Franco Fortini at the test of militancy. The adventure of poetry between “Verifica dei poteri” (1965), “Una volta per sempre” (1963) and “Questo muro” (1973)

Abstract

Verifica dei poteri is Franco Fortini’s most important collection of essays, as well as a pivotal book for the political, ideological and literary reflection carried out by the poet in the 1960s. Following the keywords of poetic «form» and literary «value», their meaning and the way they are declined from the oldest to the newest essay, this paper analyses the structure of the two editions of the book. Besides, comparing the essays to the contemporary poetic collections (Una volta per sempre, 1963; Questo muro, 1973), it aims to enlighten the formal and content link between Fortini’s poetry and his essay writing.