Giuseppe Ungaretti (February 10, 1888 - June 2, 1970) was an Italian poet. Along with Umberto Saba, Salvatore Quasimodo and Eugenio Montale, he was one of the foremost Italian poets of the 20th century. Ungaretti was born in Alexandria, Egypt into a family from Lucca in Tuscany, (Italy). In 1912 he moved to Paris, where he studied for a few years. However, he did not take a degree, and in 1914 he joined the Italian army. He fought in World War I, and his traumatic experiences there shaped his most famous work of poetry, L'allegria (Joy). In the poems of this collection he explores pain and the sufferings of war with great delicacy and beauty. Ungaretti is considered the founder of the "hermetic" school of poetry. He continued to write for the rest of his life. He died in Milan. Two of his poems (Soldiers - War - Another War and Vanity) were made into song by American composer Harry Partch (Intrusions, 1949-50). Ungaretti was awarded the inaugural Books Abroad International Prize for Literature (now known as the Neustadt Prize) in 1970.
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