A Tournament of Misfits

of Misfits, comprising a selection of short stories translated by Nicolas J. Perella, is a remarkable contribution to a wider exposure of this writer's important works. Palazzeschi started his career as a poet in 1908 by financing the publication of a verse vol ume which attracted the attention of critics and provided him with the sympathy and support of Marinetti, the founder of futurism. InPoesia, the journal edited by Marinetti, Palazzeschi published another collection of poems, LIncendiario (The Arsonist, 1910 and 1913) as well as the novel that made him respected by Italian intellectuals, // c?dice di Perel? (Man of Smoke, 1911), and his own literary manifesto, which he titled Controdolore (An Antidote to Pain, 1914). The collaboration with Marinetti was terminated by Palazzeschi on account of the futurists' pro-war stance. Palazzeschi, a pacifist, could not endorse Marinetti's enthusi astic position in favor of an Italian intervention in the Great War. Nevertheless, he was drafted by the Italian Army and, while spending very lit tle time on the frontline, he was stationed for most of the duration of the war in Florence. On the basis of this experience he published an autobiographical book titled Due imperi... mancati in 1920. In 1934 he wrote Le sorelle Materassi, a novel that established him as one of the most influential voices of Italian culture. He continued to write short stories, novels, and verses throughout his life and died in 1974 when, in preparation for his ninetieth birthday, the influential literary journal // Verri was on the verge of publishing a monographic issue on his work. Throughout his whole literary production, Palazzeschi challenged Italy's social and literary myths by employing an original style that

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