Il problema del palinsesto nell'opera di David Samojlov. Il caso di "Nočnoj gost'"

The reflection on writing and rewriting processes is here declined in an enquiry exploring the work of the Russian poet David Samoylov (1920-1990) through the category of the palimpsest. This category is used to metaphorically identify any text overlapping with a previous text, which is however not completely hidden, but remains visible in transparency. By illustrating some of the main ways in which the palimpsest is achieved in Samoylov’s poetic practice, it will be argued that it can be considered a proper privileged form of his writing. Through the problematic case of «Nochnoy gost’» [The Night Guest], a rather complex and polygenetic text, it will be shown that the tracks of the palimpsest do not necessarily perform a semantic-interpretive function. Therefore, an attempt will be made to reflect upon and highlight their further functions.