IAWA Italian American Writers Association Newsletter January 2012
P.O. Box 418, Brooklyn, NY 11215
www.iawa.net
IAWA SUPPORTS ITALIAN AMERICAN WRITING.
PLEASE SUPPORT IAWA .
You can make a donation through Paypal at www.iawa.net
Suggested donations:
Membership $30 (students and seniors $20)
Associate $100-249
Patron $250-499
Founder $500-1000
IAWA is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit corporation. Donations are tax-deductible.
If you prefer to send a check, make it payable to “Italian American Writers Association,” and send it to the following address:
Treasurer, Italian American Writers Association,
P.O. Box 418, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Please share our Italian American Writer’s blog on your Facebook/Twitter account
As some of you know, we have a blog at http://italianamericanwritersassoc.wordpress.com/ And I hope that you have (or will) enjoyed the information and writing presented there. We now have a “Share” button on our blog so you can share the blog w/ your Facebook friends & Twitter fans. So please help get the word out about our blog and click on the “Share” button so others can enjoy the blog. http://italianamericanwritersassoc.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/italian-american-writers-assoc-newsletter-february-2011/
______________________________________________________________
Do you have a Linkedin page? Help Us get the word out about IAWA
Connect to us on our Linkedin page: http://www.linkedin.com/in/italianamericanwritersassoc
Please send us announcements of readings and literary events by the 15th of the preceding month; this means if you have an event in January; send us it by Dec. 15th
Please format in THIRD PERSON and in this order for events: Day, Date, Type of event, Event and Name of Participants, Time, Place of event and address, Admission price; Contact information Web site
We do not open attachments; please put all announcements in the body of your email in plain text only; we can’t use jpg or anything in all caps
E-mail announcements to Vittoria repetto at iawanewsletter@aol.com
______________________________________________________________
Saturday, January 14th – 5:45 pm – 7:45pm.
Poetry and Prose Feature plus Open Mike
Cornelia St. Café, 29 Cornelia St., Manhattan
212-989-9319; www.corneliastreetcafe.com
$7 minimum includes one drink
Come in time to sign up at 5:45 pm.
Bring poetry Bring prose Bring script Bring a friend
5 minute time limit for open mike
Feature Readers: John Keahey & Tony Iovino
John Keahey first visited Sicily in 1986. Enchanted by what he found -he returned often while reporting and writing two travel narratives for Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press: A Sweet and Glorious Land: Revisiting the Ionian Sea and Venice Against the Sea: A City Besieged.
His latest book, Seeking Sicily: A Cultural Journey Through Myth and Reality in the Heart of the Mediterranean, is a travel narrative that captures Sicily and its various cultures through his eyes and the eyes of Sicilian authors of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, most notably Leonardo Sciascia (1921-1989) of Racalmuto, province of Agrigento. Keahey describes it as his attempt to capture how Sicilians, or Mediterranean islanders, who claim to live north of Africa rather than south of Italy, differ from other Italians and how they have preserved their distinct culture.
Tony Iovino’s latest novel — Notary Public Enemy (Diversion Press) is a fast-paced murder mystery set on his native Long Island. Iovino is the founder and host of the Summer Gazebo Readings, an acclaimed outdoor series that features distinguished poets and authors each Monday in June, July & August in Oceanside, N.Y. Iovino’s essays and poems have appeared in print and in on-line literary magazines and anthologies, including USA Today: The Journal of the Society for the Advancement of Education, BlogCritics Magazine, Poetry Cemetery, Stellar Showcase Journal, Subtle Tea, A Long Story Short, Clearfield Review, Meanderings: A Collection of Poetic Verse, Long Island Sounds: 2009 An Anthology of Poetry From Maspeth to Montauk And Beyond, PPA Literary Review, the Long Island Quarterly and others. Visit http://notarypublicenemy.com/About_Us.html
Since 1991, the organization has given voice to writers through its Open Reading series at Cornelia St. Café every month.
IAWA is a 501© (3) not-for-profit corporation; donations are tax deductible.
Visit the Italian American Writers Cafe blog
http://www.i-italy.org/bloggers/italian-american-writers-cafe
http://italianamericanwritersassoc.wordpress.com/
Events:
Wednesday January 4 Reading: New Hungers for Old: One-Hundred Years of Italian-American Poetry Dennis Barone will host and the readers will be Elaine Equi, Mary Giaimo, George Guida, Peter Covino, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Ray DiPalma, Daniela Gioseffi, Matthew Longabucco, Jerome Mazzaro, J. T. Barbarese, Nick Piombino, Maria Terrone, David Cappella, Clare Rossini, Vittoria repetto and Paola Corso. 8pm Saint Marks Poetry Project, 10th St & 2nd Ave, Manhattan,
Tuesday January 24 Reading: Women’s / Trans’ Poetry Jam & Open Mike:
Feature Writers: Marisa Labozzetta & Tsaurah Litzky In Marisa Labozzetta’s new collection of stories, Thieves Never Steal In The Rain, love and the supernatural drive these linked stories about the intertwining lives of five female cousins, who learn that loss, from the trivial to the most painful, is a constant force to be reckoned with.
Tsaurah Litzky’s second poetry collection Cleaning The Duck is a must have for anyone who believes in the redemptive power of poetry.Hosted by Vittoria repetto 7pm Bluestockings Bookstore 172 Allen St. (between Staton & Rivington) Manhattan Take V or F train to 2nd Ave. and exit from the 1st Ave exit and walk south down Allen St. (aka. 1st Ave) 1 ½ blocks to the store $5 suggested donation 212-777-6028 http://www.bluestockings.com/
Members’ News:
Mary Bucci Bush received a positive book review for her new book Sweet Hope published by Guernica Editions in Publishers Weekly http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-55071-342-8 In her thoroughly researched and engaging novel, Bush sheds light on the little known fate of Italian immigrant laborers who came to America expecting opportunity, but ended up working alongside African-Americans as indentured servants on southern cotton plantations
Lousia Calio was interviewed http://www.nuovacultura.net/ojs/index.php/in_limine/article/view/221
Fred Gardaphe & Dominic Candeloro have edited Reconstructing Italians in Chicago: Thirty Authors in Search of Roots and Branches Chicago history/culture with an Italian flair! There is something for everybody in this eclectic volume. Every reader will find a topic or a writer that s/he wants to know more about. Publication of Reconstructing Italians in Chicago is a major step toward making Chicago’s Italians the best documented (and best understood) in the nation. It is a gateway to both the academic and the personal exploration of Italians in Chicago, loaded with references that lead the reader to just about every source of information on the subject. Some of the writers include T Ardizzone,R Benedetti,A Bernardi,K Catrambone, J Colangelo, B DalCerro, P D’Agostino, T DeRosa, C Farella, T Guglielmo,B Lombardo,C Lombardo, R Lombardo, E Milani, R Miele, G Nardini, D Niemiec, P Pero,TRomano,V Romano,J Santacaterina, M Antonucci http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983553807/sr=1-1/qid=1322495004/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1322495004&sr=1-1&seller=
Thieves Never Steal In The Rain, new collection of Linked Stores about Loss, Love, and the Supernatural by Marisa Labozzetta is out. Love, humor, and the supernatural drive these stories about the intertwining lives of five female cousins, who learn that loss—from misplacing keys to confronting death—is a constant force to be reckoned with. It is also now available as an eBook from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Thieves-Never-Linked-Stories-ebook/dp/B00637TR2Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321326303&sr=1-1 To order for computers, iPads, and other electronic devices, first download free applications by going to Kindle Store, then clicking on Kindle Store under Shop All Departments).
Three Spoken Word Pieces by Angelo Zeolla
http://italianamericanwritersassoc.wordpress.com/2011/10/17/three-spoken-word-pieces-by-angelo-zeolla/
Maria Terrone’s poem, “The Slain Wife of the Lighthouse Keeper Speaks,” first published in Italian Americana, is included in the recently published Knopf Everyman Series anthology, Killer Verse: Poems About Murder and Mayhem. This Amazon link leads to a list of all poems and authors included in this hard-cover book:
http://www.amazon.com/Killer-Verse-Murder-Everymans-Library/dp/0307700933 Other recent publications include “Spaccanapoli,” in the fall issue of Hawaii Pacific Review; “Knives” (a reprint from The Hudson Review”) and “Missing the Names” in Poemeleon, http://www.poemeleon.org/; and
“Introducing the Forest to Vivaldi” and “Words to Unpin Yourself from the Wall” in Pirene’s Fountain http://www.pirenesfountain.com/ Recent acceptances include “BlackBerry Buzzing” (The Hudson Review); “A Hologram State of Mind” (Ploughshares); and “The Day After” (Poet Lore).
Gil Fagiani’s chapbook, Serfs of Psychiatry, is now being published by Finishing Line Press and should be available by mid-January, 2012. “Fagiani’s poems tell the back story of the powerless and abandoned mentally ill and the equally powerless and abandoned low-level psychiatirc “serfs,” the attendants–the least-paid, least-respected workers, who are, pradoxically entrusted with the day-to-day care of severely disturbed, often violent patients…Move over Ken Kesey, we have another chronicler of the ‘Cuckoo’s Nest,’ Bronx-style.” Kirsten Andersen, Ph.D.clinical psychologist / Adjunct Professor at The School of Visual Arts.
To order copies, visit Finishing Line Press www.finishinglinepress.com and click on “NewReleasesandForthcomingTitles.htm.”
Anthony Buccino’s latest poetry collection, “Sometimes I Swear In Italian” is about growing up Italian American in New Jersey, and, much later, discovering the roots of his ancestors. Despite its title, “Sometimes I Swear In Italian” contains no profanity in any language. For more information visit http://www.anthonybuccino.com
Four books written by Dr. Marie Menna Pagliaro for educators have just been published by Rowman & Littlefield. The titles are: Educator or Bully? Managing the 21st Century Classroom; Exemplary Classroom Questioning: Promoting Thinking and Learning; Differentiating Instruction: Matching Strategies with Objectives; and Research-Based Unit and Lesson Planning: Maximizing Student Achievement. These books by Marie Pagliaro are in addition to her novel, That Woman and the Mafia Don, the profits of which go to help prevent young people from joining all kinds of ethnic gangs. To view the covers, synopses, and endorsements, visit her website at www.mariepagliaro.com.
Daniel Quinn is the author of Organized Labor: Collected Poems (published by AuthorHouse), which covers four generations of American and family history, from the birth of his grandmother in NYC in 1887 to the fall of the Twin Towers in 2001. Like much of the poetry in this 46-page volume, the book’s title has multiple allusions: from poems that deal with the organized labor movement in America (most notably, the 1913 strike of 20,000 Paterson silk workers at Botto House in Haledon, NJ), to the labor of organizing–and reconciling–past and present (captured eloquently in the title poem, ‘Organized Labor’), to even the labor of preparing one’s poetry for publication. Contact Mr. Quinn dquinn711@msn.com for more information
Obituary: Diana Festa
Poet and past IAWA feature, Diana Festa, died on June 8, 2011; yet some of her work has appeared posthumously such as in the current Feile Festa that can now be viewed online [http://www.medcelt.org/feile-festa/v006/poetry/festa.html]. Her poem End of Summer won The Fifth Annual John and Rose Petracca & Family Award and appeared in the 2010 edition of Philadelphia Poets edited by Rosemary Cappello.
Festa was the author of six poetry books, Arches to the West, Ice Sparrow, Thresholds, Bedrock, The Gathering and A Landscape of Time. She has also published four books on literary criticism, and a large number of poems and articles in various reviews and anthologies. She is the recipient of several poetry prizes, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Guizot Award from the French Academy.
Festa, who was a French professor at Brooklyn College until her retirement, created a base for a group of authors known as the Madison Poets who gathered weekly for an evening of writing or editing their poems for over a decade. Her late evening banter and extravagant meals were legendary. Festa will be sorely missed by the Madison Poets and others who came into contact with her. A memorial is forthcoming and will be announced shortly.
“Biting into a morsel of Abruzzese soppresatta will never be the same after reading Anthony Di Renzo’s Bitter Greens: Essays on Food, Politics and Ethnicity from the Imperial Kitchen” begins Maria Lisella’s review of Anthony Di Renzo’s Bitter Greens: Essays on Food, Politics and Ethnicity from the Imperial Kitchen (SUNY Press), which was recently published in the 2011 edition of the literary journal, Feile-Festa, is now online. “Perhaps the key passage to the entire collection is: ‘Italian Americans can learn more about the heartbreak and horror of assimilation from soppressata than from any book…This particular sausage has gone from being a staple, to a treat, to a delicacy, to a swindle in less than thirty years. The phenomenon is a minor tragedy in our history – a minor tragedy, but a telling one.’” http://www.medcelt.org/feilefesta/v006/prose/lisella.html
Check out an interview with Tony Ardizzone in the journal Magna Grece http://magnagrece.blogspot.com/2011/09/fiction-as-life-interview-with-author.html
Publisher’s News/Book Reviews/Contest Winners/Awards:
Descant 154: Sicily, Land of Forgotten Dreams, a North American anthology of nearly fifty contributors is available from www.decant.ca ($15.) Guest Editors: Michelle Alfano and Venera Fazio. American literary contributors include Gioia Timpanelli, Maria Fama, Louisa Calio, Gaetano Cipolla, Gil Fagiani, Salvatore Marici, Gilda Morina Syverson, Tasha Cotter, Enriqueta Carrington, and Harry Groome. Photo essays by Vincenzo Pietropaolo, Erik Kruthoff and Stephen Adamian.
Guido: Italian/American Youth and Identity Politics edited by Letizia Airos & Ottorino Cappelli and published by Bordighera Press includes essays on the phenomenon of the “guido”: its origins and its relationship to the Italian/American community. The writers share their own views on a phenomenon that, in December 2009/January 2010, was filling newspapers and television programs, in reaction to the then new reality show Jersey Shore. The community’s “dirty laundry” was finally aired in public, without maintaining the convention of bella figura, as a modern and pluralistic community does and should do.
Pulitzer Prize-nominated Italian American author, John Domini was interviewed in the journal Magna GRECE http://magnagrece.blogspot.com/2012/01/innovating-naples-interview-with-author.html
Italica Press has published out Medieval Naples A Documentary History, 400-1400 http://www.italicapress.com/index287.html and Torquato Tasso Love Poems for Lucrezia Bendidio http://www.italicapress.com/index426.html For a complete catalog,
http://www.italicapress.com
Vittoria repetto has reviewed A New Map: The Poetry of Migrant Writers in Italy by Mia Lecomte and Luigi Bonaffini (Legas-2001) for VIA. This anthology is a bilingual edition of poetry by migrant writers living and working in Italy. These migrant writers hail from places like Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Romania, Holland, Brazil and Albania.
http://vittoriarepetto.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/review-of-a-new-way-the-poetry-of-migrant-writers-in-italy/
Idea Publication announces the publication of, Barbarossa’s Princess, a tale of intrigue, violence, sex, love and ultimate triumph, Elizabeth Vallone’s Barbarossa’s Princess is also a tapestry of the customs of the Holy Roman Empire, the Norman-Sicilian Court and mores of life in the 12th century. Barbarossa’s Princess is a veritable page turner. From the very first line, we are swept away on an adventure through the corridors of power in the 12th century. We taste and smell the meals, we see the unusual medical practices, we hear all the raucous sounds of life in an age more refined and more coarse than even our own. At the center of this delightful tale is Constance de Hauteville, a woman drawn from a nunnery to become Empress of a continent. She becomes the bearer of the next Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. An innocent, along with her maid-servant, Constance enters the corridors of power and grows to become as forceful as those who would use her for their own gain. Vallone portrays Constance de Hauteville as a woman of chutzpah and humility, a mother who endures the humiliations of women in an earlier time, but who triumphs and endures”. Patrick McGuire, Senior Lecturer of English. University of Wisconsin
The Spaghetti Set, Family Served Italian Style by Rose Marie Boyd Feel like a fly on the wall in the homes of two Italian-American families as a comedy of errors unfolds. The characters’ irreverent, ludicrous and intimate behavior affirms the old adage: ”Family is family, like it or not!” http://thespaghettiset.blogspot.com/
A new collection of essays on the Italian American experience is now available in a Kindle edition from Amazon.com. These 12 essays were originally published in the online journal Suite 101, and some of them were rerpinted in Dante Society newsletters in Boston and Seattle Towards a More Balanced View of Italian Americans by Anthony S. Maulucci
Matriarch ~ A Journey Through Tradition (Work Smarter Now, $24.20) was released released on April 24, 2011. An Italian-American woman residing in central New Jersey, Suzann Brucato has created a photo journal as a tribute to motherhood, family, and heritage. Work Smarter Now has published this full-length collection of poems where Mrs. Brucato conveys the importance of family traditions as a contribution to ensuing generations. Matriarch ~ A Journey Through Tradition Author: Suzann M. Brucato
ISBN: 978-0-615-47832-6 | Library of Congress Control Number: 2011927566 Available at www.MagCloud.com Web: www.MatriarchJourney.com TheFaceOfPoetry@mindspring.com
Italica Press author (and Italian novelist, essayist, journalist, playwright and poet), Dacia Maraini, has been nominated for the 2011 Man Booker International Prize, the most prestigious literary award in the UK.
The International Prize is awarded for an author’s life work; and Italica Press has played some part in bringing this work to English-speaking audiences. Over the years we’ve published an English edition of her Donna in guerra (Woman at War, 1988), translated by Mara Benetti and Elspeth Spottiswood; her short story “Maria,” translated by Martha King in our anthology New Italian Women (edited by Martha King in 1989); and selections from her poetry in our anthology Contemporary Italian Women Poets, edited and translated by Cinzia Sartini Blum and Lara Trubowitz (2001)
Matriarch ~ A Journey Through Tradition (Work Smarter Now, $24.20) was released on April 24, 2011. An Italian-American woman residing in central New Jersey, Suzann Brucato has created a photo journal as a tribute to motherhood, family, and heritage. Work Smarter Now has published his full-length collection of poems where Mrs. Brucato conveys the importance of family traditions as a contribution to ensuing generations ISBN: 978-0-615-47832-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2011927566 Print Format – $24.20; Digital Format – $14.29,Available at www.MagCloud.com www.MatriarchJourney.com Email: TheFaceOfPoetry@mindspring.com
For what’s new at Italica Press, please check out http://italicapressnews.blogspot.com/
You can also visit Italica Press at http://www.italicapress.com/
The Paterson Literary Review #38, 2009-2010 is out; this edition features Diane di Prima and includes a number of her poems and a short story Other poets/writers in this edition include Maria Fama, Vittoria repetto, Rachel Guido deVries, Maria Lisella, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, , Jennifer Gillan And Anthoy Buccino See http://old.pccc.edu/poetry/public.htm for price and order form.
Workshops & Conferences:
Literary & Research Queries:
Hofstra Entertainment is currently seeking to cast a staged reading (on book) of Eduardo de Filippo’s comedy, Christmas in Naples. Casting 7-8 men, age range 20′s-50′s, and 4 women, age range 20′s -50′s. Reading will take place at Hofstra in the Helene Fortunoff Theater (Monroe Lecture Center), Thursday, November 17, 8 pm and is presented as part of a three day conference event exploring Naples. Directed by Bob Spiotto. Familiarity with Italian is not required as the piece is performed in English and without Italian accents. No pay. Send pix and resume to robert.t.spiotto@hofstra.edu
Linda Baldanzia is a student at Drew University in NJ. in a Poetry in Translation MFA program. I am looking for a translator to help me with literal translations of several short poems. I do not read Italian well. It would be best if the Translator has lived in Italy. The translating will begin this June 201-482-0597, lindabaldanzi@mac.com
Dom Giordano, talk show host with WPHT 1210 AM Radio in Philadelphia, is looking for contributors to the book- recipes, Feast of the Seven Fishes stories and other Italian/family traditions and recollections of the Christmas season. www.thefeastofthesevenfishes.com Contact Askdomg@aol.com
Alexandra Maffei holds a Masters in Italian Linterature and runs two blogs, one in English breakingnewts.blogspot.com the other in Italian, telegrafite.blog.espresso.repubblica.it/telegrafite. “I’m an excellent translator, fully conversant in Italian and American cultures, so consider me, should you know of or need services” viridiana430@msn.com
R. D. Williams is writing about her immigrant experience, willing to meet other writers. Also, seeking advice on how to obtain publisher. Contact: rosaria@gmail.com
Magazines, Contests & Calls for Submissions:
7th Annual Accenti Magazine Writing Contest and 5th Annual Accenti Magazine Photo Competition
Fee: $20 CND for the Writing Contest and $10 CND for the Photo Competition
For rules and submission addresses, etc: https://www.accenti.ca/writing & https://www.accenti.ca/photo-contest Deadline for submissions: February 7, 2012
The Una Vita Foundation is committed to capturing the essence of Italian and Italian-American life in its new online story anthology. If you are an Italian, Italian-American, or have an engaging story that relates to Italy, submit your writing in 2000 characters or less and read stories by other contributors at http://www.una-vita.org/. From the home page, click on the blue “Submit a Story” tab and write away! Every month a panel of judges will choose one outstanding story from our website submissions and its author will receive a $100 Nordstrom gift card. The story will also be translated into Italian and published in the Italian magazine Clarus, which is circulated in Southern Italy. mwright.unavita@gmail.com
Luigi Monteferrante is looking for a special edition on work by Italian/Italian American/Italian Canadian authors in the magazine: Chicago Quarterly Review http://www.chicagoquarterlyreview.com/ Work should be submitted to luigimonteferrante@yahoo.com
Feile-Festa is an annual publication that comes out in the spring of each year. Though our preference is for creative work related to Irish and Italian/Sicilian themes, we are open to other Mediterranean cultures, all of which can relate to the respective country of family origin or the diasporas to America, Canada, etc. We are also interested in writing that evokes life in New York City. The reading period starts October 1st and ends January 1st. Please do not send submissions outside the time frame mentioned in the guidelines. www.medcelt.org/feile-festa/index.html
The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute is happy to announce the re-launching of its bi-annual journal the Italian American Review (IAR). The IAR features articles about the history and culture of Italian Americans, as well as other aspects of the Italian diaspora.The journal embraces a wide range of professional concerns and theoretical orientations in the social sciences and in cultural studies. Information for contributors can be found at: http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/calandra/italrev/iarcont.html.
Journal of Italian Translation is a non-profit international journal devoted to the translation of literary works from and into Italian-English-Italian dialects. Subscription price is $25 per year. Submissions and inquiries should be sent to Luigi Bonaffini at l.bonaffini@att.net. All past issues can be downloaded from the journal’s website at www.jitonline.org
Pyramid Arts and Poetry Magazine – “Where Rome and New York Meet” Pyramid Arts and Poetry is divided into three sections: Visual Art; Poetry & Literature; and Film. Listings of gallery exhibits, poetry readings, and film showings in New York and Rome accompany each section. For submission guidelines, visit http://www.pyramidmagazine.org
VIA, Voices in Italian Americana, is a semi-annual published in the spring and fall. Issues include sections of essays, fiction, poetry, review essays, reviews, and guest spots by prominent Italian/American writers. Subscriptions are $20.00 per year ($15.00 for seniors, students, and un[der]employed). For subscriptions & advertising, contact Anthony Julian Tamburri at tamburri@bordigherapress.org
Italian Americana is the first and only cultural as well as historical review dedicated to the Italian experience in the New World; subscription price is $20 a year, $35 for two years, to: Italian Americana, University of Rhode Island/Providence, 80 Washington Street Providence, RI 02903-1803. Check out the new Website supplement to the journal at www.italianamericana.com
The Monday Night Playwrights’ Series is curated by Richard Fulco; interested playwrights could submit their work at richardfulco@aol.com
Theatre Submissions: Post Road Magazine (Boston, Ma), a literary/visual arts journal, is accepting theatre submissions of very short one-act plays, sketches, and monologues. david@postroadmag.com
The American Italian Historical Association Newsletter is now accepting submissions of book reviews. Please send all submissions Anthony.Tamburri@qc.cuny.edu.
Websites:
Italian Cultural Institute of New York, 686 Park Ave, Manhattan www.iicnewyork.esteri.it and click on their monthly newsletter available in digital format.
Casa Belvedere, The Italian Cultural Foundation, a unique 2.75 acre cultural campus and community center on Staten Island for all to enjoy, is a registered 501(c) (3) not for profit organization that seeks to preserve, promote and celebrate the rich heritage of Italy by encouraging an appreciation of the Italian language, arts, literature, history, fashion, cuisine, and commerce through educational programs, exhibits and events. To subscribe to the mailing list and learn more about the upcoming events and programs, call 718-273-7660, e-mail info@casa-belvedere.org or click on to www.casa-belvedere.org.
Anthony Buccino has created a blog for New Jersey poets to post info about events, links to their web sites and publishers and literary magazines. You can get email notices- no strings attached – when new items are posted. http://njpoetspoetry.blogspot.com/
www.BigFatPrize.com lists over 500 Writing Contests and competition categories like Essay, Fiction, Poetry, Short Story, Young Writers, Songwriting, Screenwriting, Playwright and Journalism
Working Writer newsletter offers solid information with a good dose of humor and a spirit of writing camaraderie. WW is filled with articles on promotion, publishing, freelancing, different genres, how-to, and how-not-to, written by readers across the country. To receive a free copy (no obligation) by e-mail , send a request to workingwriters@aol.com. Or check out www.workingwriter1.com
I-Italy: The Italian American Digital Project (http://www.i-italy.org) is online. This site is a forum for discussion and debate over Italian American social and cultural issues, home to numerous Italian American blogs, and the place to read leading Italian American commentators columns on Italian American life.
Readers are requested to visit www.italianamericanpress.com to order or obtain information about the fascinating books listed below written by Italian Americans on a variety of interesting topics. At The Italian-American Press, there are links for finding translators, a literary marketplace, and writers’ guilds, aside from links such as Tools for Italian American Writers, Italian American Books, Italian American Publishers, and the Internet’s best selection of self-published Italian American Books (84 Titles).
KIT-Kairos Italy Theater’s mission is to create a cultural exchange program between Italy, the US and the international community, to unveil artistic and creative sides of these two countries to the world. http://www.kitheater.com/
New York Foundation for the Arts, Visit NYFA Source, the most comprehensive database of awards, services, and publications available to artists in all disciplines. www.nyfa.org/
The Write Stuff – Online Newsletter of Word Journeys at www.wordjourneys.com contains articles on self-publishing, new services and grist for the pen: tips.
The ACLS History E-Book Project www.historyebook.org is an electronic resource that includes over 1230 full-text, cross-searchable books in the field of history selected by historians for their continuing importance to students and scholars. Individuals can also subscribe through a membership in the American Historical Association or the Renaissance Society of America.
Accenti, The Canadian Magazine with an Italian Accent at www.accenti.ca/
The AA Independent Press Guide is a free, online resource for writers at http://www.thunderburst.co.uk. The guide has detailed listings on over 2,000 literary and genre magazines and publishers from around the world, plus links to over 750 Internet magazines.
www.virtualitalia.com is an online resource for Italians, Italian Americans and enthusiasts of Italian culture.
www.littap.org is a new resource for literary presenters, with tools such as Guidelines for Writers Fees. In addition to featuring Italian American, Italian Canadian and Italian writers, the site has reviews and links to the sites of writers of Italian Australian, Italian French and Italian Latino American origins.
For the calendar of events for the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, go to http://www.nyu.edu/pages/casaitaliana/events.html
For the calendar of events for the Italian Academy at Columbia University, go to http://www.italianacademy.columbia.edu/calendar/calendar.html
The Immigration History Research Center is at http://www.ihrc.umn.edu
See Poets & Writers for leads to prizes for writers, and places to get away and write, links to grants, conferences and residencies. http://www.pw.org/toolsforwriters
www.ItalianAmericanWriters.com is an archive of samples of contemporary Italian Amerian writing; writers include Dennis Barone, Marisa Frasca, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Bob Viscusi, Anthony Tamburri, Fred Gardaphe, Stephen Massimilla, Alfredo de Palchi, Peter Covino, Paola Corso, Gil Fagiani, Louisa Calio, etc. Also check out the other website edited by Daniela Gioseffi – www.PoetsUSA.com/
Of Interest:
On October 25, 2011, the CinqueTerre towns of Monterosso & Vernazza both UNESCO World Heritage sites visited annually by 2.5 million tourists were devastated by massive flooding and mudslides. Please go to http://www.rebuildmonterosso.com/2011/12/forza-monterosso.html?spref & http://www.savevernazza.com
IAVANET Mentoring Program
Founded in 2007, the Italian-American Visual Artists’ Network (IAVANET) is a group of 18 painters, sculptors, photographers, and designers based in the greater New York City area. The collective credentials of the artists encompass the worlds of museum and gallery exhibitions, art education, and work in the marketplace of art and design. To view their portfolio, visit www.iavanet.org. Mindful of the great tradition of Italian excellence in the visual arts and its artistic heritage, the group is currently establishing a mentoring program for aspiring Italian-American visual artists of high school and college age. In the program participants will review and evaluate portfolios, offer advice on improving particular technical skills, and suggest projects that would be suited to the individual’s artistic personality. IAVANET will also curate shows of the work of students who participate in the program. Interested student artists can contact Richard Laurenzi at info@iavanet.org, specifying the area of mentoring they are seeking (painting, sculpture, photography, or design arts), to set up an interview.
Diasporic Continuities: A Salon Discussion Point on the Changing Face of Italian Unification on the Verge of its 150th Anniversaryhttp://disunification.blogspot.com/
How you can join the conversation: Still a work in progress, for now, please join the conversation by commenting on one of the existing posts or become a follower of the discussions. If you would like to post something yourself (rather than comment), please email LauraRuberto (lruberto@peralta.edu) or Pasquale Verdicchio (pverdicchio@yahoo.com)
Association of Friends of Piedmont in New York
We are a group of artists, professionals, scientists and business owners sharing an interest for the Piedmont Region, either because we were born there or because we appreciate the contribution that people from Piedmont have made to the arts, sciences and industry.You can learn more about the Association at http://piedmontinnewyork.blogspot.com
Vittoria repetto rents her charming vacation house in Framura, in the Ligurian region on a weekly to monthly basis at a reasonable price. It is the perfect place for vacation especially great if you are a writer or a painter. The occupancy is for 4 people; there are 2 bedrooms. The town is 3 towns north of the Cinqueterre towns. For detailed information and pictures, http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p211239
Italian American Writers, a Cablevision television series hosted by Vito De Simone, runs each month on many New York area and other Cablevision systems, including Manhattan, Long Island and some Brooklyn systems. Check local listings for channels and times.
The New York-based Italian-American Playwrights Forum meets at the Calandra Institute three Thursdays a month to develop plays and carry out discussions about Italian-American identity/themes. The work itself does not have to be about an Italian-American theme. Please contact Gian Di Donna gian@att.net for information.
Pingback: Celebrate Italian Art