Fabio Doplicher
Fabio Doplicher was an influential Italian poet and literary figure, born in Trieste in 1938 and later relocating to Rome in 1954. He distinguished himself as a prolific writer, performing poet, and a vocal critic of the literary scene, engaging with various media including radio and television. His most significant work, *I giorni dell'esilio* (1975), explores the theme of exile, reflecting Doplicher's personal feelings of loss related to his move from Trieste. In this poem, Trieste is portrayed as a maternal figure, symbolizing a deep connection to his roots. Doplicher believed that poetry could challenge and transform perceptions of existence amidst the rapid changes wrought by media. Throughout the 1980s, he was particularly active, founding the literary review *Stilb* and producing theatrical works, alongside participating in urban initiatives and contributing to various intellectual publications. His literary legacy continues to be acknowledged through his numerous poetry collections, spanning several decades, until his passing in 2003. His contributions to literature and his character were celebrated by contemporaries, highlighting his profound impact on the cultural landscape.
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Subject Terms
Fabio Doplicher
Poet
- Born: September 11, 1938
- Birthplace: Trieste, Italy
- Died: September 18, 2003
Biography
The poet Fabio Doplicher was born in Trieste, Italy, in 1938. In 1954, he moved to Rome, where he became a prolific writer, a performing poet, a radio and television dramatist, and a militant literary critic. He also made himself known in literary circles and journals.
I giorni del-l’esilio (1975) is considered Doplicher’s most significant work. Involving and intriguing both emotionally and intellectually, the poem seems to offer a balance between the externally autobiographical and the poetic experience of its writer. The word “exile’ in the title refers to Doplicher’s feelings of loss following his traumatic move from Trieste to Rome. In the novel, Trieste, the land of his birth, is both concretely and symbolically the mother, a sweet and unforgettable character. The ultimate quest of his dialect poetry is for this mother, this character, this place. The dialect poetry employed in I giorni del- l’esilio remained important to him for the rest of his life.
Doplicher viewed poetry as a means of conceiving and changing existence. “Our manner of seeing and reading is a mutation under the influence of the media, of the fleeting nature of images, of the repetitiveness of information,” he said. The information in the media, he added, is “doomed to remain inert within our spirits. . . In a continuous work of rediscovery and invention, poetry can construct within itself a way to conceive of existence, operating with all to change all—and not only the segment of universe with which it comes in contact.” Doplicer chose to militate against this mutation of vision and destruction of spirit and to “change all” in his poetry, prose, and life.
The 1980’s were Doplicher’s most fertile and hardworking years, and he exercised his talents on numerous fronts. Among the achievements of these years was his founding of Stilb, a bimonthly review publishing important works by members of the Italian intelligentsia. He edited the journal and its book-length publications. In addition, Doplicher produced numerous theatrical works and participated, with poet Umberto Piersanti, in many urban initiatives.
He also took part in the activities of the International Center for the Poetry of the Metamorphosis, reading his works and debating issues significant to the group. He worked intensely, as well, with Aldo De Jaco for the National Writers’ Union, contributing pieces to the organization’s review, Produzione e Cultura. Doplicher was also a regular contributor to the daily Il Tempo and to the popular theatrical reviews of those years.
His poetry collections throughout the years are many, ranging from Il girochiuso in 1970 to Compleanno del millenio (2001). Writer Luigi Fontanella, one of the many who mourned the death of the multifaceted Doplicher in 2003, said he was not only one of the most intense poets of his generation, but he was also a true gentleman in his poetry and his life.