Description

This anthology -- the first general-reader collection of writing by Italian American authors -- is part manifesto, part Sunday dinner. A gathering of voices old and new, some speak in the accents of another age, some completely contemporary and assured, and all together for the first time. To stand with all the other popular media images we represent, now, at last, one exists in written form, the literature of Italian American life.

Inside, there are excerpts from novels, memoirs, short stories, essays, and poems -- by the living and the dead, the famous and the obscure. The excerpts are variously moving, funny, poignant, lusty, biting, reverent, witty, loving, angry, and wise, dealing in the most profound aspects of our lives no matter who we are: home, love, sex, family, food, work, God, death.

Characters range from gangsters to grandmas, lovers to fighters, thinkers to doers, sinners to saints, with special appearances by Frank Sinatra and the Virgin Mary.

About the Author

Bill Tonelli is a journalist and magazine editor in New York. He is the author of The Amazing Story of the Tonelli Family in America.

Praise For…

“Remarkable…A comprehensive and poignant collection of a highly distinctive and valuable body of literary work.” — Harold Bloom

“An extraordinary collection…Essential and fascinating… not just for Italian-Americans but for everyone who cares about good writing.” — Martin Scorsese

“An eclectic, even eccentric collection…Perfect for the nightstand, along with a sliver of a cannoli and some decaf espresso.” — Kirkus Reviews