Quasimodo, Salvatore

Salvatore Quasimodo was an Italian poet born in Modica, near Syracuse on Sicily. He was the second of four children. His father was a stationmaster, which meant that the family often moved home. In 1908, they moved to Messina, where the father was to help out after an earthquake and the children would be sent to school. The forces of nature made a big impression on young Salvatore. In 1917, he published a short-lived literary review, Nuovo giornale letterario, together with some friends. He moved to Rome in 1919 to study engineering, but he had to leave later the same year due to financial problems. He became interested in classical Greek and Latin literature, and studied both languages, mostly on his own. He had many different jobs: draughtsman, shop assistant and clerk.