Theme day: Books

Umberto Saba's antique books shop, now run by his associate's grandson.

Umberto Saba was born in Trieste on March 9, 1883 from a Jewish mother and a Christian father.During the writing years of Saba, Trieste is part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Three languages are spoken in town: German, the chiefly spoken local dialect, and Italian which is part of a high literary tradition. Saba uses the latter in his simple and original poetry which does not follow contemporary preferences.In 1919 Saba buys and keeps the antique bookstore in Via San Nicolò. He dedicates his life to poetry and his bookshop.
Saba writes simple and clear poetry, uses everyday words and describes aspects of everyday life. Trieste, his birthplace, is the main protagonist of his poetry: the sea which stands for flight and spiritual adventures; love and sentiment for persons and family and the relationship with nature. Saba deeply loves what he is writing about. For Saba fame and praise arrive after the World War; today he is considered one of the most important Italian poets of the 19th century. The poet dies in 1957 in San Giusto Hospital in Gorizia.

This is the most famous verse, which all Triestinians know (or should know) by heart:

Trieste has a rude
grace. If you like it
it's like a bigboned youth, uncouth and voracious
with blue eyes and hands too large
for giving flowers
like a jealous love

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