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"Heart of My Race:" Questions of ldentity in Sicilian/American Writings
Title
"Heart of My Race:" Questions of ldentity in Sicilian/American Writings.
Creator
Mazzucchelli, Chiara, Tamburri, Anthony J., Florida Atlantic University
Abstract/Description
Throughout the 1900s, the sense of a distinct sicilianita-or Sicilian-nessmanifested itself in writings by Italian authors such as Giovanni Verga, Luigi Pirandello, Leonardo Sciascia, Vincenzo Consolo, and Andrea Camilleri, among others. Interestingly, a parallel phenomenon has emerged in the United States in the broader field of Italian-American literature. While attempting to redefine the concept of Americanness and expand the canon of American literature so that it embraces articulations...
Show moreThroughout the 1900s, the sense of a distinct sicilianita-or Sicilian-nessmanifested itself in writings by Italian authors such as Giovanni Verga, Luigi Pirandello, Leonardo Sciascia, Vincenzo Consolo, and Andrea Camilleri, among others. Interestingly, a parallel phenomenon has emerged in the United States in the broader field of Italian-American literature. While attempting to redefine the concept of Americanness and expand the canon of American literature so that it embraces articulations of ethnic identities, many Sicilian-American writers have turned their works into literary manifestations of their Sicilian Americanness, or, as I have called it, sicilianamericanita. In this study, I try to answer questions such as: Why and how have some Sicilian- American authors fashioned their Italian-American identity in regional terms? How did a sense of sicilianita develop in the US and turn into sicilianamericanita? And how did the above-mentioned phenomenon materialize in Italian-American literature? My examination focused on Jerre Mangione's memoirs, Rose Romano's poetry, and Ben Morreale's novels. While Mangione consistently capitalized on his regional ethnic identity mainly in order to correct some of the most unfavorable prejudices, and especially those originating from Mafia, Rose Romano writes poetry and prose dealing with issues of regional self-ascription which overlaps with contestations of traditional gender roles, heterosexual scripts, and racial categorizations. Ben Morreale's sicilianamericanita takes on intertextual aspects, creating a closely-knit net of relations with the Sicilian tradition in Italian literature. Many Sicilian-American writers, just like their Sicilian counterparts, have come to see their regional ethnic identity as a source of inspiration for the growth of a distinctive literary tradition. This study has been conceived as an initial small step towards a process of inquiry and exploration of the common ground between Italian and Italian-American literatures. Such critical endeavors and international cooperation between both fields of literary studies could bring forth a better understanding of the cultures, and also strengthen in significant ways the status of both literatures within and outside their respective national critical communities.
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Date Issued
2007
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000985
Subject Headings
Italian literature--Italy--Sicily--Criticism and interpretation, American literature--Italian American authors--Criticism and interpretation, National characteristics in literature, Influence (Literary, artistic, etc)
Format
Document (PDF)
Interview with Jean Simonelli Giarrusso
Title
Interview with Jean Simonelli Giarrusso.
Creator
Giarrusso, Jean Simonelli, Iadevaia, Vincenza, Pezzullo, Viviana, Tiberini, Federico
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00002997p
Subject Headings
Italian Americans, Italian American families, Oral history--Italy, Oral history, Oral history--United States., Italian Americans--History--20th century., Italian Americans--Florida--History, Immigrants--Italy--History--20th century
Format
Set of related objects
Interview with Edmondo Catania and Angie Catania
Title
Interview with Edmondo Catania and Angie Catania.
Creator
Catania, Edmondo, Catania, Angie, Diraviam, Domenica
Date Issued
2019-02-18
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00003482p
Subject Headings
Italian Americans, Italian American families, Oral history--Italy, Oral history, Oral history--United States., Italian Americans--History--20th century., Italian Americans--Florida--History, Immigrants--Italy--History--20th century
Format
Set of related objects