Our Roots Are Deep with Passion New Essays by Italian-American Writers

by Gutkind, Lee; Herman, Joanna Clapps

• ISBN13: 9781590512425
• ISBN10: 1590512421
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-17
• Publisher: Other Press

Summary

Thoughtful, poignant, and hilarious personal essays collected by the editors of Creative Nonfiction explore the meanings of Italian-American identity. In the twenty-one nonfiction narratives collected inOur Roots Are Deep with Passion, established and emerging writers with family ties to Italy reflect on the ways that their lives have been accented with uniquely Italian-American flavors. Several of the essays breathe new life into the time-honored theme of familyLouise DeSalvo honors her grandfather, nick-named "the drunk" because he spent his life of hard work drinking wine instead of water, and James Vescovi portrays the close of the stormy relationship between his father and grandmother. Other stories tackle the mystical side of Italian-American life, like Laura Valeri's account of a summer vacation seance in Sardinia that goes eerily awry. And elsewhere, Stephanie Susnjara charts the history of garlic in society and her kitchen, and Gina Barreca offers an unabashed confession of congenital jealousy. Lee Gutkind, founding editor ofCreative Nonfiction, the nation's premier nonfiction prose literary journal, and Joanna Clapps Herman have brought together artful essays by novelists, scholars, critics, and memoirists from across the country. The pieces are as varied as their authors, but all explore the unique intersections of language, tradition, cuisine, and culture that characterize the diverse experience of Americans of Italian heritage.

Author Biography

Lee Gutkind

Lee Gutkind, proclaimed ‚"the Godfather behind creative nonfiction‚" by Vanity Fair, is a professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of eight books, including Forever Fat: Essays by the Godfather.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Foreword	xi
Joe Mantegna
Introduction: The Evolution of an Anthology and the Living Tissue of Passion	xv
Lee Gutkind
'Mbriago	1	(14)
Louise DeSalvo
Words and Rags	15	(13)
Joanna Clapps Herman
These Innocent Lambs	28	(18)
Laura Valeri
The Walls of Gela	46	(22)
Edvige Giunta
I Denti Famiglia	68	(3)
Phyllis Capello
Sacrifice	71	(16)
Maria Laurino
My Father's Music	87	(17)
Ned Balbo
Washington Square	104	(17)
Carol Bonomo Albright
The Names of Horses	121	(12)
Annie Rachele Lanzillotto
Dagos in Mayberry	133	(15)
Peter Selgin
I Heard You the First Time, Daddy	148	(9)
Rita Ciresi
Bitter Herbs?	157	(20)
Sandra M. Gilbert
St. Sebastian in Boston	177	(13)
Randy-Michael Testa
Daughters of Mongrassano	190	(9)
Jeanna Lucci Canapari
Allium Longicuspis	199	(12)
Stephanie Susnjara
Jealousy, or The Autobiography of an Italian Woman	211	(12)
Gina Barreca
II Pasto Che Parla	223	(11)
Valerie K. Waldrop
Selling the House	234	(10)
Marianna De Marco Torgovnick
Italian American: The Next Generation	244	(11)
Christine Palamidessi Moore
Mama, Che Cosa Vuoi Che Faccio?	255	(16)
James Vescovi
Italian Bride	271	(16)
Mary Beth Caschetta
About Creative Nonfiction	287