Magris, Claudio

Italian author, translator and professor of Germanic studies born in Trieste. The cosmopolitan and dynamic city of Trieste came to have a great influence on Claudio Magris' work. The city was a free zone on the Italian-Yugoslavian border, a melting pot of Latin, Slav and German culture that nurtured creativity. Magris has mentioned the city's two separate souls, one continental and Central European with its eyes set on the stimulating literary heritage associated with the mainland and the other looking towards the Mediterranean that has enabled so many both hostile and invigorating cultural encounters throughout the centuries.