The Rule in Bits and Pieces

"New Italian Voices" is an eclectic and vibrant collection of poetry, short stories, essays, theater, and prose by twenty authors from fifteen countries writing today in Italy, in Italian. These accomplished, award-winning authors of growing international acclaim come from India and Syria, Eastern Europe, North and sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Italy. Over the past three decades, Italy has become a destination for people driven from their homelands by economic, political, and cultural forces. The resulting demographic and social changes have largely been defined negatively by Italian media. Scaremongering headlines paint a picture of assault on the Italian coasts, a mass invasion disassociated from news about the labor market and linked instead to growing concerns about security. Excluded and objectified in political, legal, and media narratives, migrants challenge those discourses with literary narratives, and their new voices offer a variety of transnational experiences and transcultural sensibilities, exemplifying a broad range of themes and literary strategies. "Blum and Contrada furnish elegant and enjoyable translations…in this original collection of poetic, autobiographical, theatrical, and prose excerpts and provide an excellent theoretical introduction.… A major contribution." - Carol Lazzaro-Weis, University of Missouri "What an astounding range of subject matter and style in this brilliantly edited cornucopia!" - Benjamin Taylor, author of "Naples Declared: A Walk Around the Bay" A cogently well-organized anthology of new voices that have populated the Italian literary landscape for some time now. In today's world of literal and metaphorical border crossings and re-definitions of identities, New Italian Voices is an excellent reflection of the changes taking place in Italy today, a country no longer just of departure but indeed of arrival. Blum and Contrada have offered us an indispensable tool in our arsenal of re-considering "Italian" literature! - Anthony Julian Tamburri, Dean, John D. Calandra Italian American Institute Preface, introduction, biobibliographical notes. 282 pages.