TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

JOE MANTEGNA • Foreword
LEE GUTKIND • Introduction: The Evolution of an Anthology and the Living Tissue of Passion
LOUISE DeSALVO • 'Mbriago
JOANNA CLAPPS HERMAN • Words and Rags
LAURA VALERI • These Innocent Lambs
EDVIGE GIUNTA • The Walls of Gela
PHYLLIS CAPELLO • I Denti Famiglia
MARIA LAURINO • Sacrifice
NED BALBO • My Father's Music
CAROL BONOMO ALBRIGHT • Washington Square
ANNIE RACHELE LANZILLOTTO • The Names of Horses
PETER SELGIN • Dagos in Mayberry
RITA CIRESI • I Heard You the First Time, Daddy
SANDRA M. GILBERT • Bitter Herbs?
RANDY-MICHAEL TESTA • St. Sebastian in Boston
JEANNA LUCCI CANAPARI • Daughters of Mongrassano
STEPHANIE SUSNJARA • Allium Longicuspis
GINA BARRECA • Jealousy, or The Autobiography of an Italian Woman
VALERIE K. WALDROP • Il Pasto Che Parla
MARIANNA DE MARCO TORGOVNICK • Selling the House
CHRISTINE PALAMIDESSI MOORE • Italian American: The Next Generation
JAMES VESCOVI • Mama, Che Cosa Vuoi Che Faccio?
MARY BETH CASCHETTA • Italian Bride

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

Our Roots Are Deep With Passion: Creative Nonfiction Collects Essays by Italian American Writers is an anthology of 21 new essays about the intersection of the Old and New Worlds at the beginning of the 21st century. Here’s what Library Journal had to say about the book:

[The editors] either performed their editing duties superbly, had an enormous pile of writing talent from which to pick, or some combination of both circumstances judging from the engrossing results. Actor Joe Mantegna's humorous and articulate foreword provides an eloquent prelude. "'Mbriago," Louise DeSalvo's notable opening piece, is seamless writing interwoven with childhood memory and Italian history. Maria Laurino's "Sacrifice" explores numerous feminine and societal quandaries, including motherhood, determining one's identity, and prioritizing conflicting roles. Unsurprisingly, many of the essays feature food and cooking as integral to a diverse Italian American experience. Sandra M. Gilbert, for example, in "Bitter Herbs?", presents a brief catalog of culinary spices accompanied by memories of family, while Stephanie Susnjara offers an absorbing ode to the potency and seductive beauty of garlic in "Allium Longicuspis." Essential for multicultural collections; an engaging read and highly recommended for academic or public libraries.