Botteghe Oscure (1948–1960) and the U.S. Reception of Its Italian Writers

Abstract: After briefly sketching the personal and, from a literary point of view, the public story of U.S.-born Marguerite Gibert Chapin (Princess Caetani by marriage), the essay summarizes the characteristics of the multilingual, biannual literary journal she founded and edited: Botteghe Oscure (1948–1960). Even if Caetani was not a writer, nor had she been trained to be a literary editor, the journal's 25 issues became a literary landmark in the 1950's, as it published, alongside established authors, many young and promising writers from all over the world, mostly in their original languages and without translations. In order to have the Italian authors appreciated by the U.S. public, however, Caetani also edited an anthology in English of the Italian poets and fiction writers—previously published in her journal—whom she considered to be the most interesting and innovative. While this anthology received little critical attention, some issues of the journal were favorably reviewed by illustrious U.S. critics (such as Paul Engle, Mark Schorer, J. Donald Adams, and Archibald MacLeish) in important magazines ( The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review , and The Nation , for instance). Yet, with very few exceptions, the reception of these Italian writers in the United States was limited. It was certainly not comparable to the success that Italian movie directors and Italian fashion designers were enjoying in the U.S. in those same years.