“Surging Tide at Dusk”: Translingual Poetics between Italy and Australia

This study delves into the realm of translingual poetics by examining the works of two Italian-Australian authors: Paolo Totaro and Enoe Di Stefano. Having migrated to Australia at different times—Di Stefano in 1949 and Totaro in 1963—both authors have developed remarkable literary paths that foreground their ability to move fluidly across different languages and cultures. This research adds to the ongoing critical discourse surrounding the relational and transformative nature of translingual writing, which has gained increasing recognition in literary scholarship. More specifically, this study aims to make theoretical-critical contributions in two key areas. First, it seeks to advance the discussion on literary translingualism in settler colonial contexts, and specifically in the Australian one. Second, it aims to further explore the translingual trajectory that historically permeates the landscape of Italophone and Australian literatures. This contribution aims to advance the analysis of the generative potential of translingual dynamics within the poetic field and across a transnational and transcultural trajectory.