Italo CALVINO, Por qué leer los clásico

Llisterri i Boix, Anna

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Reviews Links & Lerters 2, 1995 99 Helen Vendler had advocated in their res- pective articles; he also stands for a more rational scheduling which does not turn students into passive Literature-devourers, but, rather, a systern which allows their rninds to form thernselves (precisely what Gregory Nagy claims in his article). At the same time. he strives to rnake it clear that these conditions should by no means involve a disconnection between Univer- sity and the real world, thus echoing Judith Shklar's article on the need to teach Political Theory to allow students to be able to think in an intelligent and cons- tructive way. Heterogeneity, controversy and denseness are, then, the most outstanding features which we will encounter in this book. But, even if this is true, we can also see how the articles coincide in oresent- ing exceedingly personal, non-patroni- sing views and approaches of teachers and lecturers who have also enjoyed a remark- able experience in the field of research. Even though we might argue that their views must be necessarily biased by what they have gone through in their class- roorns, it is no less true that this book should be acknowledged as nothing more (and nothing less) than a colleague's weil- rneant explanations of his or her own rnethods and their degree of success or " failure. In this sense, any professional, no rnatter whether he or she is experienced or still young, will be able to find a reflec- tion of some of hislher questions and dif- ficulties and, hopefüily, an answer to some of thern by rneans of an active process of readinp: which will also have a rernarkablv " strong component of self-introspection. After all, as T.S. Eliot once said, «It is Dro- bable that we can never be right; and if we can never be right, it is better that we frorn time to time change our way of being wrong». Núria Augé Departament de Filologia Anglesa i Gerrnanística Universitat Autbnoma de Barcelona ITALO CALVINO. Por qué Leer los Clásicos. Translated by Aurora Bernárdez. Barcelona: Tusquets, 1992. 278 pages. At first sight, it may seem strange to review the Soanish translation of an Italian book in an knglish Departrnent journal. This book, however, deserves inclusion here, not onlv because of the cornrnents on English autbors it contains, but because its therne is interesting to those interested in literature in general. As the " title rnakes clear, it focuses on literary clas- sics, a concept that has played an irnpor- tant role in literary theory and teaching and that is now being questioned. The fact that the author is a well-known writ- er of fiction, and one that has thought a lot about literatureand experirnented with it in his work, gives a special interest to his point of view and ideas about the topic. Por qué Leer los Chicos consists of more than thirty short essays written rnostly in the 70s and early 80s, although a few come frornl the 50s and GOs, first published in book forrn in 1991, after Calvino's death. This book puts together uieces on writers and books considered «classics», preceded by the title essay, an attempt to define yhat a classic is. It also includes an indexand a list of the books cornmented that are available in Spanish. Calvino does not offer one definition of a classic but fourteen. He explores the different asDects that determine our ascription of a work to this category. These definitions do not come frorn liter- ary history, but frorn a direct relationship between reader dnd text: «Tu clásico es aquel que no puedk serte ind@rente y que te siwepara definirte a ti mismo en relación y quizár en contraste con éh (p.17). So clas- sics are books -ancient and modern- not only read but re-read, that always offer something dew to the reader and at the same time are related -one way or 100 Links & Letters 2, 1995 Reviews another- to a cultural and literary tradi- tion. Since different books appeal to differ- ent people, there cannot be a universal canon, but each reader will rnake his or her own selection frorn different sources. This affects the role of school. the insti- tution in charge of transrnitting literary tradition. According to Calvino, litera- ture teaching is a sort of introduction, " providing elernents and tools for each per- son to elaborate his or her ideal library of classics. The books in this librarv. how- ,' ever, will not be read as a duty but for pleasure, and sornetirnes will be discover- ed auite bv chance. Most óf the book consists of essays about Calviino's ideal library, a series of books and writers that. because of the role they played throughout the author's life, are his classiics, regardless of their place in literary history. The selection ranges from works that everybody recognizes as major classics (sucli as Orkznab Furioso) to books that are not considered the rnost repre- sentative of farnous writers (in the case of Dickens. Cdvino comrnents about Our ~u tua l%end)  and to authors that are not so well known (like the Renaissance philosopher Gerolarno Cardano). It is a personal choice, eclectic, which does not atternpt to lprevail as a cannon and only offers the experience of a given person and momeint. Nevertheless. the works cornrnented are arranged chronologically, as in a history of Western literature start- ing with the Odyssty and ending with the twentieth century. Although Calvino is well known as a writer, the point of view in these essays is that of a sensitive and intelligent rea- U der, who eiijoys reading and thinking what the artist has to say about hurnan beings and their world. Perhaps the most personal exaimple of this approach is the essay ~Eugenio Monale, "Forse un mat- tino andando")), on a single poern. It starts with a reflection on Calvino learning poetry by hleart, and on the changes his rnemory has rnade on Montale's poern, which takes him into more general corn- rnents on the writer and the question of perception of reality. Even when Calvino is not so person- al, he is well aware of readers' position and needs. Many of the essays are intro- ductions of the texts discussed for the benefit of new readers, in which Calvino takes the role of a more ex~erienced read- er giving hints on more interesting and enjoyable aspects. The effect is that the readers of the essays get involved in thern and consider the works comrnented attractive (even if apriori they don't seern SO) because they are presented as sorne- thing one can interact with and enjoy thinking about. Instead of giving expli- cit reasons to read the classics. the author shows what they can offer us. Another technique that rnakes Calvino's classics more accessible to the non-ex~erienced reader is to place them in a more familiar context. So the Anabasis is related to the Second World War docurnentaries and rnernories, thus making the literary and ethical issues discussed more relevant to rnodern readers. In fact, Calvino hardly ever deals with a text in isolation; accord- ing to his view of the classics as a conti- nuum, he alwavs relates different works in order to comment on thern better. For exarnple, introducing Conrad in terms of (which authors should share a library shelf with hirn)). In other cases, the context is ~rovided bv different readers: Calvino often refers to other writers and critics to make his ~ o i n t  clear or, as in «Las Odiseas en la Odisea,)) to show different aspects of a work. None of these readings is the U reading, though: as each reader chooses his or her classics, he or she decides on reading- relationships between books. The author is sharing his preferences, not imposing thern. In spite of the general tone of intro- duction, the essays are not hornogeneous. There are differences in length, scope and Reviews Links & Letters 2, 1995 101 style, ranging from short introductory notes to more academic discussions. As this rnay be related to different origins, some more inforrnation on the essays' first contexts could have been usehl to read- ers curious about their original aims, or interested in Calvino's career as a whole. Such information, however, is not ne- cessary to enjoy the book. In fact, after reading it some readers may feel like turning to one of the books discussed, or going back to the classics thev have read with a new interest. Even thoLgh the interest of individual essays may vary depending on the reader's back- ground and tastes, the general aims and the ideas expressed in the title essay are comuletelv valid. Calvino reminds us that in &e encí the only reason for reading the classics is that it is better than not reading them (p. 20) and that books important to us are not read for obligation, but for pleasure. And this is sornething both stu- dents and teachers of literature should always remember. Anna Llisterri i Boix Universitat Autbnoma de Barcelona ITALO CALVINO, Seis Propuestas Para el Próximo Milenio. Madrid:  Siruela, 1989. 138 pages. Italo Calvino's Six Memosfor the Next Millenium is a posthumous collection of lectures that should have been delivered at Harvard University, but could not because of the author's death. These six memos stand for the literary values that Calvino proposes to save and encourage in the future. If these requirernents were ful- filled, the hnction of literature could be said to be entirely existential; in other words, it would establish a real and mean- inghl communication, discarding purely rhetorical works. Literature would bring poetry, science, aBd philosophy together, encouraging an escape from the world of the individual self. We would in ter~re t  literature as a way to save language from the present day qdisease)), the world of visual technolo that is making it lose iits cognitive strength and quickness. Literature would be understood as a means to shape life. The mernos are on: lightness, quick- ness, exactitude,visibility, multiplicity and consistency. They correspond to the different chauters in the book. Calvino I puts fonvard Lightness as the way of look- ing at life that writers should aim at if they are to fight against the heaviness that we see in the present world. Here, Calvino insists on the fact that he is not proposing an escape from reality, but an approach to the borld from a different uoint of referenc a . with other methods of Lnowledge based 60th on philosophy and science. Next, Quickness basically refers to both economy and precision in lan- guage. Quickness can also be read as the result of the balahce between concentra- tion and craftsmdnship on the one hand, and rnobility and ease on the other. In a similar way, the need for exactitude in the organization of literary works, the choice of language and images and their inte- lligent use so that their inherent referen- tia1 power is preserved and exploited to the maximum. In the next memo, on Visibilitv. he en'hances the creation of , - valid, new imagks. Multiplicity is con- cerned with the fact of looking at the novel as an encyclopedia that interweaves various kinds of knowledge and codes into a ulural vision of the world.  avino put$ fonvard an optimistic outlook on the duture of literature. and his ambitious proposal could, in this sense. be easilv rnistaken for a romantic attempt, had the book not been written in such a rational and intelligent way. The names given to tk rnemos already point at the bright side of life. Besides, the book itself is a good e X ample of the values the 

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