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Italian Migration
Donna R. Gabaccia
Italy's Many Diasporas. U of Washington P us $22.00
Filippo Salvatore. Trans. Domenic Cusmano
Ancient Memories, Modern Identities. Guernica $20.00
Luigi Romeo
Canadian Poems-Bilingual Edition. Pentland n.p.
Nicholas De Maria Harney
Eh, Paesan! Being Italian in Toronto. U of Toronto P $17.95
At first glance these four books have little in common beyond Italian subject matter. Romeo writes intellectual and vibrant poetry; Gabaccia studies Italian global migration; Salvatore interviews young authors who reveal their ambivalent North American identities; and Harney explores the identities of Italian immigrants in Toronto. Yet each author illuminates the rich complexities of Italian migration in North America and in the world.
Gabaccia's lengthy migration study shows the recent emergence of Italian identity. Since Italians were never a "victim Diaspora" like, for example, Africans and Jews, migrant Italians did not feel a great sense of loss for their nation and did not form a national community. It was common for the men to migrate and leave behind their families. Unlike persecuted groups, who fled their land and were unable to return, the Italian...