Gesualdo Bufalino

Gesualdo Bufalino (Italian pronunciation: [dʒezuˈaldo bufaˈliːno]; 15 November 1920 – 14 June 1996), was an Italian writer who lived in Sicily for most of his life.

Bufalino was born in Comiso, Sicily. His father was a blacksmith. He went to school in Ragusa and attended University of Catania and University of Palermo. He was a high-school principal in his hometown, until his retirement in 1976.

Immediately after World War II, he had to spend some time in a hospital for tuberculosis; hence he drew the material for the novel Diceria dell'untore (The Plague Sower). The book was written in 1950 and completed in 1971, but was published only in 1981, thanks to Bufalino's friend and well-known writer Leonardo Sciascia who discovered his talents. Diceria dell'untore won the Premio Campiello. In 1988, the novel Le menzogne della notte (Night's Lies) won the Strega Prize. In 1990 he won the Nino Martoglio International Book Award. In his native town, the Biblioteca di Bufalino ("Bufalino's Library") is now named after him.