Ingaggiare le immagini: il caso di «Lotta Poetica»

«Lotta Poetica» is one of the most interesting Italian 'esoeditorial' periodicals due to its longevity. Since its first issue in 1971, it has been published in three series (1971-75; 1982-84; 1987) and is still published on an intermittent base, even today. The periodical was founded by Sarenco and De Vree and is an excellent gauge to understand and grasp the most politicized side of Visual Poetry; with Marx and Mao Tse-tung as its elected guides its credo is rooted in Leninist faith. Starting from this statement, variously reaffirmed over the years, «Lotta Poetica» becomes a testing ground and a great springboard for generations of artists, encouraging their revolutionary spirits. National and international artists have been introduced in its pages: this have included not just verbal-visual poets, but also Fluxus and constructivist-concrete artists, along with many other different personalities. This paper, focuses on some important aspects generally neglected by art critics, touching four nodal points in the first series (1971-75): the editorial and organizational reasons for its long success, the art-historical controversies, the importance of Walter Benjamin's theories and the possible role of Situationist International.