My main field of research is twentieth century British literature, especially focusing on:
- Modernism: Modernist experimentation from an interdisciplinary perspective, Modernism and the Visual Arts, Modernism and Dance, Modernism and Music.
- The relationship between literature and the visual arts: Ruskin and Modernism, Cézanne and twentieth century writers, poets and philosophers, contemporary British and American Poetry and Renaissance paintings.
- Modernist representations of ancient cultures, with particular attention to the Etruscans.
- The influence of Japanese culture on European Modernism, with particular attention to Noh and Kabuki theatre.
- D.H. Lawrence: travel writings, Lawrence and Italy, Lawrence and ancient Italian cultures, fiction, non-fiction writings, with particular attention to his essays on the visual arts, Lawrence’s paintings.
- Contemporary British and American Poetry, from 1950s onwards.
- The Anglo-American Poet Thom Gunn.
- Poetry and photography, poetry and music.
Current Research
- Edition of the book, Representations of the British Aristocracy, 19th century- present, McFarland, Jefferson, USA (co-editors, Ian Duncan and Luisa Villa).
- Experimental book on the Poetry of Thom Gunn, part biographical including memories and interviews, part critical, with unpublished material from the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
- A long essay on Lawrence and Translation for the forthcoming Edinburgh Companion to D.H. Lawrence, edited by Catherine Brown and Sue Reid, Edinburgh University Press.
Other Fields of Research
- The Language of Law in literature, with particular attention to John Mortimer and his stories Rumpole of the Bailey.
- Seventieth Century British Poetry, with particular attention to Thomas Traherne.
- E.M. Forster’s Short Stories.
- Islands and Isolation in Twentieth Century Writers.
- New South African Voices.
Funded Research Projects
For a full description see here.
- PRIN 1995 — John Ruskin and Modernism (University of Milan)
- PRA 1996: D.H. Lawrence and the Visual Arts (University of Milan)
- PRIN 1998: Ninetieth and twentieth century Representation Techniques in Anglo-Saxon Culture: Aesthetic Theories and Textual Practice (University of Vercelli)
- PRA 1999: American and European Contemporary Poetry 1980-2005
- 2002: Cooperation between the University of Udine and the University of Zululand: New South African Voices. Visiting Fellowship at the University of Zululand, June 2002 where I delivered some lectures on European Modernism.
- PRIN 2006: The Nomadic Geographies of Anglo-American Modernism (Universities of Milan).
- PRA 2011: Modernism and the Mediterrean. Literature and Politics 1900-1937 (University of Genoa).
- PRA 2012: Representations of the British Aristocracy: 19th century-present (University of Genoa)
- PRA 2013: Nature and Ethology from Ancient Times to the XVIIth Century (University of Genoa)
- PRA 2014: Books and Readers from Ancient Times to the Renaissance (University of Genoa)
- 2014: Short term fellowship sponsored by the Japan Society for the promotion of Science: The influence of Japanese Noh Theatre on European Modernism. https://www.jsps.go.jp/english/
Academic Associations and Research Centres
I am a member of the following associations:
- AIA (Associazione Italiana Anglistica), Italy
- ESSE (European Society for the Study of English), Europe
- ANDA (Associazione Nazionale Docenti di Anglistica), Italy
- HSSA (Humanities and Social Sciences Association, UC Berkeley), USA
- The D.H. Lawrence Society of North America, USA
- CCILC (Coordinating Committee for International Lawrence Conferences, Country Representative, co-executive Director in 2014).
- The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (as a former fellow), Japan.
- International Advisory Board for the 2020 International Conference: Re-orientating E.M. Forster, Cambridge, UK.