Giosuè Carducci and Miramar Castle
Mexico gifted Italy the tomato. Italy sent back an Emperor. It wasn’t a fair exchange. And it wasn’t welcomed. The story begins in Miramar Castle …
poetry
Isabella’s Castle Prison and Her Poetic Escape
Isabella di Morra looked out from a height. Below, in a deep chasm, flowed a river. Her river, the Sinni. Isabella turned her eyes to …
Laura Terracina: For Who is Enemy to Woman
“How dare you raise hand, against so young and beautiful a vision?” With such words does Laura Terracina (1519 – 1577) defend her sex. Born …
Who Am I to Speak to You of Italy?
Who am I to speak to you of Italy? Chi sono io, per parlarvi dell’Italia? Who, for more than 50 years have lived in silence, …
Dante’s New Love Life: the Vita Nuova
The love poets of Dante’s day told everyone they were in love: but always kept the name of their beloved secret. Dante however, names Beatrice …
Maria Famà – “I will not check the box for white on any form”
Maria Famà’s poem “I Am Not White” lives in the folded places between two worlds. Through her Italian-American eyes we see her lived experience of …
Martha Root — An Astonishing Life
Today I am at a Baha’i meeting, and I want to say thank you for the blessing of having such times in my life. To each …
Cowra Peace Bell tolls a warning
As many know, Cowra once held a Japanese prisoner of war camp. The tragedies that happened there when the prisoners tried to break out, has …
The Poetry of Langston Hughes
Racism and problems of race relations continue to generate injustice and racial animosity around the world. The problem is not confined to any one people …