DON DE LILLO

From Library Journal . Readers may ask what makes this work a novel; it could be called an autobiographical/philosophical treatise, a reminiscence, or a "voyage of discovery." Viscusi (English and American literature, Brooklyn Coll.) is teaching in Paris when be begins to compare his new environment to his "hometown," Astoria, Queens. Reflecting at length about the past while hoping to explain it in terms of the future, he recalls his childhood days, considering how his early surroundings have affected him. An extremely cerebral work with long, convoluted sentences, this book will appeal to readers who relish extensive philosophical ruminations.
Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, Md.
Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Max Beerbohm, or the Dandy Dante :
Rereading With Mirrors

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An Oration Upon The Most Recent
Death Of Christopher Columbus

Poetry. "will the italians go back to italy/ some have left already for other destinies/ eternal nomads who live in the wastes of australia/ or teaching chemistry in china/ many will stay however/ more comfortable as indians/ than ever they were as theoretical objects..." Viscusi's ORATION was written in response to protests against the 1992 celebration of Columbus Day, and eloquently takes into account all the complexities and contradictions of the figure of Columbus. Kathryn Nocerino says, "In Bob Viscusi's sumptuous, surreal, yet oddly persuasive design, Columbus continues to accumulate mileage after death... Indian and conqueror change places until America's identity becomes the last and strangest of riddles." Allen Ginsberg writes, "Bob Viscusi's Columbus rhapsody is vivid vernacular voluble and full of nervous verve." Saddlestapled chapbook.

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Dall'autunno 2003 Avagliano Editore ha in catalogo la versione italiana del romanzo Astoria.

Poetry. Short Fiction. PILLARS OF LACE is an eclectic collection of the finest writing by Italian-Candian women. It is the first anthology of its kind in Canada. This anthology showcases excerpts from a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, film scripts, novels, personal memoirs and journalism. The work, some of which is translated into English, is from a complex tricultural landscape. "Beware, woman / in the palm / of your hand / you hold / the fountain / of genes." (Carmen Laurenza Ziolkowski, "Progeny"). This anthology is the perfect starting point for an introduction to and a taste of Italian-Canadian writing by women.

Family Matters

February 10, 2002 Books Tandem / Corriere Canadese
When Family matters
De Franceschi’s poignant recollections of childhood
By Adriana Suppa
I can’t help thinking how we must all be in a perpetual state of becoming,” ponders Marlena, the protagonist of Marisa De Franceschi’s latest work, Family Matters. Self-discovery appears to be an underlying theme throughout this wholly entertaining collection of nine short stories. The reader experiences each revelation as seen through the eyes of Marlena, the heroine of each piece - from awkward childhood experiences to womanhood. Descriptions of one stage are just as powerful as the latter thanks to De Franceschi’s ability to write in true and clear voice.
The author’s uncluttered and subtle writing style allows the reader to delve effortlessly into the protagonist’s experiences, be they painful or joyful. There is no saccharine sentimentality or false nostalgia in this work. Instead, there is a very strong sense of “realism” that keeps the reader focused and curious to discover the outcome of each story.
De Franceschi, who lives in Windsor, Ontario and is of Italian descent, shares many universal Italian-Canadian immigrant experiences with her reader. In this, her third published work, Family Matters, she recounts the joys and hardships of a first generation Canadian and simply yet powerfully describes the heritage that has moulded her identity.
One example is revealed in the first story, “Rain Dancing on the Roof.” Marlene tells a lie about her non-Italian boyfriend to placate her father: “My white lie about John’s father mattered little to me. If that was what it took to keep my parents quiet, I was quite willing to commit the venial sin. I could always have it cleaned off my slate by telling the priest at confession.” The chapter describes Marlena’s relationship with her “Scottish” boyfriend, John, and with two short sentences, the element of being raised Roman Catholic (and the guilt therein) is added.
While many of the stories touch upon serious issues, such as infidelity in “Tomato Season” and a disturbing abduction in “Things Remembered,” De Franceschi also delights the reader with elements of humour. In the story “For Better or For Worse,” Marlena is a married adult who spends an afternoon shopping with her elderly parents. The couple’s constant bickering is a source of great stress and aggravation to their daughter, who patiently tried to endure their complaints.
De Franceschi’s colourful dialogue captures the true essence of this husband and wife relationship: “’Maybe you should get rid of all the dried flowers,’ I suggest tactfully…’Nonsense,’ mother insists. ‘That nice Doctor specialist your husband sent us to said your father’s problems are all due to erectile tissue in his sinuses’…My father snickers. ‘Son of a bitch. Here we go again with the erectile tissue.’ My father has always peppered his speech with titillating vocabulary but this is something new for my mother. He sometimes finds her new propensity for things sexual humourous, but not when he is the target.” The humour continues throughout this story when Marlena admits that she finds her mother talking in sexually explicit terms “almost entertaining”: “The woman who explained my first menstruation saying, ‘You can have a baby now, dear,’ as If at 11 it was time to trade in my doll.”
The story “For Better or For Worse” also harkens back to the earlier story, “That Summer at Grandma’s,” where Marlena first refers to the “perpetual state of becoming.” At the end of “For Better or For Worse,” Marlena returns home to her husband, and ponders the fate of her own married life, and wonders if one day it will come to resemble her parents’: “I bend over and kiss him. This was the ‘for better’ part. If ‘the worse’ was programmed, so be it. I will retrieve these images, play them on my mind’s screen. I will relive the good times.”
The series of introspective moments in Family Matters leaves the reader with some interesting insights about family life, and how the experiences of childhood, be they happy or sorrowful, leave an indelible mark. A line in “That Summer at Grandma’s” drives home the point: “When you’re a child, you passively accept what’s thrown at you, I’ve learned. No questions asked. Those come later. And the answers later still.”

Vittoria Repetto practices vision as action. Her poems change our way of seeing what they show us,sometimes abruptly,always directly. They reconstruct categories (Italian American, Lesbian, Cabbie, language) from the inside out.Because they see even the tiniest details with this new angle of vision, repetto's poems give us unforgettable scences, unforgettable moments
all works