Abstract
In his autobiographical texts Per violino solo (For Solo Violin, 1995) and Certe promesse d'amore (Some
Promises of Love, 1997) and in the collection of stories and essays In bilico (Unstable Balance, 2017)
Aldo Zargani (1933-2020) uses metaphors innovatively, to create analogies between complex or abstract
fields of thought (such as childhood memories or memories of loss and grief connected to the Holocaust)
and well-known fields of concrete experience (such as music, motor cars, sickness, politicians).
Zargani's metaphors, often full of irony, have two functions. The first one is cognitive: to communicate the
horrors of the Holocaust. The second one is ethical: to question certainties and to foreground ambiguities
and contradictions.
The death of Aldo Zargani, on 19 October 2020, has led to new reflections on the value of his writings as
literary texts as well as works of testimony, 75 years after the end of World War II. This essay is a small
part of these reflections, because it connects two central aspects of Zargani's writings – memory and
literary style – paying special attention to the importance of metaphors.
Promises of Love, 1997) and in the collection of stories and essays In bilico (Unstable Balance, 2017)
Aldo Zargani (1933-2020) uses metaphors innovatively, to create analogies between complex or abstract
fields of thought (such as childhood memories or memories of loss and grief connected to the Holocaust)
and well-known fields of concrete experience (such as music, motor cars, sickness, politicians).
Zargani's metaphors, often full of irony, have two functions. The first one is cognitive: to communicate the
horrors of the Holocaust. The second one is ethical: to question certainties and to foreground ambiguities
and contradictions.
The death of Aldo Zargani, on 19 October 2020, has led to new reflections on the value of his writings as
literary texts as well as works of testimony, 75 years after the end of World War II. This essay is a small
part of these reflections, because it connects two central aspects of Zargani's writings – memory and
literary style – paying special attention to the importance of metaphors.
| Translated title of the contribution | Memory and Metaphors in Aldo Zargani's Writings |
|---|---|
| Original language | Italian |
| Pages (from-to) | 149-159 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Israel's Monthly Review |
| Volume | 86 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |