Eurialo De Michelis

Eurialo De Michelis (23 October 1904 – 17 December 1990) was an Italian writer, poet and literary critic born in Salerno in Mezzogiorno.

Biography De Michelis was born in Salerno, although his family was a northern one, originating in Liguria and Piedmont. While he was still young they moved back to the north, settling in Vicenza in the Veneto, where his father, a Methodist minister, had been invited to take on his own parish.

De Michelis launched his literary career with a volume of poetry published in 1927 and entitled Aver vent'anni (loosely, "Aged twenty") which was followed by his first narrative work, Adamo (1930), three years later. This marked him out as a proponent of the new neorealist literary movement.

Memberships and awards (selection) De Michelis was a member of the Accademia degli Arcadi. He received various awards, including the Fracchia Prize for narrative organised by the La Fiera Letteraria. He received the Manzoni Prize and the D'Annunzio Prize; and the Roncaglia Prize from the Accademia dei Lincei in respect of his entire non-fiction output.

Legacy Eurialo De Michelis built up a significant library which was sold to the Biblioteca Classense in Ravenna after he died. De Michelis maintained contact with many leading figures of twentieth century Italian literature: the collection offers important insights and comprises many volumes covering fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

His personal papers are deposited at the University of Pavia Manuscripts Centre, and in the Venetian Manuscripts Archive at the University of Padua.