A poet

Gianni Rodari is an author dear to adults and children. Born in Omegna (NO) in 1920, he is a shy child who soon encounters pain.
At the age of 10 his father dies and his mother makes him enter the seminary. It's not really his path and he enrolls in master's courses, where he always proves to be at the top of the class. He joined Catholic Action at a very young age where he rose to responsible positions. His passion for writing led him to make his debut in the literary world at just 16 years old with short stories for the AC magazine. Having graduated as an elementary school teacher, he first became a tutor in Sesto Calende for a family of German Jewish exiles. To survive, he joined the fascist party and in 1943 he was called up to arms by the Republic of Salò. The death of his best friends in the war and the imprisonment of his brother Cesare in a German concentration camp lead him to throw away his uniform and join the Resistance.

After the war, he began his career as a journalist, with the direction of the newspaper Ordine Nuovo, founded by Antonio Gramsci, in 1947 he moved to Unità. i> In 1949 he began to address the younger audience with the column La Domenica dei bambini, he published the book La Freccia Azzurra, which was followed by Filastrocche in cielo e on earth, and the collection Fables on the telephone: «As you travel near and far, wherever you are, remember what your heart knows: fairy tales can always become reality!». He died still young, in 1980. His life was all about talking to the little ones to remind the adults of the true values that everyone can live, because «In our hearts we all have a knight full of courage, ready to always get back on the road».


Annamaria Gobbato
NP January 2024