Primo Levi

Primo Levi (1919-1987) was born in Turin. His parents were Jews from Piedmont, whose customs and traditions he would describe in the first chapter of his book "The Periodic Table." In high school, Primo was a shy and diligent student, more interested in chemistry and biology than in history and Italian. In 1937, he enrolled in the Chemistry Department of the University of Turin, from which he graduated in July 1941 with honors. He found a semi-clandestine job at an asbestos mine near Lanzo. Although not officially on the payroll, he worked in the factory's chemical laboratory. In 1942, he secured a better job in Milan at a Swiss pharmaceutical company. He became politically active and joined the underground Partito d'Azione (Action Party). In December 1943, Levi, fighting as a member of a partisan group, was captured and taken to the Carpi Fossoli camp. In February 1944, Levi, along with other prisoners, was transported to Auschwitz. Throughout his time there, Levi managed to avoid illness. However, in January 1945, he contracted scarlet fever when the Germans, due to the advancing Russian troops, decided to evacuate the camp. Levi stayed for a few months in Katowice and in June began the long journey home, which he describes in "The Truce," finally reaching Turin in October. In 1946, he started working at a paint factory. The harrowing memory of the camps drove him to feverishly write "If This Is a Man" (Se questo è un uomo). In 1947, he proposed it to Einaudi, who rejected it, and it was eventually published by Da Silva. In 1962, he wrote "The Truce," a diary of his return journey. In 1963, "The Truce" (La tregua) was published by Einaudi. In 1967, his short story collection "Storie naturali" was published, followed by a second collection, "Vizio di forma," in 1971. Between 1972-79, he frequently traveled to the Soviet Union for professional reasons. The novel "La chiave a stella" may have been conceived in Togliatti. In 1975, his poetry collection "L'osteria di Brema" was published. In 1981, he prepared a personal anthology of authors who influenced him for Einaudi, published under the title "La ricerca delle radici." In 1982, the novel "If Not Now, When?" (Se non ora, quando?) was published and translated into French. In 1983, he translated Claude Levi-Strauss's books "The Way of the Masks" and "Look, Listen, Read." In 1984, his poetry collection "Ad ora incerta" was published, and in November, his book "The Periodic Table" was released in America. In 1985, fifty of his articles initially published in the newspaper La Stampa were compiled into a volume titled "L'altrui mestiere." In 1987, Primo Levi committed suicide at his home in Turin.