CHRONOLOGY

1980 Born in Omignano, Salerno, as first son of Pietro Lerro and Rosanna Pinto.
1997 Gets the prize “Amicizia” and publishes comments on the poetry of Mario Giuseppe Restivo.
1999 Gets diploma in building surveying at the School “ITCG E.Cenni” of Vallo della Lucania (Salerno).
2000 Starts a course in foreign language at the University of Salerno. Also begins to work for the periodical il Salernitano.
2002 Roberto Carifi writes about Uncertain Stumps [Ceppi Incerti] (at this point an unpublished manuscript) in the poetry magazine Poesia.
Death of Augusto Placanica, Lerro’s professor and mentor. Lerro writes on the “Modern Method of Teaching” for Placanica’s commemorative website, set up by the University of Salerno.
2003 The historical literary café Giubbe Rosse publishes Uncertain Stumps [Ceppi Incerti] in Florence. Lerro lives and studies in Oxford for seven months.
2004 Gets his degree in Foreign Languages and Literature at the University of Salerno.
2005 Lerro collects all his prose and new poetical work from the period in which he was studying and publishes it with the title Steps of Silent Freedoms [Passi di Libertà Silenziose]. Gets the official status of “Journalist Pubblicista”. Starts to work for Mondadori, Italy’s main publishing house.
2006 The book of poetry Without Sky [Senza cielo] is published. Lerro signs the introduction “Augusto Orrel”. Teaches English for some months at the secondary school “Luigi Einaudi” in Milan.
2007 Teaches English language and literature in the secondary school “Avogadro” in Vercelli.Gets a Scholarship from the University of Salerno to study abroad. Begins Masters” degree in “The Body and Representation” at the University of Reading, UK. Lives a period of strong creativity and publishes the following
books: Between Dress and the Soul [Tra-vestito e L’anima], The Beats of the Night [I Battiti della Notte], I feel it was really worth it [Sento che ne è Valsa la Pena], Aphorisms [Aforismi], The Poets without Sky [I Poeti Senza Cielo], Stories [Storie] (published under the “Augusto Orrel” pseudonym), Story of a boy from Cilento around the World [Storia di un Cilentano in Giro per il Mondo] (using the pseudonym “Serse Monetti”), Augusto Orrel: Memories of Horror and Poetry [Augusto Orrel: Memorie d’Orrore e Poesia] with an introduction by Erminia Passannanti, Aphorisms of a Single Night [Aforismi di una Notte], Essays on the Body [Saggi sul Corpo], The Body Between Autobiography and
Autobiographical Novels [Il Corpo tra Autobiografia e Romanzi Autobiografici].
2008 Completes his Masters’ studies and graduates with merit. Begins a PhD programme at the University of Reading. Leaves for Vercelli where he teaches at students with disabilities. Gets a grant to study for his PhD at the University of Salerno; leaves the University of Reading. The book Spring [Primavera], collected poems from 1997 to 2007 published with a preface from Roberto Carifi.
2009 Spring [Primavera] wins first prize at the “Renata Canepa”; is finalist for the prestigious “Leonforte Prize”. Mondadori’s important literary magazine 'Nuovi Argomenti' selects Lerro as one of the poets to represent the new generation of poets born in the 1980s.
Publishes the monograph The Lyric Poet in Autobiographical Poetry [L’io Lirico nella Poesia Autobiografica] which features an interview with some of Italy’s main critics and poets. Publishes the collection of shorth stories Mary’s Diary and Other Stories [Il Diario di Mary e altri Racconti] with an introduction
by Erminia Passannanti. Publishes the collection of poetry The Eyes upon Time [Gli Occhi sul Tempo], featuring a preface by Giorgio Bárberi Squarotti and
Walter Mauro. The volume is one three finalists for the prize “Alfonso Gatto”.
The Ten Commandments [I Dieci Comandamenti] is printed, with introductions by Giuliano Ladolfi and Vincenzo Guarracino. Publishes Scents of Summer [Profumi d’Estate] with an introduction by Luigi Cannillo. The book wins two first prizes: “Aquilaia” and “Golden eagle”.
Is given the expert status “Cultore della Materia” at the University of Salerno.
2010 A selection of his poems are translated into Spanish as Poesías Elegidas by Ana María Pinedo López with an introduction by Carla Perugini, Alessandro Serpieri and Gabriela Fantato. The book My Child [Il Mio Bambino] is published with introductions by Francesco D’Episcopo, Giuseppe Lupo, Roberto Carifi and Sandro Gros-Pietro. The book The Poet’s Cobweb [La Tela del Poeta] (edited by
Lerro) is published. Lives for three months in Oxford for research purposes.
Becomes Visiting Scholar at the University of Reading. The book The Eyes upon Criticism [Gli Occhi sulla Critica] is published by Maria Rosaria La Marca, featuring critical responses to the book The Eyes upon Time.
2011 Selected Poems, edited and translated by Andrew Mangham with Maria Rosaria La Marca, is published in Italy. Undertakes postgraduate teaching at the University of Reading.
2011 Presentation of Lerro’s poetry organised by the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Reading.
2012 Completes his Phd in English and Spanish literature. Publishes the monograph Telling oneself in verse. The Autobiographical Poetry in England and in Spain (1950-1980). [Raccontarsi in versi. La poesia autobiografica in Inghilterra e in Spagna (1950-1980)]. In the name of the father [Nel nome del padre] is published with an introduction by Giuseppe Gentile. The short story Fuga da Orrel [The Escape from Orrel] is analyzed and translated into German by Maria Brunner. Il mio bambino [My child] is one of the three finalists for the prize “I Murazzi”. Teaches English language and literature in the secondary school “Ferraris” in Borgosesia.