Avanguardia o sopravvivenza. Il Gruppo 70 e la dischiusura del campo letterario

This article presents literature as a vital and irreplaceable form of human culture. It does so by discussing various prominent works by Gruppo 70, which already by 1963 had conceptualized literary conscience as beyond literature per se. Scurati declared that the necessary broadening of the literary field emerged from the conviction that our literary conscience “is, today, largely integrated, if not mostly integrated, by the use of works which are not mediated by written words”. On the other hand, Lamberto Pignotti’s presentation at the “Art and Communication” symposium (May 1963) underlined how “avant-garde after avant-garde” represented the only survival option for literature in a neo-capitalist society. This article starts from this discussion to analyse the clash between a “closed literature” definition – whereby aesthetic differences imply meaning and value – and an “open literature” definition – literature as a vital and irreplaceable form of human culture. It does so by discussing various prominent works by Gruppo 70.