Grazia Deledda facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grazia Deledda
Deledda in 1926
Native name	Gràssia Deledda Gràtzia Deledda
Born	Grazia Maria Cosima Damiana Deledda (1871-09-27)27 September 1871 Nuoro, Italy
Died	15 August 1936(1936-08-15) (aged 64) Rome, Italy
Occupation	Writer, novelist
Literary movement	Realism, Decadence
Notable awards	Nobel Prize in Literature 1926
Spouse	Palmiro Madesani ​ (m. 1900)​
Children	Sardus Madesani (1901–1938) Francesco Madesani (1904–1981)
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Grazia Deledda (born September 27, 1871 – died August 15, 1936) was an important Italian writer. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1926. The Nobel committee praised her "idealistically inspired writings." They noted how clearly she showed life on her home island of Sardinia. They also admired how deeply and kindly she explored human problems.

Grazia Deledda was the first Italian woman to win this famous prize. She was also only the second woman ever to receive it. The first was Selma Lagerlöf, who won in 1909.

Who was Grazia Deledda?

Grazia Deledda was born in Nuoro, a town on the island of Sardinia. Her family was middle-class, and she was the fourth of seven children. She went to elementary school, which was the basic education at the time. After that, she learned more from a private tutor. She also taught herself a lot about literature by reading on her own.

How did Grazia Deledda start writing?

During her studies, Grazia became very interested in writing short stories. Many of her early stories were about the lives of Sardinian farmers. She wrote about the challenges and struggles they faced every day. Her teacher saw her talent and encouraged her to send her writing to a newspaper. When she was just 13 years old, her very first story was published in a local newspaper!

Some of her early works appeared in a fashion magazine called L'ultima moda between 1888 and 1889. In 1890, she published her first collection of short stories, titled Nell'azzurro (which means Into the Blue). Grazia often wrote about poverty and its difficulties. She mixed real-life experiences with her imagination in her stories. Her own family wasn't very supportive of her dream to become a writer.

Grazia Deledda's early novels and marriage

Grazia Deledda's first full novel, Fiori di Sardegna (Flowers of Sardinia), came out in 1892. Her 1896 book, Paesaggi sardi (Sardinian Landscapes), was a mix of fiction and poetry. Around this time, she started writing regularly for newspapers and magazines. These included La Sardegna, Piccola Rivista, and Nuova Antologia. Her work became well-known and gained attention from critics.

In 1899, Grazia met Palmiro Madesani in Cagliari. He worked for the Ministry of Finance. They got married in 1900. After their wedding, they moved to Rome. This move happened right after her book Il vecchio della montagna (The Old Man from the Mountain) was published in 1900.

Even after having two sons, Sardus (born 1901) and Francesco (born 1904), Grazia kept writing a lot. She often published about one novel every year!

Deledda with her husband Palmiro and son Sardus, Rome, circa 1904

Her most famous books

In 1903, Grazia Deledda published Elias Portolu. This book was very popular and helped her become a famous writer. Other important books followed, like Cenere (Ashes, 1904) and L'edera (The Ivy, 1908). She also wrote Sino al confine (To the Border, 1910) and Colombi e sparvieri (Doves and Sparrows, 1912).

Her most popular book was Canne al vento (Reeds in the Wind), published in 1913.

Cenere becomes a movie

In 1916, her novel Cenere was made into a silent movie. A very famous Italian actress, Eleonora Duse, starred in it. This was the only time Duse, who was mainly a theater actress, ever appeared in a film. Grazia Deledda also wrote for Lidel, a magazine for women that started in 1919.

Winning the Nobel Prize

In 1926, a member of the Swedish Academy, Henrik Schück, suggested Grazia Deledda for the Nobel Prize in Literature. She won the prize "for her idealistically inspired writings which with plastic clarity picture the life on her native island and with depth and sympathy deal with human problems in general."

She received the award at a ceremony in Stockholm in 1926. When she first heard the news, her reaction was "Già?" which means "Already?"

Life after the Nobel Prize

Winning the Nobel Prize made Grazia Deledda even more famous. Benito Mussolini, who was the leader of Italy at the time, sent her a signed photo of himself. He wrote a message expressing his "profound admiration" for her. Many journalists and photographers started visiting her home in Rome.

At first, Grazia welcomed them. But soon, she grew tired of all the attention. One day, she noticed her pet crow, Checca, was upset by all the people coming and going. Grazia reportedly said, "If Checca has had enough, so have I." After that, she went back to her quieter routine.

The constant attention also made it hard for her to stick to her writing schedule. She had a very organized day: a late breakfast, a morning of reading, lunch, a short nap, and then several hours of writing before dinner.

Grazia Deledda kept writing even as she got older and her health became weaker. Her later works, like La Casa del Poeta (The House of the Poet, 1930) and Sole d'Estate (Summer Sun, 1933), showed a more hopeful outlook on life. This was true even though she was dealing with serious health problems.

Grazia Deledda's later life and legacy

Grazia Deledda passed away in Rome at the age of 64 from breast cancer. Her last novel, La chiesa della solitudine (The Church of Solitude, 1936), was published the year she died. It tells the story of a young Italian woman dealing with a serious illness, and it was partly based on Grazia's own life.

After her death, a finished manuscript of her novel Cosima was found. It was published in 1937.

How was Grazia Deledda honored?

Many important Italian writers admired Grazia Deledda's work. Her writing also had a big impact on Sardinian writers. They were so inspired that they started a new literary movement called the Sardinian Literary Spring.

In 1947, an artist named Amelia Camboni created a statue of Deledda. It stands near her home in Rome, in the Pincio neighborhood.

Bust of Grazia Deledda by Amelia Camboni, Pincio, Rome

Grazia Deledda's childhood home in Nuoro was made a national heritage building. In 1968, the city of Nuoro bought it. Later, in 1979, it was given to the Regional Ethnographic Institute (ISRE) for a very small price. The Institute turned the house into a museum to honor the writer. It is now called the Museo Deleddiano. The museum has ten rooms that show important parts of Deledda's life.

A coal power plant in Portoscuso that opened in 1965 is named Grazia Deledda.

Special Tributes

On December 10, 2017, Google honored Grazia Deledda with a special Google Doodle on their homepage.

What did Grazia Deledda write about?

The lives, traditions, and customs of the Sardinian people are very important in Grazia Deledda's books. She often included detailed descriptions of the places in Sardinia. Her characters usually had a strong connection to their hometowns. Many of her characters were outsiders who quietly struggled with feeling alone.

Overall, Deledda's work often focused on themes of love, pain, and death. These themes were often connected to feelings of sin and fate. Her novels tended to question social values and moral rules. She focused on how these rules affected people, rather than blaming the people themselves.

Her writing style was influenced by other Italian literary movements. These included verism, which focused on realism, and decadentism, which explored complex emotions. However, her writing was not as fancy or decorative as some other writers of her time.

Even though she played a big role in Italian and world literature, Grazia Deledda is not always seen as a feminist writer. This might be because she often showed women's pain and suffering. She didn't always focus on women's independence.

Complete list of works

Below is a complete list of Grazia Deledda's works:

See also

In Spanish: Grazia Deledda para niños

• List of female Nobel laureates

Voice recording

• The voice of Grazia Deledda speaking (in Italian) at the Nobel Prize Ceremony in 1926.