Poetry translator serves as cross-cultural ambassador for latest project, ‘Last Stops of the Night Journey’ | Metaglossia: The Translation World | Scoop.it

Poetry translator serves as cross-cultural ambassador for latest project, ‘Last Stops of the Night Journey’
"LAWRENCE — After more than a decade translating leading North American poets – such as Anne Carson and Michael Ondaatje — into Italian, as well as prominent Italian poets into English, Patrizio Ceccagnoli regards literary translation as central to his professional identity, calling himself “an ambassador of my original language and culture, a bridge between the two literatures embodied in the languages I know best.”


A dual citizen, Ceccagnoli translates in both directions, from Italian into English and vice versa, with a particular specialization in poetry. An associate professor in the University of Kansas Department of French, Francophone & Italian Studies, he continues this work with his latest project: Milo De Angelis’ “Last Stops of the Night Journey.”


Ceccagnoli and local poet Megan Kaminski, a professor of environmental studies at KU, will read from their books April 28 at The Raven Book Store.


“I translate only authors I consider significant, for the sake of being close to their work and understanding their oeuvre more deeply,” Ceccagnoli said. “Everything is driven by my love for literature. I find great fulfillment in literary translation, which exists somewhere between scholarly interpretation and creative writing.”


Ceccagnoli said he shares credit with his longtime collaborator and friend, Susan Stewart, a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” award recipient. Together, they previously translated De Angelis’ “Theme of Farewell and After-Poems: A Bilingual Edition” (University of Chicago Press, 2013), a work Ceccagnoli said helped establish the poet’s reputation among American readers.


Their collaborative process is iterative and meticulous.


“I begin with the Italian text and produce a rough English translation, identifying passages that may present cultural challenges — references that require explanation or place names that may not resonate with an American audience,” he said. “When Susan reviews the draft, she identifies additional issues. We then revise collaboratively until we reach a version that satisfies us both after several back-and-forth exchanges.”


The translators also consulted directly with De Angelis while working on “Last Stops of the Night Journey,” occasionally making independent editorial decisions.


“Of course, the publisher also plays a crucial role,” Ceccagnoli said. “When you’re fortunate to work with a strong editor, they offer valuable suggestions and request revisions. This book benefited from particularly attentive editing.”


That editor, Archipelago Books publisher Jill Schoolman, will attend the Lawrence reading.


Like “Theme of Farewell and After-Poems,” “Last Stops of the Night Journey” brings together two separate poetry collections in one volume: “Encounters and Ambushes” (“Incontri e agguati”), released in Milan in 2015, and “Solid Line, Broken Line” (“Linea intera, linea spezzata”), originally published in 2021. These works reflect themes drawn from De Angelis’ experiences teaching poetry in a high-security prison near Milan, the loss of his wife — the poet Giovanna Sicari — and his growing awareness of mortality.


“This is clearly a late work,” Ceccagnoli said. “Every poetic corpus reflects a life lived; it becomes, in a sense, a biography. A writer can only speak to what they have witnessed and understood, and over time, that accumulates into the story of a lifetime.”


He noted that De Angelis’ poetry demands careful, attentive reading.


“A poet like Milo does not necessarily strive for easy accessibility,” Ceccagnoli said. “He has sometimes been described as ‘orphic’ or hermetic – not out of elitism, but because he is committed to a rigorous poetic tradition shaped by earlier models and governed by a highly disciplined literary code.”


At the same time, Ceccagnoli said he finds the collection deeply moving.


“Here is a man who understands that his time is finite,” he said. “In his 70s, he may see this as his final book — a series of farewell messages to the people who shaped his life. That gives the work a powerful sense of authenticity and emotional depth.”


While the collection does not attempt to resolve life’s fundamental questions — about meaning, mortality or what lies beyond — Ceccagnoli said it offers something equally valuable.


“It provides an honest and, at times, dramatic portrait of the people the poet encountered,” he said. “Through his writing, their lives endure — and, in a way, become part of our own.”


Media Contacts
Rick Hellman


KU News Service


785-864-8852


rick_hellman@ku.edu"


Fri, 04/24/2026
Rick Hellman
https://news.ku.edu/news/article/poetry-translator-serves-as-cross-cultural-ambassador-ARTICLE-KHRJWD-ARTICLE-KHRJWD-ARTICLE-KHRJWD-ARTICLE-KHRJWD-ARTICLE-KHRJWD-ARTICLE-KHRJWD
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