Mario Scalési: identità plurale, destino individuale, dramma universale

Abstract

This short essay examines the problems of identity and belonging in Mario Scalési, a poet of Sicilian origin, born in Tunis and writing in French (1892-1922). He is considered today one of the most important and representative voices of Maghreb Francophone literature. Scalési cannot be reduced to a precise ethnic and cultural classification; this aspect and his personal existential drama make this author a universal poet who finds his homeland and his destiny in the harrowing pain of human condition.