This essay, about the colorism faced by my Sicilian grandfather in our Italian-American family and beyond, begins with a personal experience of othering and works back through buried family lore. It appears in the current of Via: Voices in Italian Americana from Bordighera Press. It’s been a journey for this deeply personal essay. In 2017,… Continue reading “Swarthy” in Via v. 31/32
Category: Italian-American
“Miss Bensonhurst” in Ovunque Siamo
Ovunque Siamo is a journal of new Italian-American writing. The title–translation Wherever We Are–is apt for our assimilated and diffuse ethnic body. “Miss Bensonhurst” is a fictional account of my grandmother’s friendship with Marilyn Monroe. The story was first presented in nonfiction form in 2013 in Salon. She and the girls are enveloped in the warm… Continue reading “Miss Bensonhurst” in Ovunque Siamo
Marilyn Monroe, Baby Sitter
This account of my family’s relationship with Marilyn Monroe appeared in Salon in September of 2013. It was edited by Sarah Hepola. This central family icon, the 25¢ photo booth picture, marks a confluence of currents in mid-century American life: the rise of automation; the golden age of the Hollywood studio system; and the advent… Continue reading Marilyn Monroe, Baby Sitter