This book is about the presence of utopian and dystopian elements in the
Italian literary landscape. It focuses on four authors that are
representatives of the various positions in the Italian cultural debate:
Pasolini, Calvino, Sanguineti, and Volponi. What did concepts like
utopia and dystopia mean for these authors? Is it possible to separate
utopia from dystopia? What is the role of science fiction in this
debate? This book answers these questions, proposing an original
interpretation of utopia and of the social role of literature. The book
also takes into consideration four of the most influential literary
journals in Italy: Officina, il menabò, il verri, and Nuovi
Argomenti, that played a central role in the cultural and political
debate on utopia in Italy.