The deepest cut that comes from losing a loved one is the fact that they take things with them. They take distinctive things, things they alone gave and as such, cannot be replicated. Eight years ago yesterday, my father died. With him went his particular approach to traditions, his particular …
emigration
The serious business of your Italian name
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet, wrote Shakespeare, but I’m going to argue with Shakespeare here. As an Italian American from New York, I have enough bravado to do that. A powerful and enduring Southern-Italian tradition is the naming of children …
IAP 08: Were You Always an Italian? Maria Laurino on History, Identity, and Stereotypes
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 …