such a fragmented, elusive production, proper names play an important role. Pseudonyms, paronomasia, grotesque creations, and other kinds of onomastic effects are employed, especially in the diaries, in different and sometimes surprising ways.