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Notability[edit]

Notability needs to be shown by providing independent secondary soures (rather than e.g. referencing the subject's own website). I looked on Google Books and found an author biog in a published book (Nocturnes). I looked on the Nexis archive and found three news items that mentioned Daniele Pantano, one in English (editing the Florida University journal) and two in German (work performed at a jazz event, and a review of one of his books). Also a PEN press release. I found some weblinks relating to these. Maybe someone can come up with further independent secondary sources that will meet Wikipedia's criteria for notability, e.g. in some of the "external links" previously provided. Much of the info on the existing page matches info on Pantano's profile page at Lincoln University, but that is self-written (first-person) and not an independent seconday source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cosech (talk • contribs) 19:23, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Google Books (searching for "Daniele Pantano) lists numerous books published by this subject. The British 3AM Magazine introduces the subject as "One of the leading poets of central Europe" (https://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/maintenant-83-daniele-pantano/), A JSTOR search for the author results in 164 entries, and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, a major European newspaper, published a review of his book and states: "Mit diesem Band beweist Pantano, dass er zu den interessantesten und vielseitigsten englischsprachigen Dichtern seiner Generation gehört" ("With this volume, Pantano proves that he is one of the most interesting and versatile English-language poets of his generation") (https://www.nzz.ch/staerkste_konzentrationen-ld.963244). Furthermore, WORLDCAT lists numerous books published by the subject (https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Daniele+Pantano&offset=1&itemType=book&itemSubType=book-printbook%2Cbook-digital%2Cbook-thsis%2Cbook-mss%2Cbook-braille%2Cbook-largeprint%2Cbook-mic%2Cbook-continuing). I believe the above sources, as well as the existing sources in the article, meet Wikipedia's criteria for notability. Invisible Library (talk) 22:42, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Great, please incorporate this info into the article, including references. Please do not use the author's own website as a reference. Cosech (talk) 22:49, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Please also bear in mind that Wikipedia's definition of "notability" is quite specific. The question is not whether Pantano is a "notable writer" in general terms, but whether sufficient independent secondary sources exist to make him acceptable as a Wikipedia subject. Cosech (talk) 22:51, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
And can anyone find a reference for the PhD he is claimed to have? University of Lincoln describes him as Mr, not Dr. Cosech (talk) 22:53, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Based on previous versions of the article, Pantano was a PhD student at the University of South Florida between 2005 and 2008. He left the institution with an ABD code, meaning "all but dissertation," so no PhD received. Invisible Library (talk) 23:35, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
InvisibleLibrary has for over a decade only contributed to accounts on here to promote Pantano. The only conclusion given details about the unfinished PhD offered by them that aren't sourced elsewhere is InvisibleLibrary is Pantano. Given other issues flagged on this page regarding self-promotion this violates what Wiki is for and is a conflict of interest. Wrex1979 (talk) 15:26, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I’m not the subject of this page, sorry. I began contributing to this page in 2012 as part of a Gymnasium project, where we were asked to find a page by a Swiss person to add new information to in order to practice our research and editorial skills. I continued beyond the work as an apprentice editor, with information from websites, databases, and social media. Now it is starting to become more of an annoying task due to editors removing information, adding tags, and other issues . . . Invisible Library (talk) 17:49, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I have now added additional sources and a line regarding the Neue Zürcher Zeitung book review. Invisible Library (talk) 23:33, 13 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Proposed deletion (subject insufficiently notable)[edit]

I still believe this article should be deleted on the grounds that the subject is insufficiently notable in Wikipedia terms. There is a strong suspicion that the user Invisible Library is Pantano himself, or his representative(s), and the article is being used for self promotion. I expect that if I reinstate the “propose delete” template it will quickly be pulled down again, so I won’t bother. Nor will I waste time making any further edits to the article, but will note various things here instead.

Invisible Library edited the article’s info box to say that Pantano’s occupations included “professor”. He is not a professor. His job title is Associate Professor, a position that in English universities is equivalent to Senior Lecturer. It does not entitle Pantano to call himself professor. If he had a PhD his title would be Doctor. He doesn’t have a PhD so his title is Mister. Instead of “professor” his occupation is “lecturer” or “academic”. I see that Wrex1979 has already corrected this and I hope that Invisible Library will respect the correction.

On Pantano’s Lincoln University website he lists his highest qualification as PhD (ABD). That is not a genuine qualification, and to say otherwise is a gross misrepresentation. If Pantano can be so flexible with the truth about his academic qualifications, anything else that he or his representative(s) say about him should be treated with extreme caution.

ABD is a term used informally by doctoral candidates who have not yet completed their dissertation – it stands for “all but dissertation”. It is a self-description with no official meaning, used as a shorthand way of saying that the dissertation is due to be completed. Pantano could not have left South Florida University with a “PhD (ABD) code” as Invisible Library says, since no such code exists. He left with nothing, having failed to complete his dissertation. The University of South Florida has a seven-year time limit on PhD completion, and Pantano left in 2008, so he can no longer call himself ABD, even informally. If he wants a PhD he should re-register for one. Giving the false impression that he has one is an insult to the students he teaches.

The Wikipedia article’s info box lists various “notable works”. There’s no indication why these are notable. None of Pantano’s works have received a literary prize, shortlisting or other distinction. His university profile lists various grants and teaching awards, but no literary accolades. Nor can I find any evidence of particular literary distinction in the independent sources I’ve checked.

The Books section of the article is very long. It should be split into separate lists, e.g. one for collections, then another for pamphlets/chapbooks etc. (See e.g. the page for Simon Armitage). ISBN numbers would be helpful.

The notability issue is not about how many things Pantano has written, translated, edited or done. It is about how much independent secondary content on him exists. Pantano is clearly very active as a poet, translator and editor (measured by things he has produced, or websites that mention things he has done), but his impact (measured by reviews in newspapers and scholarly journals, or discussions of his work in published books) is very small.

In Google Books I found many books by Pantano, or anthologies which include work by Pantano, but I found no books with secondary critical comment or analysis.

In Google Scholar I found many items by another Danele Pantano (a biomedical researcher), but nothing to indicate research activity by Lincoln University’s Pantano, or critical response to his work.

I searched the Nexis and ProQuest archives for coverage in newspapers and scholarly journals (search terms “Daniele Pantano” and “Daniel Pantano”, date range unlimited). I found eight items connected to the Pantano in question. All referred to his work as poet, editor or translator – none referred to other artistic work. I referenced three news items in the Wikipedia article (Pantano editing USF journal “Saw Palm” in 2007; Dalia Donadio performing a setting of his poetry in 2018; Pantano signing PEN open letter in 2022). Of the other five items I found, one was a book review by Pantano (PANTANO, D., 2005. Switching Languages: Translingual Writers Reflect on Their Craft. Style, 39(1), pp. 95-97,102) and two were reviews of translations by Pantano of works by Robert Walser and Friedrich Durrenmatt (Making the Old New. 2022. World Literature Today, 96(6), pp. 40. // Published this Week. 2010. Times Higher Education, pp. 56.)

That left just two print reviews of Pantano’s poetry – the only critical commentary I could find in published sources. Both were reviews of The Oldest Hands in the World (New York: Black Lawrence Press, 2010). Here they are in full:

A review by Kristina Marie Darling in Madison Literary Review:

Each poem in The Oldest Hands in the World offers readers a carefully-crafted stylistic engagement with the Modernist legacy of Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, and Richard Aldington. Daniele Pantano reworks and modernizes this longstanding literary tradition while still honoring his predecessors’ preoccupations with poetic image. By imbuing “mirrors,” “dishes,” and “darkened rooms” with philosophical significance, Pantano reexamines the “unremarkable ruins” of our everyday lives, which give rise to “chaos,” “remembrance,” and “metamorphosis.” (Literary Review; Madison Vol. 54, Iss. 3, (Spring 2011): 196,199.)

An unsigned review in Neue Zürcher Zeitung:

Der 1976 geborene Schweizer Daniele Pantano, Übersetzer von Dürrenmatt und Trakl ins Englische, lebt und lehrt seit längerem in den USA und in Grossbritannien und schreibt selbst ausschliesslich auf Englisch. Jetzt hat er eine neue bemerkenswerte Sammlung unter dem Titel «The Oldest Hands in the World» vorgelegt. Pantano steckt mit seinen Gedichten einen weiten formalen Raum ab, in dem jede Erfahrung zu einer anderen poetischen Lösung führt. Er spielt mit der Sprache, ohne in leere Sprachartistik zu verfallen, er beobachtet genau und verwandelt das Beobachtete in Bilder von kristallklarer Abstraktion, hinter der sich immer ein Geheimnis oder ein unausgesprochener Abgrund auftut. Feine Ironie weht durch die Verse, leicht groteske Perspektiven deuten auf etwas, das beunruhigt oder gar von tödlichem Ernst ist. Wie im titelgebenden Gedicht über die Hände einer Kellnerin im Café sind Exil, Fremdheit, Verlust die beherrschenden Themen, aber auch das Aufblitzen von Schönheit: «Read the line / That ends in God's breath.» Mit diesem Band beweist Pantano, dass er zu den interessantesten und vielseitigsten englischsprachigen Dichtern seiner Generation gehört. (“Stärkste Konzentrationen”. (Die Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Section: FEUILLETON; S. 42. December 29, 2010).

The NZZ review ends with the bold claim, “With this book, Pantano proves that he is one of the most interesting and versatile English-language poets of his generation.” That’s a great quote, and Pantano is certainly justified in using it to the full in his PR, but this opinion by an anonymous person at a Zürich newspaper is the only one of its kind that I have been able to find in printed sources. The Invisible Library has included a quote from a 3: AM Magazine interview, also very PR-worthy – but arts interviewers always big-up their interviewees.

The conclusion from all this is that Daniele Pantano is a highly active writer and artist, and no doubt a very inspiring teacher, but his professional impact as a poet and translator is small, and it is questionable whether he justifies inclusion in Wikipedia. He clearly has some merit as a poet, but it would be in his own interests for him and his representative(s) to refrain from making grandiose and misleading claims about his qualifications and achievements. Cosech (talk) 18:38, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. It stretches credibility beyond breaking that someone would dedicate over a decade to promoting and exaggerating only one person and their credentials to this extent without having a personal interest to do so. It increases that implausibility further they would do that by abusing the term ‘PhD (ABD)’ in the exact and unusual way Cosech patiently found and described the subject doing on their college staff page, as previous edits here show happening. Furthermore, how would an unconnected person even be able to claim what code an individual student left a university with as InvisibleLibrary claimed to know the code by which Pantano left Florida University with in a previous edit?
So the ‘Close Connection’ tag needs to remain given that concern endures. If the tag is removed we can escalate this page to formal Wiki 'Delete / Keep' page debate and open this up for scrutiny by further people. There’s evidently a few concerned about if this page has secondary independent sources to denote notability after all.
I would just second that whoever has been exaggerating Pantano’s qualifications has done him no favours in attracting this kind attention to him. In the military the term for this is 'stealing valour.' 109.144.218.241 (talk) 12:27, 19 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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