II.4. Ne rien oublier et tout apprendre

Résumé 0

Those who came back from the death camps inscribed an imperative in the way that they expressed and performed the continuous invention of life. For the Italian poet Gerardo Sangiorgio, this meant writing and teaching a form of poetry that was seemingly immersed in ordinary life. In fact, it was always extraordinary and dealt with life’s ongoing challenge. Primo Levi’s writings are all the more striking given that he defied chemistry ( Il sistema periodico, 1975), gave its bleakest words a personal dimension, mixed them with popular vocabulary and gave new expression to the dignity of his own professional dedication.Both writers advocated for the continued pursuit of a minute, forever incomplete process of humanization that no experience or tradition could justify.