ABSTRACT
In December 1983, a literary conference devoted to the theme of "Writing Sicily" was held in the Sicilian city of Syracuse. Its purpose was to examine the different ways contemporary Sicilian writers conceived of and represented their native homeland as a locus of social and existential meaning. This chapter attempts to describe constitutes by analogy what is often referred to as a "paradigm shift" from global to local theorizing, from modernity to postmodernity. The late 1950s in Italy signal the beginning of a radical transformation in the economic and social structures of Italian society. Industrial production is intensified and geared toward mass consumption and the creation of a cultural market-place. In the prisoners' fate of impending death, Bufalino has allegorized the writing process: a signal in the head of the watchful author that reminds him that death is near.
