Sixteen Italian American authors, originally from different regions of Italy, first, second and third generation emigrants to the United States and Canada, question themselves on the search for their own cultural identity, often perceived as split between the two countries, through the writings collected in volume “And there were red geraniums everywhere. Female voices of the Italian diaspora in North America”, now in bookstores by Radici Edizioni.
A book that fills the gaps regarding the theme of the exodus of Italians abroad: “In Italy emigration has not been sufficiently elaborated, it is often classified as something folkloristic and we are not at all aware that our emigrants, in addition to working as labourers, they also wrote, produced literary texts, also to question themselves about their own identity: there was no trace of them in our anthologies until now. And the point of view of women had never been taken into consideration”. This was explained to ANSA by Valentina Di Cesare, teacher and author of novels, originally from Castel di Ieri (L’Aquila), editor of the volume, together with Michela Valmori, Italian teacher in Canada.
The collection also includes writings by Marianne Leone, originally from Abruzzo, an American film and television actress, best known for her role as Joanne in the American TV series “The Sopranos” produced by the HBO broadcaster, which describes the life of boss of the Italian-American mafia of New Jersey.
“These authors are well known in America, almost unknown in Italy – remarks Di Cesare – Yet they have to investigate this experience in which emigrants from everywhere and of every generation can be reflected, an experience made up of a double identity, almost a doubling”. A project, continues Di Cesare, born “because Michela Valmori and I, together with Ilaria Serra and Emanuele Pettener – professors of studies related to Italian language and culture at the Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, Florida), also authors of the afterword – we founded four years ago ‘Strade dorate’, an observatory of literature and culture of the Italian and Italian-speaking diaspora”.
“We asked ourselves: what do people who leave Italy and those who come to live in Italy achieve artistically? With this volume of ours – concludes Di Cesare – the Radici publishing house opens the ‘Strade dorate’ series, because we have much more to bring to light on these issues”.
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