Poet, translator, and new media artist Francesco Levato is the author of three books of poetry: Elegy for Dead Languages, forthcoming from Torino Poesia; War Rug, a book length documentary poem; and Marginal State. His translations of the works of Italian poets, Tiziano Fratus, Creaturing, and Fabiano Alborghetti, The Opposite Shore, are forthcoming from Marick Press in the spring and fall of 2010. His work has been published internationally in journals and anthologies, both in print and online, including The Los Angeles Review, Drunken Boat, The Progressive, XCP: Cross Cultural Poetics, Versal, and many others. His poetry-based video artwork has been exhibited in galleries and featured at film festivals in Berlin, Germany; Chicago; New York; Potenza, Italy and elsewhere. He maintains an active reading, film screening, and publication schedule both in Chicago and abroad.
Publications
Books
- The Opposite Shore, by Fabiano Alborghetti, translated from the Italian by Francesco Levato (Marick Press, October, 2010)
- Elegy for Dead Languages (Torino Poesia, summer 2010)
- Creaturing, by Tiziano Fratus, translated from the Italian by Francesco Levato (Marick Press, March, 2010)
- War Rug (Plastique Press, 2009)
- Marginal State (Fractal Edge Press, 2006)
Anthologies
- A Writers’ Congress: Chicago Poets on the Inauguration of Barack Obama (DePaul University Press, 2009), Gathering Breath
- While the He/art Pants: Poetic Responses to the 2008 American Elections (Fieralingue, 2009), Gathering Breath
- Witness: Anthology of Poetry (Serengeti Press), Blood and Oil; Kimono Tattoo
Journals
- After Hours
- Arabesques Review
- Big Bridge
- Big Tex[t]
- Cesium Magazine
- Citizen 32 (London)
- Drunken Boat
- Fact-Simile
- Fieralingue
- Los Angeles Review
- LUDWIG (Italy)
- Moria
- Newtopia Magazine
- Out of Line
- Outsider Ink
- Poems Niederngasse
- Poets Against War
- Scapegoat Review
- Seven Corners
- Sharkforum
- Slope
- Spire Magazine
- Spoken War
- Snow Monkey
- The Progressive
- Versal (Amsterdam)
- Voices in Wartime
- Xcp: Cross Cultural Poetics
- Xcp: Streetnotes
Exhibitions
(New Media Poetics, Poetry Film Screenings/Installations)
- UNESCO and the United Nations SRC Film Society, New York, NY, 2010
- Split This Rock Poetry Festival, Washington, DC, 2010
- Potenza International Film Festival, Potenza, Italy, 2009
- Binary: a pairing of opposite states, St. Paul’s Cultural Center, Chicago, 2009
- The Black Market Gallery, Chicago, 2009
- Sepia, Susan Aurinko, Guest Curator, Mars Gallery, Chicago, 2009
- The Kinsey Institute’s 2009 Juried Art Show, Indiana University School of Fine Arts Gallery, Bloomington, IN, 2009
- UniVerse: Festival of International Poetry, Chicago Center for the Performing Arts, 2009
- Zebra Poetry Film Festival, Berlin, Germany, 2008
- Visible Verse, Pacific Cinémathèque, Vancouver, Canada, 2008
- Split This Rock Poetry Festival, Washington, DC, 2008
- Experiencing the War in Iraq, reconnectUS, Fall River, MA, 2008
- artXposium, West Chicago, IL, 2007
- Mission Accomplished: Contemporary Political Art,
- Digital Artist’s Space, Troy, NY, 2007
- Peace Tower, Chicago Cultural Center, 2007
- Painting with Fire, Chen Gallery, New Britain, CT, 2007
- From Sham to Shame, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, 2007
- Peace & Justice Exhibit, Acme Artworks, Chicago, 2006
Online Exhibitions
- Drunken Boat, www.drunkenboat.com, 2009
- Living With War Today, Neil Young, www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday, 2008
- UniVerse :: A United Nations of Poetry, www.universeofpoetry.org, 2008
Lectures/Speaking engagements
- Split This Rock Poetry Festival, spring 2010, Documentary Poetics
- &Now Festival of Innovative Writing, 2009, SUNY, New Media Poetics
- ROCKPILE, with David Meltzer and Michael Rothenberg, 2009, poetry/improvisational jazz fusion
- Series A: Conference on Chicago Poetics, 2009, Hyde Park Art Center, New Media Poetics
- Series A, 2009, Hyde Park Art Center, poetry reading
- Upstairs at Erika’s, 2009, poetry film screening
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago, spring 2009, guest lecturer, New Media Poetics
- Myopic Reading Series, 2008, poetry reading
- Harold Washington College, 2006, guest speaker, poetry publication
- Lewis University, 2006, guest speaker
- Midwest Literary Festival, 2006, guest lecturer, Poetry as Social Engagement
- World Can’t Wait at Columbia College, 2006, guest speaker, The Artist’s Role in Resistance
Editorships
- The Atlanta Review, 2010, guest editor, Italian poetry in translation
- Ekleksographia, 2010, guest editor, poetry of The New Chicago School
- Plastique Press, 2009, founding editor
- Drunken Boat, 2009, guest editor, video poetry
- Hands on Stanzas Anthology of Student Poetry, The Poetry Center of Chicago, 2007–present, editor/publisher
- Locuspoint Magazine, 2006, Chicago poetry editor
- Ink & Ashes: a journal of the senses, 2005, founding editor
- UniVerse of Poetry, 2005–present, editor, artistic director
- Newtopia Magazine, 2004, poetry editor
Curatorial
- Split This Rock Poetry Festival, poetry film, Washington, DC, 2008-2010
- Drunken Boat, poetry film, Chester, CT, 2009
- Cinema Poetic, the Poetry Center of Chicago, poetry film, 2009-present
- Zebra Poetry Film Festival, literaturWERKstatt, poetry film, Berlin, Germany, 2008
Broadcasts
- A Writers’ Congress (WBEZ, Chicago)
- L’incontro: An evening of experimental voices in Italian poetry (WBEZ, Chicago)
- Poetry & It’s Music International (WNUR, Chicago)
- Prosody Radio (WYEP, Pittsburgh)
- Word Slingers Radio (WLUW, Chicago)
Awards
- Potenza International Film Festival, War Rug, finalist, 2009
- Mississippi Valley Poetry Chapbook Contest, finalist, 2009
- Chicago’s Lit 50, Newcity Magazine, 2009
- Pushcart Prize nomination, War Rug (Xcp: Cross Cultural Poetics, 2008)
- Private foundation award for filmmakers (2008, for Zebra Poetry Film Festival)
- Pushcart Prize nomination, An Act of Faith, Marginal State (Fractal Edge Press, 2006)
- Vermont Studio Center, two consecutive poetry fellowships
