Erri De Luca

Erri De Luca (born 1950, Naples) is an Italian novelist, translator and poet. He has been recognized by critic Giorgio De Rienzo of Corriere della Sera as "the writer of the decade". He is also known for his opposition to the Lyon-Turin high speed train line, and is being sued for having called for its sabotaging. On October 19, 2015 Erri De Luca was cleared of inciting criminal damage. He reacted to the not-guilty verdict declaring that "An injustice has been avoided."

Biography

Erri De Luca's original first name was Enrico (Henry), an hommage to his grandmother, who had American nationality, but defined by him as an "accident."

Upon completing high school in 1968 Erri De Luca joined the radical left-wing movement Lotta Continua. After the organization's disbandment he left the political involvement. He worked as a blue collar at the Fiat factory in Turin and at the Catania airport. He also was a truck driver and a mason, working in job sites in Italy, France and Africa. He rode relief convoys in Yugoslavia during the war between 1993 and 1999.