Giovanni Pascoli was an Italian poet and classical scholar. He had a tragic childhood with the murder of his father and the early deaths of his mother, sister and two brothers. His first work, "Myracae" (1891), reflects his morbid childhood. He studied at the University of Bologna, and his teacher and mentor was Giosuè Carducci. When Carducci retired, Pascoli replaced him as the recipient of the Literature Chair. Wikipedia
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