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MELI, Giovanni : COURTEOUS FAIRY

MELI, Giovanni. BARKER, W. W., trans. THE COURTEOUS FAIRY and THE WORLD. Two Poems of the late John Meli in the Sicilian Dialect with biographical notes by the Abbe Contreras on the author; and the notes in the second edition of his works, to the poem of The World. Freely Translated into English Verse by W. W. Barker. Messina, 1815 to 1834. Quarto. 82ff. Manuscript on lined paper. Beautifully bound in full walnut crushed morocco, intricately gilt, with five raised bands. Crushed green morocco doublures with wide walnut morocco dentelles, also intricately gilt. Silk moire endleaves. Slipcase. T.e.g. Giovanni Meli (1740-1815) was a Sicilian physician, poet, essayist, and satirist from Cinisi, near Palermo. He held the chair in chemistry at the University of Palermo for twenty years, but his first love was Sicilian poetry. The Courteous Fairy ("La Fata Galanti") was his first substantial work in the Palermitan dialect, written at the age of 22, four years before his first published collection. Although much of Giovanni Meli's work has been translated into English and published, "La Fata Galanti" has yet to appear in print in English. The second title mentioned, "The World," would have probably been a translation of Meli's "L'Origini di lu Munnu," and is not actually included in the bound manuscript. William Wilton Barker (1769-1856) the translator, was the British consul in Messina. His wife was from Palermo, which could explain his proficiency in the Palermitan dialect. The poem tells of a would-be poet who rescues a toad from a peasant. The toad reveals itself to be the Courteous Fairy in disguise. She offers him any favor he desires, and he asks for her help in becoming a poet. They travel on a winged horse to the Isle of Falsehood, the Isle of Medicine, Mount Parnassus, and more. His soul separates from his body to go to the Underworld and on his fabulous journey he meets numerous figures of literature, myth and antiquity, gently satirizing them all. Finally the Fairy advises him to give up poetry for more realistic pursuits, and reveals herself to be the creation of his own fancy. John Howard Payne (1791 to 1852) was an American actor, playwright, and diplomat. Although discouraged by his family from entering the theater, he secretly publish

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