Italian Americans on the Page: Revisiting the Classics and Exploring New Voices

Approaches Italian American literature from new critical perspectives and explores contemporary and understudied voices from both the United States and Canada.

Italian Americans on the Page fills a significant gap in Italian American and Italian diaspora studies, particularly literature, as it explores four genres―fiction, poetry, memoir, and theater―from a variety of critical perspectives. The first section of the book offers reconsiderations of two canonical authors, Helen Barolini and Don DeLillo, while the other three sections bring new attention to understudied Italian American and Italian Canadian writers, including women and LGBTQIA+. These include Mary Jo Salter, Peter Covino, Louise DeSalvo, Karen Tintori, Juliet Grames, Ben Piazza, Salvatore Antonio, Christopher DiRaddo, Michele Linfante, Chris Cinque, Theresa Carilli, Mary Melfi, and Michaela Di Cesare. Each contribution approaches Italian American and Italian diaspora studies through a unique theoretical lens, adding to the richness of what proceeds this publication in the field. Ultimately, the volume offers rereadings of foundational Italian American works and provides newfound attention to understudied and emerging Italian diasporic voices.

Ryan Calabretta-Sajder is Associate Professor of Italian and Director of International and Global Studies at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Alan J. Gravano is Assistant Professor and the Writing Center Director at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions. Together, they are also the coeditors of Italian Americans on Screen: Challenging the Past, Re-Theorizing the Future.