Dinamiche di ricezione e rilettura di un autore e della sua opera: Alberto Moravia e gli scrittori arabi

Alberto Moravia may well be the most widely known and read Italian author in Arab- ic-speaking countries. At the same time and in spite of that fact, studies of his writings in Arabic are rare. This essay analyzes references to Moravia and discussions of both him and his works written by Arab writers since the Sixties. Those references and discussions have been published in newspapers, periodicals, journals and, in some cases, in autobio- graphies. For the most part, the principal topic of the sources analyzed here has little or nothing to do with Italian literature. Through such very short citations which often leave a great deal to the readers' knowledge and understanding, Moravia is thus listed as being one of world literature’s major representatives: and, on such a basis it can be argued that he has been one of the most formative authors for successive generations of Arab writers. That said however, these literary references appear to be quite standardized, while at the same time the Arab authors who use them seem to be trying to facilitate their own placement in the wider ranks of literary authority(ies). On the other hand, there are other newspaper articles that briefly mention only one aspect of Moravia's production or one of his works or characters; in still other cases Arab writers will talk about their own relationship with Moravia, apparently as a mode of self-reference to be appended to their own intellectual curriculum vitae. At the conclusion of this essay a series of questions is asked as to what kind of influence the Italian writer has actually had on Arab authors.