Born in Patti, Sicily, the son of a liceo classico literature professor, Joppolo studied political and social sciences at the University of Florence, graduating in 1929.

[1] Joppolo made his literary debut in 1929, with the poetry collection I canti dei sensi e dell'idea.

[1][2] Starting from 1941, he authored numerous plays, which featured "existential crisis usually set in a surreal dimension, in which, however, there was no lack of denunciation of a society that deprived the individual of freedom".

[1] He also wrote novels and was an art and film critic for publications such as Corrente [it], L'Ora, Il Gazzettino, Filmcritica.

[1] In 1942, Joppolo married painter Carla Rossi, and starting from 1947 he began painting he himself, holding his first solo exhibition in 1949.