The Modern Novel

Biography

Pier Vittorio Tondelli was born in Correggio in 1955. As a child, he spent a lot of time in the local library and started writing in his teens. He attended the University of Bologna, enrolling in the arts faculty and getting involved in cinema and theatre. He attended classes given by Umberto Eco and Gianni Celati. He then wrote his first novel which he submitted to the publisher Feltrinelli. He described it as » un inventario dei desideri di una persona di diciotto-diciannove anni, con tutto ciò che può esserci in una vita di provincia. [It’s an inventory of the desires of eighteen-nineteen year old, with all that that can mean for someone growing up in the provinces.] At this time he was also more and more getting involved in left-wing politics and Far Eastern religions. His first work – Altri libertini [Other Libertines] – which is a collection of linked stories which come together to form a novel was published in 1980.

At this time he was spending more and more time in Milan, in particular working with his editor, Aldo Tagliaferri. When Altri libertini [Other Libertines] was published, it was prosecuted for obscenity. He had more success with Pao Pao [Pao Pao] (Pao is based on the Italian acronym Pao, standing for Picchetto Armato Ordinario (Ordinary Armed Guard) – pao pao is also the Italian equivalent of bang, bang), based on his military service. After abandoning a novel about the early eighties, provisionally called Un weekend postmoderno [A Postmodern Weekend] and then writing a play, he wrote Rimini, which had considerable success. He continued to be involved in a variety of projects, particularly magazine and similar writing. However, by the early nineties, he realized that he had AIDS and started seeing fewer people and living alone. He died at the end of 1991.

Other links

Pier Vittorio Tondelli
Pier Vittorio Tondelli (in Italian)
Centro di Documentazione”Pier Vittorio Tondelli” (in Italian)
<Sito dedicato a Pier Vittorio Tondelli (in Italian)
Con Le Ali Tarpate: Pier Vittorio Tondelli (1955-1991) (in Italian)
Un altro Pier: La Riscrittura dell’ Omosessualità nell’Opera di Pier Vittorio Tondelli (in Italian)