"Botteghe oscure" e la repubblica delle lettere

It is a scholarly cliché to consider Botteghe Oscure as disengaged and distant from the political debate of the 1940s and 1950s. This is, however, certainly true if we compare Botteghe Oscure to much more politicized Italian journals, such as Politecnico, Società, and later Officina. This article proceeds by drawing on Bourdieu’s theoretical reflections in Règles de l’art, as well as by scrutinizing the title, the texts anthologized, the correspondence between editors and contributors, and the editors’ profiles. It questions precisely the idea that Botteghe Oscure fashioned itself as an a-political venue for cosmopolitan encounters, and argues instead that the journal sought its readership within the liberal, moderately left-wing intelligentsia. Significantly, it did so by adopting an attitude of apparent indifference that was in reality a considered editorial choice.