Nicola Chiaromonte
Nicola Chiaromonte (1905 in
Rapolla,
Potenza – 18 January 1972 in Rome) was an Italian activist and writer. In 1934 he fled Italy for France, after opposing
Benito Mussolini's
fascist government. In Paris he contributed to ''
Giustizia e Libertà''. During the
Spanish Civil War, he flew in
André Malraux's squadron, fighting against fascist supported General
Francisco Franco. The character of Scali in Malraux's novel ''Man's Hope'' is based on Chiaromonte. After moving to New York in 1941, he took on an important role in the leftist anti-
Stalinist intellectual scene of the period, writing for ''
The Nation'', ''
The New Republic'', ''
politics'' and ''
Partisan Review''. During the
Cold War, he helped found, and served as editor, for the Italian journal ''
Tempo Presente'', which was published by the Congress for Cultural Freedom (an organization with silent backing of the
Central Intelligence Agency).
Mary McCarthy was a close friend during his time in the US. A foreword to the 1985 edition of Chiaromonte's book of essays ''The Paradox of History'' (1970) was written by
Joseph Frank, a noted
Dostoyevsky scholar.
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