Stefano Benni

Born in Bologna, Italy, in 1947, Stefano Benni started out as a journalist contributing to the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto, then became a writer and a poet. Among his many publications are a collection of poems, Terra! (1938); a children’s book, I meravigliosi animali di Stranalandia (1984); Il bar sotto il mare (The Café Beneath the Sea) was published in 1987; and two novels, Baol (1990) and Spiriti (2000). (Photo credit: Claude Truong-Ngoc)