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In this episode of The Italian American Podcast, we speak to author Maria Laurino, who has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, and whose essays are widely anthologized. Her first memoir, Were You Always an Italian?, (W.W. Norton, 2000) was a national bestseller and explored the issue of ethnic identity among Italian-Americans. Her second memoir, Old World Daughter, New World Mother, (W.W. Norton, April 2009) examined the pull and tug the author experienced between Old World traditions that valued familial dependence and a New World feminism that prized female autonomy. In 2014, she published The Italian Americans: A History, a companion book to the popular PBS series of the same name, which chronicles the Italian American experience from 1860 to the present day. Currently, Laurino teaches creative nonfiction at New York University.
We also feature a touching story from one of our listeners, Ben Lariccia, in our Story Segment.
- “I was hoping that my personal experience could resonate with other Italian Americans.” – Maria Laurino
- “We can empathize with other ethnic groups that are going through this now.” – Maria Laurino
- “Italian Americans are at an excellent point in their experience.” – Maria Laurino
- “This American notion of women can have it all, women can have everything, was fallacious.” – Maria Laurino
- Maria Laurino on paternal sacrifice: “Italian mothers are really, really good at that.”
- “How we could find a balance between the independence versus the community.” –Maria Laurino
- “I want more of that community back.” – Dolores Alfieri
- “We need to balance and accept the loss in the choices we make.” – Maria Laurino
- “Our struggle is so rooted in Southern Italian history.” – Maria Laurino
- “She has no concept of where I come from and what my home is.” – Dolores Alfieri
- “The situations and the stakes are different for Italian Americans.” – Dolores Alfieri
- “The word respect is such an Italian word.” – Maria Laurino
- “They really did not want to leave their land.”– Maria Laurino on Italian immigrants
- “The reason the community was so modest was because they were afraid of the evil eye.” – Maria Laurino
- “I would love to create a hashtag #creatorsofbeauty and have #southernitalians talk about their favorite creators.” – Maria Laurino
- “It’s taken a century for Italian Americans to really come into their own.” – Maria Laurino
- “Part of the reason Italian Americans don’t want to talk is because they do want to put those stories behind them.” – Maria Laurino
- “In order for us to understand who we are, we must understand our history.” – Maria Laurino
Key Points Discussed in the Episode:
- Fifty percent of Italians who came to American returned to Italy; they were known as “birds of passage.”
- The importance of respect in Italian families
- The strength of the early Italian-American communities
- The differences between Northern and Southern Italians
- The discord between American feminism and traditional Italian roles for women
- Stereotypes of Southern Italians
- Barriers to Italian-Americans in the 20th Century
- Roseto, Pennsylvania, and its community
Resources Mentioned during the Episode:
- “The Neapolitan Novels” by Elena Ferrante (a four-book series)
- Elizabeth Street by Laura Fabiano
- “The Italian Americans,” PBS series
- The Italian Americans: A History by Maria Laurino
- Were You Always an Italian?: Ancestors and Other Icons of Italian America by Maria Laurino
- Old World Daughter, New World Mother: An Education in Love and Freedom by Maria Laurino
