Profile

Biographical note

Gianni Rodari (Omegna, 1920 – Rome, 1980), was a writer, journalist and elementary teacher known throughout the world for his literary activity for childhood. After being a teacher, at the end of the Second World War, he dedicated himself to journalism and started his career as a writer. In 1947 he collaborated with the Unità (Italian newspaper) and when the newspaper decided in 1950 to start publishing the weekly for boys the Pioniere, he became its editor (1950-53). In 1958 he was at the Paese Sera both as a correspondent and as editor of a very popular column under the pseudonym of “Benelux”. In 1968 he was appointed to direct the Journal of the Parents (1968-77). In 1970, to crown his work as a writer for children, he was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Prize. 1973 is characterized by the publication of the Grammar of Fantasy no longer a narrative text, but an essay on the techniques of construction of the story. Seven years later he died prematurely in Rome.