Friday, April 28, 2006

Amazon.com Does Not Have a Category For Italian American Literature- A Campaign!!!

The ANNOTICO Report

 

Amazon.com is the largest Book Seller in the World.

 

And while Amazon.com already offers special categories for such other worthy ethnic subject areas such as AFRICAN American, HISPANIC American, and JEWISH American literature, It DOES NOT OFFFER A CATEGORY FOR ITALIAN AMERICAN LITERATURE!!!!!

 

Italian American literature deserves an equivalent domain

 

Anthony Maulucci at the Lorenzo Press has initiated  a letter writing/ Emailing campaign to convince Amazon.com to create a subject category for Italian American literature.

 

Mr Maulucci has asked all Italian Americans and all those "others" who believe in this cause to join him in his efforts.

 

If you support this idea please write a letter to

 

Jeff Bezos, CEO

Amazon.com

P.O. Box 81226

Seattle, WA 98108

 

or even more easily by  Email to jeff@amazon.com

 

Please make a reference to the "Lorenzo Press Campaign to Create a Separate

Category for Italian American Literature" in your letter.

 

Please recruit others to help and feel free to give out  Anthony Maulucci's Email address

quietcity@att.net for anyone  who might want to contact me for more information.

 

An Article by Mr. Maulucci  on Italian American Culture follows:

 

CAN ITALIAN AMERICAN CULTURE BE SAVED?

by Anthony Maulucci

 

Most people can name at least one prominent Italian American figure in the world of business, politics, sports and entertainment, but how many people, Italian Americans included, can identify a single great American author of Italian descent? My guess is very few. In fact, the only Italian American novel known to the majority of Americans is Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, the most popular novel ever published in the U.S. but far from an authentic depiction of Italian American life.

 

Sadly, most Italian Americans under the age of 50 seem to have no clear idea what Italian American culture really is and tend to define it in terms of the self-parodies and stereotypes borrowed from the mainstream media. Most Little Italy’s, including the one in New York City, have been transformed by the departure of second or third-generation Italians to the suburbs and the influx of other ethnic groups -- they are no longer the vibrant centers of a living Italian American culture. At best, these once-culturally-rich neighborhoods now offer an annual festival or are home to shops and restaurants that are watered-down versions of the real thing which were run by Italian-speaking immigrant families. Not knowing where to look for inspiration, knowledge and guidance about their cultural heritage, younger Italian Americans have turned to Hollywood movies and television shows for information about their ethnic identity.

 

Can Italian American culture be saved from this pernicious disease? Can a return to its roots produce an Italian American cultural renaissance? If so, then where are these roots to be found? Where do you go to experience a heritage on the verge of extinction? Italian American literature is the wellspring of our culture and the richest, perhaps only, source of its renewal.

 

But in order for the is renewal to take hold and flourish, Italian Americans must be willing to embrace their history and their uniquely ethnic literature.

 

The first step, then, in this process of renewal is to identify worthwhile Italian American authors. The second step, which is very exciting and deeply rewarding, is to read, study, discuss and write about their works.

 

Who are these important Italian American authors? Well, there are many, but a good place to begin is with Pietro Di Donato, John Fante, and Helen Barolini. These names are not well known and that’s a shame because these authors have produced some of the most poignant, passionate, complex, and aesthetically pleasing American literature ever written, and it just happens to be about the real Italian American experience.

 

Pietro Di Donato (1911-1992) wan an Italian immigrant bricklayer inspired to write his first novel, Christ in Concrete, by the accidental death of his immigrant father on Good Friday, 1923. The book was published in 1934 and became an instant bestseller, read by thousands of second-generation Italian Americans. The reviewers were also very enthusiastic about the book: The New Yorker praised the writing for its “white-hot passion” and the Saturday Review called it “robust” and “full-blooded.” The novel, written in a poetic form of English based on Italian syntax, tells the story of an immigrant bricklayer named Geremio and the effect of his accidental death on his family, espe! cially young Paulie, who must quit school to go to work as a bricklayer on the same site in order to help the family survive during the Depression in New York City. It is also the story of the Italian immigrant community that rallied to their support. Geremio, Paulie, and his mother Annunziata . . . they are unforgettable characters.

 

John Fante (1909-1983) was born in Colorado, went to parochial schools there, and attended the University of Colorado. He began writing at age 20 and published his first story in H. L. Mencken’s magazine, The American Mercury, four years later. Fante developed into a prolific short story writer and his work appeared in numerous magazines, including Collier’s and Esquire. In 1938, his first novel came out. Wait Until Spring, Bandini is a realistic depiction of the young Arturo Bandini and his family. Svevo Bandini, Arturo’s father, is a bricklayer from Abruzzi who emigrated to the American West. Living in C! olorado, he is angry and frustrated with the limitations of his job, his social standing, and the winter weather. Arturo, a high school student, idolizes his often-absent father and is crushed when he discovers Svevo has betrayed his family by having an affair with a local blue-blooded window. Fante went on to publish several more novels about the Bandini family and also worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood.

 

Helen Barolini grew up in New York state and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Syracuse University. She married an Italian poet and lived in Italy for many years, publishing numerous short fiction pieces and essays in various magazines. Her first book, Umbertina (1979), is a novel about a family of Italian immigrants and their children. It tells the story of Umbertina from her youth in Calabria to life with her young husband in New York City, and then upstate New York. Barolini contrasts the Americanization of this family with the granddaughter’s search for her cultural roots and her Italian identity. She is the author of six other books and the winner of a National Book Award.

 

All of these wonderful books are still in print and available from Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, and bookstores everywhere.
http://www.lorenzopress.com

 

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