Ada Negri

Negri, Ada (ä'dä nĕ'grē), 1870-1945, Italian writer. Her first poems, Fatalità (1892, tr. Fate and Other Poems, 1898) voiced bitter protest against the state of the poor. Her passionate lyrics, developed in Maternità (1904), reached their climax in Il libro di Mara (1919). Canti dell'isola (1924) sang of the beauty of Capri. In her last years Negri took refuge in religion and her last volumes of poetry, Vespertina (1931) and Il dono (1936), express resignation and serenity. Her prose includes Le solitarie (1917), short stories, and the autobiographical novel Stella mattutina (1921, tr. Morning Star, 1930). She became the first woman member of the Italian Academy in 1940.