Autonomy and Heteronomy of Art

Poetry finds its own reason to be and its own dignity within itself. It does this despite any evaluation of poetry in relation to its range, of any moralistic, pedagogical, or didactic purpose, or any moral, philosophical, or scientific content. Unbound by realism, naturalism, sensualism, or sentiment, looking beyond any concrete, defined content, or any dispersive tendency towards narrative or discourse, poetry disregards any evaluation that places its value in something extraneous. Luciano Anceschi (Milan, 1911 - Bologna, 1995) was a literary critic and aesthetic theorist, one of the leading exponents of Antonio Banfi's "critical rationalism." After earning a degree in aesthetics from the University of Milan, he published Autonomy and Heteronomy of Art (1936), a foundational text in his reflection on the theory of poetics. A university professor, he was the director of the journal Il Verri and a key figure in the debate on the neo-avant-garde. His extensive critical work profoundly influenced the study of literature and aesthetics in the twentieth century. Philip Balma is an Associate Professor of Italian Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of Connecticut, specializing in modern Italian literature, film, and translation studies. His translations have appeared in Translation Review, Italian Poetry Review, Italica, and The Penguin Book of Italian Short Stories. He has translated works by Ennio Flaiano, Eugenio Montale, Edith Bruck, and others.