I received the following message from Professor Emeritus James Mancuso:

On Monday, January 5, 2004, Garrison Keillor read....
"Twelve Facts About the Immigrants: A Prose Poem."
written by Carmine Sarracino, from his volume, THE IDEA OF THE ORDINARY

Those of us who become "a bit" annoyed by the constant presentation of Italian-Americans as goons and buffoons might be pleased by Keillor having selected and then read this poem to the audience of his WRITER'S ALMANAC program on National Public Radio.

Would it be helpful if NPR and Keillor were to get a batch of messages indicating that we appreciate their having presented Saraccino's prose poem?

Also, would such a batch of messages be a way to demonstrate that we are
interested in the works of Italian-American writers, particularly when those works offer an opportunity to enlarge and appreciate our understanding of our Italian-American heritage?

[RAA note: Good Idea. We have reason to complain so often, doesn't it feel good to have reason to compliment for a change??  It's your move! -- Minnesota NPR Email address is: mail@mpr.org]
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The Writer’s Almanac®
MONDAY, 5 JANUARY, 2004

Twelve Facts About the Immigrants: A Prose Poem
by Carmine Sarracino, from The Idea of the Ordinary (Orchises).

They were not Italiani, but rather Calabresi, Siciliani,
Napolitani, Abruzzesi and would remain so until they died in
places like Providence, Rhode Island and Hershey, Penn-
sylvania.

They thought that "Italia" was the name of the King of Pied-
mont's daughter.

They did not believe that they'd find the streets of America full
of money, but enjoyed saying so to those staying behind.

The men knew how to cut stone, how to lay bricks, how to fish,
how to coax fruits and vegetables from rocky soil, how to strike
fear into the hearts of oppressors.

The women knew how to cook, how to keep house, how to
raise children, how to coax fruits and vegetables from rocky
soil, how to strike fear into the hearts of husbands.

Their name for Ellis Island was La isla d'lacrime, "The island
of tears."

They began life in the new world shunted through chutes from
holding pens to processing stations on the modern model of
efficiently slaughtering livestock.

Their coats were pinned with tags, they were given papers,
asked for the papers, the papers were stamped, they were asked
for the stamped papers, the stamped papers were exchanged for
new papers, they were asked for the new papers, the new
papers were stamped and the tags on their coats were
exchanged for new tags.

Some with bad eyesight, pinkeye, or glaucoma were chalked
with an "X" and shunted to a pen to be shipped back.

Others, baffled by the question "Are you an anarchist?" went
with the more agreeable answer, and then wondered why they
were marked with an "X" and shunted to a pen with the blind.

They believed with all their hearts in the pursuit of happiness,
and had pursued it all the way to this maze of chutes.

On the boats with kerchiefs around their faces and caps with
the earflaps pulled down waving tiny American flags and
smiling with slightly bewildered eyes, they all looked just like
children.
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The Writer's Almanac - JANUARY 5, 2004 - JANUARY 11, 2004

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Amazon.com: Books: The Idea of the Ordinary

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Carmine Sarracino grew up in the immigrant neighbourhood of Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island, as a second-generation Italian-American. He attended Rhode Island College and the University of Michigan, where he earned a Ph.D. He has published widely on Walt Whitman. Residing in Pennsylvania, Sarracino is the R. W. Schlosser Professor of English at Elizabethtown College
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Professor Sarracino of Elizabethtown College Interview for "The Etownian"

...Sarracino’s main goal with his poetry seems to be "the creation of an interesting experience for the reader."

As far as his creative process is concerned, Sarracino said he writes poems thinking of them as a presentation, a performance in language rather than thinking about a message to convey.

"I love stories, and most of my poems are narratives. I want the readers to keep thinking as they read, ‘And then what?’

There may be a message in it all, but the poem is not the one who will try to articulate it," he said.

What story then, inspired the author to write "Twelve Facts"? Sarracino explained that his grandparents were immigrants, and he thought that their adventure could result in a good poem.

"I wanted to write about them: how they saw their own ethnicity, what it must have been like to get on the ship with a young family, what Ellis Island was like for them," he said.

"Twelve Facts" is a poem from Sarracino’s first book, "The Idea of the Ordinary," which was recently published.

Sarracino came up with the idea of publishing a book, rather than just publishing individual poems, about seven years ago. He has included in this book, however, some old poems such as "The Elephant Ballroom," "the Song of the Crow’s Heart" and "Fall," that are about 20 years old....