by ILARIA SERRA This article wants to be a bridge between Italy and the United States – under the sign of poetry and pietas. Therefore, it is presented both in English and Italian. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burst in flames on March 25, 1911, and that tragedy has not been forgotten. On that day, 146 …
In search of her deeper roots: an interview with Louisa Calio
by ROSA AMATULLI American born, Louisa Calio is a poet, writer and artistic performer, whose work has been described as possessing “a sensitivity to multiculturalism and ethnic diversity that is sometimes lacking in Italian American culture” (Stanislao Pugliese), and “a profound passion for the lyrical,” (Henry Louis Gates, Jr.).Winner ofnumerous awards in Italy and in the USA, …
Four poems by Peter Covino
by PETER COVINO Dressed (iPhone Text and Image) In richly hand-embroidered gray lace, like the women in storefront dress shops used to make in vacation villages near the Amalfi Coast. The stitch and colors less delicate, garishly saturated, coarser fabric, tending toward silver-blue; layered uneven skirt, ample in the midsection, undulant, just below the knee. …
From the unpublished manuscript “Sister 5” by Louise DeSalvo
An introduction by Edvige Giunta “Every memoirist is a ghost writer”: Louise DeSalvo Four Years after her Death–and the Posthumous Publication of “Sister 5” It seems appropriate that the first writing by Louise DeSalvo to be published since her death almost four years ago appears both in the original, unedited English text and in a …
Sofia and the tomato sauce
by MICHELA VALMORI Sofia was born in America, but her mom and dad were Italian, from Napoli. She lived happily in New York with her family and her Nonna and Nonno. Sofia was a cute and sweet young girl, she loved her school, but she enjoyed summer most because her Nonna Anna would take her …
Eat With Guys You Trust
di ANNIE LANZILLOTTO The Bronx, New York, 1968 “War is full of smoke.” Lanzi’s laugh is a single gruff exhale. Cigarette smoke gushes out his nostrils and up into the light over the table. His eyebrows are thick and black and move up and down one at a time fast as pinball flippers. His left …
The Working Christs of Ralph Fasanella
by ILARIA SERRA “Poor Christ,” Italian immigrant. The Italian saying refers to people who are unlucky and disgraced: Poor Christ… but in Italian American literature and art it has become a widespread metaphor, at least thanks to the foundational novel Christ in Concrete by Pietro di Donato, released in the United States in 1939 and …
Before and after tin foil
di JOANNA CLAPPS HERMAN It all started with tinfoil Or maybe tissues. Paper napkins? We lived one way—a time of constraint– before tin foil and a completely different way after tin foil– one which rapidly raced toward the future. Definitely using tissues changed the way we lived. When paper towels came along times changed even …
‘La vita promessa’, an italian tv series
by MICHELA VALMORI On September 16th, 2018, the Italian TV series “La Vita PROMESSA” was premiered in Italy. Under the direction of Ricky Tognazzi and Simona Izzo, the screenplay of Laura Toscano and Franco Marotta and the production of Picomedia, it was proposed in prime time to the Italian public, the story and the evolution …
From the other direction: a conversation with Charles Cantalupo
by ROSA AMATULLI Charles Cantalupo’s work has received support from the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations and the World Bank. He is the author of four books of translations of Eritrean poetry; four books of literary criticism ranging from Thomas Hobbes to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o; and a memoir, Joining Africa – from Anthills to Asmara. His two most …