Goffredo Parise was a significant and widely known figure in Italian culture for three decades. An accomplished author, he wrote experimental and realistic fiction as well as drama and screenplays with ease and skill. He became famous as an acute and often controversial observer of political and cultural matters, writing for newspapers and magazines of wide circulation. His reporting on international events was republished in several books.

Parise was also known for his spontaneous and unconventional demeanor. His unorthodox persona was recalled by Furio Colombo in a lively article for the 6 September 1986 La stampa. "Quel giorno Parise venne alla TV in maglione" (On that Day Parise Came to the TV Station Wearing a Turtleneck) draws an illuminating comparison between Parise and "the American poets of the Village."

Parise was born in Vicenza on 8 December 1929. His mother, Ida Wanda Bertoli, was unmarried, and his father was unknown. The family...