Celebrating Calabria: Writing Heritage and Memory

This impressive volume resulted from a program, launched primarily by the Italian Diaspora Studies Association in collaboration with the Department of Humanities of the University of Calabria, that focused on investigating the Italian diaspora from a transnational perspective. In May 2019, professional and amateur writers from diverse backgrounds (not just Italian Americans) gathered in Morano Calabro and then later in Albidona, Cosenza to participate in a writing seminar focused on a topic that engaged all participants: “Heritage and Memory.” The poems, reflections, and short stories they wrote under the guidance of Maria Mazziotti Gillan constitute the main body of this volume, enriched by the marvelous photographs by Mark Hillringhouse. Yet Celebrating Calabria is much more than a collection, and the volume does not simply aim at glorifying the beauties of Calabria and its cultural heritage: unquestionably, its scope is much wider and more profound. This wonderfully invigorating anthology is a...