Beppe Costa (1941 – 2026)

Their Story

Beppe Costa was a respected Italian poet, novelist, and publisher born on 25 August 1941 in Catania, Sicily. Raised in a humble home enriched by books, Costa developed a lifelong passion for literature and culture that shaped his career. He published his first volume of poetry in 1970 and gained recognition with his novel "Romanzo siciliano," an autobiographical work exploring the struggles of a Sicilian intellectual confronting social injustice and organized crime. In 1976, Costa founded the publishing house Pellicanolibri, dedicated to amplifying voices that the mainstream literary world had overlooked or marginalized. Through this venture, which later evolved into a library and cultural center in the Casalotti neighborhood of Rome, he championed works by major authors such as Alberto Moravia, Dario Bellezza, and Goliarda Sapienza. Beginning in 1982, he collaborated with poet Dario Bellezza on the "Inediti rari e diversi" series to give platforms to writers excluded from Italian literary circles. Costa's own poetry earned significant recognition, including the Alfonso Gatto Prize in 1989 for his collection "Impaginato per affetto." His creative practice extended beyond writing into music and visual art, with his poems set to music by various composers and adapted into multimedia performances that toured Italy. His work consistently explored themes of love, resistance, and human dignity. Until his death on 10 June 2026 at age 84, Costa remained a vital cultural figure in Rome, nurturing generations of writers and transforming his bookshop into what many considered a salon of the highest literary caliber, accessible to all.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beppe_Costa