Enzo Striano was born in Naples on February the 22nd, 1927 from Pasquale, Neapolitan railway train driver and Antonia Fadda, elementary school teacher, born and raised in Sardinia . He spent his early years in San Giovanni, in the western suburban area of Naples , living in a house between the beach and the railway. Later Pasquale Striano decided to move to Naples , so that his sons and daughter could attend the «Regio Liceo Ginnasio Giuseppe Garibaldi», where Enzo studied during his adolescence. This lifetime would be recalled by the writer in his novel Giornale di adolescenza ( Adolescence journal , Milano Mondadori, 2000) a Bildungsroman written in order to face and solve his contradictory feelings towards his father and family in a recent past lived in Naples during the Fascism, a time of uncertainty and strong suggestions.
In1945, still an high school student, Enzo Striano published his first stories and critical writings on the little journal «La Giovane Fronda», which he founded together with other young intellectuals.
While attending university courses in the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy at the University «Federico II» in Naples , he was more and more involved in journalism and writing. Between 1947 and 1949 he wrote for the weekly magazine «La Cronaca», for the daily newespapers «La Repubblica d'Italia» (where he was in charge of the column «24 Ore» ), for the political journals «Avanti!», «La Voce del Mezzogiorno», «Il Vesuvio».
During the university years Enzo Striano took part to the study group «Antonio Gramsci», permanent laboratory founded by professor Nino Cortese in order to study in depth the first twenty years of the XX century in Italy . Within this study group Striano developed a research on the literary and artistic life of this historical period. He was deeply involved in the cultural and political meetings held at the mathematic professor Renato Caccioppoli 's house, where he could discuss about literature, philosophy, science, politics, music with other intellectuals.
In the early Fifties Enzo Striano became a member of the Communist Party: in 1951 wrote for «Gioventù nuova», monthly magazine of the communist youth federation, then became a member of the Neapolitan editorial staff of the communist journal «L'Unità», where he worked until 1957. In 1954 he was awarded the third prize at the literary contest «Pozzale» with the story La carriera di Sassòne ( Sassòne's career ) published the following year within the young writers' stories collection L'Italia l'è malada ( Italy is sick ) [ Milano-Roma, Edizioni « Avanti! » , 1955] . >>>>>>>>
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