Primo Levi’s Anthropological Readings in Scientific American

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe present article investigates Primo Levi’s anthropological readings in Scientific American between the late 1960s and the early 1980s. The fundamental importance of these anthropological publications in Levi’s career has long been disregarded by scholars who have studied the influence of Scientific American on the author’s work predominantly with regard to scientific and technological articles. After reading Scientific American’s anthropological essays and book reviews, Levi’s interests soon came to include actual books on folklore and anthropological studies. The present article retraces the path of his readings and provides a series of examples from the short stories collected in Vizio di forma and Lilít, as well as from the essays of L’altrui mestiere. The results of this survey of Levi’s anthropological sources also provide new insights into his creative process and lead to a rethinking of the role of ethnography in his intellectual history.