From the Margin: Writings in Italian Americana

This substantial collection of mostly original short fiction, poetry and critical essays gives a colorful, if not terribly diverse view of the art and life of Italian Americans. The short stories, on the whole, are excellent, particularly Giose Rimanell's ``Memory of Two Tuesdays,'' detailing a marriage buffeted by the storms of infidelity, and Tony Ardizzone's ``Nonna,'' the senile odyssey of a lonely old woman on her way to the grocery store. Yet the majority of the stories portray variations on the same themes: blue-collar families struggling to make ends meet in a hostile New World, the younger generation disavowing their heritage and longing for WASP-hood. Addressing similar concerns, the poetry is far less effective, the imagery, for the most part, trite and mawkishly nostalgic. The critical essays offer thoughtful examinations of Italian American writers and filmmakers. Robert Viscusi's ``A Literature Considering Itself: The Allegory of Italian America'' and Robert Casillo's ``Moments in Italian-American Cinema: From Little Caesar to Coppola and Scorsese'' are among the best. The editors are academics and editors of the journal Voices in Italian Americana. (Jan.)