PyTextile is a simple text to HTML converter.
>>> import textile
>>> textile.__version__
'2.1.4'
>>> s = """
... _This_ is a *test.*
...
... * One
... * Two
... * Three
...
... Link to "Slashdot":http://slashdot.org/
... """
>>> html = textile.textile(s)
>>> print html
<em>This</em> is a <strong>test.</strong>
<ul>
<li>One</li>
<li>Two</li>
<li>Three</li>
</ul>
<p>Link to <a href="http://slashdot.org/">Slashdot</a>
</p>
>>>