Description
Book SynopsisVoices of Italian America presents the first authoritative study and anthology of the largely Italian-language literature written and published in the U.S. from the heydays of the Great Migration (1880-1920) to the almost definitive demise of the cultural world of the first generation soon before and after WWII.
Trade Review"Marazzi's work is certainly a worthy endeavor, and the excellent translation by Ann Goldstein documents for the English reader the existence of a large body of literature of emigration." -Journal of Modern Italian Studies "A brilliant introduction to a forgotten subject, of immense importance to both Italian and American culture. These are marvelous texts, outstandingly translated by Ann Goldstein. Martino Marazzi deserves our gratitude for making all this available." -- -David Freedberg Director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies "...Marazzi's anthology bristles with serial gangster fiction, breathless flapper romances, and impassioned tales of triumph over poverty, all of which make for a sharp contrast with his erudite elucidation of their historical context. The result is a glimpse of a largely forgotten literary heritage and of the life of what one epigraph calls 'the Italian immigrant in the land of America who, enduring danger and derision, built a nation that never became a homeland.'" -The New Yorker "Martino Marazzi has mined hundreds of Italian-language periodicals published in the United States from mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. Now he presents a major introduction to the literature of the Italian migration in this stunning anthology. Anyone interested in Italian American literature, culture, or history should own a copy of this book." -- -Robert Viscusi The Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities, Brooklyn College
Table of ContentsAcknowlegements Introduction 1. The Novel of the Italian America 2. Stowaway on Board: Ezio Taddei 3. The New World of the Second Generation: Pietro di Donato and John Fante 4. Poetry of the Italian Americans 5. Prose of Testimony: The Color Line 6. At Ellis Island 7. Italian Americans and Italian Writers Notes Bibliography Index
