Collections : [Rare Book & Manuscript Library]

Letters donated from the collection of Nina Tannenbaum, and Tiye, Robin, and Duccio Castelli in honor of Professor Peter Pazzaglini, the Columbia Core, and to all of the great teachers who have inspired, illuminated, and enriched their lives. Both letters reflect the efforts of a young writer to be connected to and absorb the advice of eminent Italian writers of his and his family's cultural milieu. One letter from Italo Calvino to Duccio Castelli analyzing the young writer's story, comparing his style to contemporary American writers, such as Raymond Chandler and Damon Runyon, as well as suggesting techniques for incorporating the life and language of Milan into his stories. The second document reflects the connections between Duccio Castelli's mother, a book-seller and figure in the early and mid-century Italian writing and publishing scene, and Salvatore Quasimodo, Nobel Laureate 1959, with whom she shared her son's poetry. The collection contains both original documents as well as Duccio Castelli's translations into English and his account of how he wrote to Italo Calvino and received advice from the renowned writer.