abiti-lavoro: "working-class desire to write" between poetry and social demands

The present work aims to explore, through the pages of abiti-lavoro, the rich and vital shadow zone represented by working-class poetry. The magazine, born in the 1980s has the remarkable feature of being founded, written, and "assembled" exclusively by workers and sympathizers with their cause. In a context marked by “the march of the 40,000” and the loss of contractual power by the working class, the latter claims the right to artistic expression demonstrates a desire to still make its voice heard, even through novel instruments like poetry, which proves to be a powerful means of individual and collective redemption and emancipation against abuses and injustices. One aspect that is highlighted thanks to the autobiographical testimonies of former editors and the voices of the many workers who participated in the construction of abiti-lavoro, which represented the first attempt to give an organized form to workers' literature