La parola da casa, Serena Piccoli

i've seen montale's name show up many times recently on the web. i hadn't
thought he was that well-known in the u.s. perhaps the recent translations of
his work have been helping his popularity. i imagine his poetry and poetics
like his description of the rocky edges of the coast that he often describes.
his poem "do not ask . . ." ("non chiederci la parola") rolls over in my head
quite frequently. even though it was written a long time ago, i feel that it
expresses what i feel on many occacions. Also, his poem "bring me the
sunflower" ("portami la girasole ch'io lo trapianti") is one of my favorite
poems written by anyone during the 20th century. it's enough to say that
along with ungaretti, whitman, and dante, montale has shaped my poetry more
than anyone else.