With prefaces by
Enzo Concardi, Floriano Romboli, Gabriella Veschi
Published the poetry collection entitled “Selected lyrics“ by Giuseppe Arrigucci, with forewords by Enzo Concardi, Floriano Romboli, Gabriella Veschi, in the prestigious series “Supranational Poetic Analysis of the third millennium”, Guido Miano Editore, Milan 2022.
Spirituality in Giuseppe Arrigucci’s poetry lives in vertical dimensions and asceticism: it is mystical and ecstatic, it asks to live the sanctifying grace of the Lord; it is praise, prayer and invocation to God on the path of salvation; it is an imitation of the life of Christ and visits figures of Christianity who have testified to the faith, becoming models of holiness. There is an incessant dialogue with the Absolute, the encounter with which is a strong need felt by the poet. These aspects that can be found in his lyrics are present in various collections taken into consideration here through an anthological choice.
We can identify a first group of lyrics in which the thirst for God is prevalent, the search for a definition of one’s identity through the divine work, the working of the Word in the daily existence of the soul: lyrical images spring from the faith of the poet with continuous similes borrowed from the harmonies of Nature. The first lyric-symbol of this aspect of his spirituality is Ascent, where the poet immediately enters into dialogue with God: “I want to climb your mountain” is the opening words of the poem, since up there there are meadows of stars, sources of life and a fatherly embrace. With the anaphora “You are” the following verses compare God to the wind that sweeps away all selfishness, opening the way to perfection, and to a breath of light that visits fields of wheat, which quenches the soul by offering the water of forgiveness. The poet then invokes Grace and Mercy knowing that God knows the secrets of his heart in the deepest intimacy, a biblical-evangelical-Augustinian concept. […].
Enzo Concardi
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How fundamental the feeling of love is in the experience of men I do not think it is necessary to point out; the existence of each one, on the other hand, would be difficult to conceive if deprived of this connatural and decisive dimension for intellectual and moral behavior.
Giuseppe Arrigucci develops the motif of love in the plurality of psychological-affective manifestations, from those that have their roots in the depth and solidity of the family bond to those that arise from the impetus of erotic-sensual passion, perhaps the premise of a stable and future relationship. demanding. The touching poetic homage to the parents consists of the convinced appreciation of distinct yet converging qualities in determining a precious ethical-sentimental heritage, in outlining a universe of inalienable values. The author emphasizes above all his father’s vigorous life witness, corroborated by religious faith: “[…] / With a light soul / like the enchanted morning air / walk the paths of light of the Lord. / Your prayer / which in this hour of peace / perfumes your lips / sows stars! / […] / I do not find melancholy / in your eyes / or father / but the strength of the sunset “(Dad); of the mother highlights the humble and generous lightness, the disinterested and fruitful dedication: “With foot without footprint / follow my steps / holding my breath / not to disturb / even with the air / the mirror of my waters / deep , / […] / Do not be sad / if your face is tired / because your life / was not sterile / participant in the past: / your hands are full of fruit! / […]”(Mom). […].
Floriano Romboli
A profound meditation on the inescapable passing of time and on the discomfort of the human condition underlies the collection of lyrics by Giuseppe Arrigucci, proposed in the third chapter of the book, in which an eliotian desolation is the peculiar stylistic code. Emptiness and absence branch out in the compositions, surrounding the landscapes of the soul, while the lyrical self is intent on a melancholy reverie: «I went through the woods / to look for the red berries of hope / but I could not find them / because hope did not blossom! / I went through the fields / to collect the ears of the sun / but I did not find them / because they did not get the ears! / I went to the meadows to drink honey / from childhood flowers soaked, / as in the time of useless and unspoken things / but in the light of the moon they faded! / […]”(I’m at the mouth). The images appear overturned in meaning, presages of an imminent end: the red berries harbingers of hope are nowhere to be found, the coveted light is metaphorically represented by solar rays similar to unopened ears of wheat, withered flowers from which to draw the sweetness of childhood . The light of the moon rises to the emblem of the existential parable that leads to the sad end of man’s life: “[…] / Now I hang my thoughts / on the dead branches of the evening / under garlands of dull constellations; / I light up the memory / on past events / with the flavor of life / and death, / where fresh and salt water mixes / at the mouth of existence / when life ferries to the afterlife »(ibid.). The verses wind sinuously between the alliteration of the sibilants and the uninterrupted succession of visual perceptions that transform the elements of nature into projections of one’s mood, recalling the poetics of the “objective correlative” enunciated by the Anglo-American poet and literary critic Thomas Stearn Eliot (1888-1965) in the essay The sacred wood. […].
Gabriella Veschi
Giuseppe Arrigucci (Arezzo, 1935 – ivi, 2020) has published the collections of poems: Free fly (2000), Amen, songs of the spirit and faith (2003), Longing for a full life(2015), …me you? Perhaps… (2017). You have participated in numerous national and international poetry competitions, gaining authoritative acclaim. Her poems have been translated into English, Spanish and French and published in anthologies also of scholastic support.