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Association of Italian Canadian Writers
Executive
President Maria Cristina Seccia
Vice-President Delia De Santis
Secretary Giulia Verticchio
Treasurer Cristina Pepe
Editorial Board
Josephine Atri
Domenic Beneventi
Anna Ciampolini Foschi
Carmelo Militano
Christina Sforza
Newsletter Committee
Josephine Atri
Domenic Beneventi
Anna Ciampolini Foschi
Francesca Foschi Mitchell (editor)
Christina Sforza
AICW on Facebook and Twitter
Follow the AICW on Twitter @AICWCanada
If you are on Facebook, please take the time to LIKE our page and to post information about your new
publications and events
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 1
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Dear Members,
We are delighted to announce that our new web site is now live. Please post your photo and create your profile at www.aicw.ca.
We are pleased to have received so many interesting proposals for our next Biennial Conference, The Traces We Leave: Italian
Canadians and Their Works, which will be held at the University of Turin from October 7 to 9, 2020. We are currently working on
the conference program which will be advertised soon.
We are excited about the publication of a special issue of Italian Canadiana, entitled New Perspectives in Italian Canadian Writing:
Dynamics of Cultural Inheritance, edited by Delia De Santis. (See page XXX below.)
Licia Canton and Domenic Beneventi, both past-presidents of the AICW, are working on a video project titled Queer and Italian
Canadian, in which writers are interviewed about their lives, work, and experiences as members of the LBGTQ+ Italian-Canadian
community. This project is a collaboration between the AICW and the ÉRÉQQ research group (Équipe de recherche en études
queer au Québec).
Cultural and literary events featuring our members are taking place in several cities. For example, a Books and Biscotti event took
place last January in Vancouver, and another is being organized on the 11th of June as part of the Italian Heritage Month
celebrations.
Finally, a warm welcome to our new members! Tell your friends and colleagues about the AICW. The membership form is on page
22.
Best wishes,
Maria Cristina
Dr Maria Cristina Seccia
AICW President
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 2
NEWS
Biennial “F.G. Bressani” Literary Prize
The Italian Cultural Centre Society established the Biennial F. G. Bressani Literary Prize in
1986 during the celebrations for Vancouver’s Centennial and the launch of the First
National Conference of Italian Canadian Writers. The Centre’s Board of Directors
accepted a proposal put forth by a local committee led by C. Dino Minni and Anna Foschi
Ciampolini for the creation of a literary prize aimed at honouring and promoting the
literary work of Canadian writers of Italian origin or Italian descent.
The Bressani Prize, held every two years and originally dedicated to Italian Canadian
literature, was later opened to writers from other cultures but was then discontinued for
Photo courtesy of the Italian Cultural Centre
a few years. In 2000, the Italian Cultural Centre’s new F.G. Bressani Committee restored
the original intent and meaning of the Prize. The Prize is named after the Jesuit Father Francesco Giuseppe Bressani, an Italian
missionary, born in Rome on May 6, 1612.
Download the Rules & Regulations for the 2020 Edition of the Bressani Literary Prize
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 3
NEWS
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco Remembered
By Joseph Pivato
I remember it all like it was yesterday!
In September 1986 Italian-Canadian writers from across Canada met in Vancouver for a
conference sponsored by the Italian Cultural Centre and organized by Anna Foschi
Ciampolini, Dino Minni and Genni Gunn. After the regular meetings of the day a number
of authors went to a restaurant/bar and talked late into the night. They decided to
establish the Association of Italian-Canadian Writers and this proposal was announced
the next morning. Pier Giorgio Di Cicco was one of the founding members along with
Antonio D’Alfonso, Pasquale Verdicchio, Dôre Michelut, Dino Minni, Marco Micone and
Joe Pivato. It was a surprise to many of us because all these writers had diverse
personalities and often disagreed on may questions.
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco from 2008. Photo by Kevin
Kelly Photography.
Of these founding members we lost Dino Minni in 1990, Dôre Miclelut in 2009 and now
Pier Giorgio Di Cicco.
Poet and priest, Pier Giorgio Di Cicco passed away on December 22, 2019.
As a poet and editor his contributions to Canadian literature are enormous.
As a priest who served the parishes of the greater Toronto area he helped many people and left a lasting impression on all who
heard his homilies. Giorgio’s funeral was in Holy Rosary church, which is next to my old high school, St. Michael’s. My sister,
Louise, and my daughter, Juliana, attended the simple funeral. He was 70 when he died.
My first contact with Giorgio was on November 5, 1976 when he sent me a letter inviting me to contribute to a new poetry
anthology that he was editing. That anthology, Roman Candles, published in June 1978, included 17 poets and began the
phenomenon of Italian-Canadian writing. Giorgio promoted Roman Candles in Toronto and asked me to arrange a reading in
Edmonton. At the time Giorgio was an assistant editor at the literary magazine, Books in Canada.
On October 16-19, 1978 Giorgio was in Edmonton giving readings at Athabasca University, The Dante Society and the University of
Alberta. I also arranged TV and radio interviews. We promoted the anthology as well in Montreal since it included poets from
Quebec. We discovered many different authors. Giorgio was the initial driving force for Italian-Canadian writing, a body of writing
that inspired many other ethnic minority authors and transformed our understanding of Canadian literature into a more diverse
representation of our national culture.
In Toronto Giorgio sometimes taught creative writing courses and encouraged many other writers such as Gianna Patriarca, Dôre
Michelut and Antonino Mazza. In 1978 Frank Paci published his first novel, The Italians, which became a Canadian bestseller. That
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 4
NEWS
same year in Montreal Antonio D’Alfonso founded Guernica
Editions in order to give these new writers a venue for their
publications. At the time the works of ethnic minority authors
were often rejected by the gatekeepers of Canadian literature
who were focused on creating a national literature based on
Anglo-Celtic cultural roots. Giorgio lamented this problem in his
“Preface” to Roman Candles. He wrote, “I found isolated gestures
by isolated poets, isolated mainly by the condition of nationalism
prevalent in Canada….” (9)
Photo courtesy of Joe Pivato
In response to these conflicting pressures I edited the critical
collection, Contrasts: Comparative Essays on Italian-Canadian Writing in 1985 with Guernica. It included ten contributors, three of
whom had appeared in Roman Candles, and so it continued the work of promoting Italian-Canadian authors first started by Pier
Giorgio Di Cicco. He went on to inspire many writers, too many to mention here.
At the foundational meeting of AICW Giorgio was an active participant in all the discussions. We did not know it at that time, but
Giorgio had decided to enter the religious life. With the publication of Virgin Science in 1986 he had produced thirteen of his own
books and then stopped writing for about 15 years. In the cloister of St. Augustine monastery it was often difficult to make contact
with Giorgio.
After he earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1990 he left the monastery and taught high school for a year. It was pure
coincidence that he was hired to teach at Fr. Michael Goetz Secondary School in Mississauga by Louise Pivato who is my sister.
As a priest Father Di Cicco worked in many parishes in and around Toronto. Because he spoke Italian he was also able to help
Italian seniors who spoke poor English. He became known as a person with spiritual gifts.
With the appearance of Living in Paradise in 2001 Pier Giorgio Di Cicco returned to publishing his poetry. In 2004 he was made
Poet Laureate of Toronto in recognition of his many contributions to Canadian literature. Giorgio went on to publish five more
books giving us a significant body of work. In 2011 my critical collection, Pier Giorgio Di Cicco: Essays on His Works provided
further recognition of his achievements as a writer. In addition to eleven essays on various aspects of his poetry books it includes
an interview with Giorgio, a brief biography and a bibliography of his writings. It was published by Guernica Editions.
That fortuitous encounter with Giorgio in 1977 changed my career as an academic, a researcher and a writer. It also brought me
back into the creative communities of Italian-Canadians in Toronto and Montreal. I am part of the legacy of Pier Giorgio Di Cicco.
It was an honour to have known Giorgio all these years.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 5
EVENTS
"Journeys into the page: how (imaginary) travelling & movement can inspire
and nurture your writing”
On May 9, 2020 Arianna Dagnino will be giving a workshop at the "Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival” (May 8-10, Salmon Arm,
British Columbia)
Title of the workshop: “Journeys into the page: how (imaginary) travelling & movement
can inspire and nurture your writing"
Travel is commonly associated with exploration, adventure, stories of growth, and
personal transformation.
Most of the great writers of all times have tried their hand at or honed their skill
through travel-based writing. In this highly interactive workshop, we will discover why
this is so by taking you on a journey through memorable stories (of past masters) and
highly personal experiences (yours).
Expect to be asked many questions and to have to write your answers in short, fast paragraphs. At the end of the workshop
expect to have developed a mental map of your own creative writing mind and of the reasons why it functions at its best once you
have really or virtually left the comfort of home.
https://wordonthelakewritersfestival.com/sessions/journeys-into-the-page/
https://blogs.ubc.ca/ariannadagnino/
Books and Biscotti at Vancouver’s Italian Centre on June 11th
Books and Biscotti returns to the Italian Centre on June 11th. Local AICW members together with Word Vancouver and Pandora’s
Collective group of writers will read from their works. Carmelo Militano, the Guest of Honour, will present his new book Catching
Desire on the life and art of Amedeo Modigliani.
The event is part of the celebrations for the Italian Heritage Month. It is organized in cooperation with Word Vancouver,
Pandora’s Collective Outreach Society and the Italian Cultural Centre.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 6
EVENTS
Paola Breda comes to Vancouver on June 15th
Paola Breda will deliver a presentation at the Italian Cultural Centre about the Fallen Workers Memorial Project. In 2016, this
initiative led to the creation and unveiling of the Italian Fallen Workers Memorial Wall located at the Columbus Centre (Villa
Charities) in Toronto. The site is dedicated to a monument commemorating the Italian immigrants who lost their lives in a work-
place tragedy or because of an industrial disease in Canada. Paola will also read from her recent book Land of Triumph and
Tragedy: Voices of the Italian Fallen Workers.
This event is the result of a collaboration between AICW, Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver and the Italian Fallen Workers
Memorial Project
Books and Biscotti Special Edition on January 21 at the Italian Centre in
Vancouver
by Anna Foschi Ciampolini
The Books and Biscotti series has become a well-established event in the literary circles
gravitating around Vancouver's Italian Cultural Centre. AICW's partnership with the
Centre and Word Vancouver/Pandora's Collective is bringing a new audience and a
renewed interest in Italian Canadian writing.
On January 21, 2020, I organized and hosted a literary reading at the Centre in
cooperation with our partners. The event intended to showcase Michael Mirolla's latest
novel, The Last News Vendor, as well as recent works from Bonnie Nish and Natasha
Boskic of Pandora's Collective. Michael Mirolla, Anna Foschi, Bonnie Nish, Natasha
Boskic. Photo by Danny Zavarise
Till the end of January 2020, Michael Mirolla was the Writer in Residence at the Historic Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver. During
his residency period, he has been very active in the Vancouver cultural scene. We were fortunate to have him participating in our
event. The audience was captivated by his readings from The Last News Vendor. At the conclusion, Mirolla answered numerous
questions with his trademark subtle sense of humor and irreverence.
The presence of two influential Vancouver authors, Bonnie Nish and Natasha Boskic,
deepened the cultural significance of the event. is Executive Director of Word
Vancouver and Pandora's Collective Outreach Society. Bonnie holds a Master's in Arts
Education from Simon Fraser University and is a Ph.D. candidate in Language and
Literacy Education at UBC. She is also an Expressive Arts Therapist with a Certificate of
Advanced Graduate Studies from the Vancouver Expressive Arts Therapy School. She
Anna Ciampolini Foschi, Michael Mirolla and Bonnie Nish. Photo by
Danny Zavarise
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 7
EVENTS
read moving poetry on the Holocaust and an excerpt from Concussion and Mild TBI: Not Just Another Headline, her anthology of
concussion-related stories.
Natasha Boskic writes poetry and biographical narratives, experiments with technology and other media of expression. Her work
has been published in literary journals. Her latest collaborative multimedia project, "Sill/ed Here," is a video poetry and
Augmented Reality installation. It has been exhibited internationally, in Portugal, Serbia, Ireland, England and Denmark, and
locally in Canada (BC and Ontario). It won the first prize at the Surrey Art Gallery and was presented at Word Vancouver. She has
been finalizing her poetry manuscript. Natasha obtained her Ph.D. in the Faculty of Education at UBC, with a focus on ethics and
narratives in gameworlds. Natasha lives in Vancouver and works at UBC as Director of Learning Design.
George Elliott Clarke Lecture June 1st
The official sponsor is the Association of Italian-Canadian Writers.
Congress 2020 will be held at Western University in London, Ontario, from May 30 to June 5, 2020. The
theme this year is “Confronting Colonialism and Anti-Black Racism.” Many language and literature
associations meet during the congress which often has about 7,000 people attending.
George Elliott Clarke, African-Canadian poet, academic and literary scholar has been invited to give a
lecture during the Congress. His topic will be, “Assembling the Afro-Metis Syllabus: Some Preliminary
George Elliott Clarke. Photo by Joe Reading.”
Pivato.
He will discuss the works of some African-Canadian writers who also identify as part Indigenous. The dilemma of dual identity is a
question which many ethnic minority authors in Canada often deal with and question. Because his talk will examine particular
ethnic minority identities some people may find it controversial, especially at a time of Indigenous assertions of treaty rights and
land claims. Clarke’s focus will be on literary works not political questions.
The executive of the AICW has seen a copy of the abstract for the talk and have agreed to officially sponsor his lecture. Joe Pivato,
a long-time friend of Clarke, has been asked to give the introduction to his lecture. Everyone is welcome.
Clarke has some history with the AICW. He has openly supported Italian-Canadian authors by referring to them in his publications
and lectures. He was the keynote speaker at the AICW conference in Toronto in May, 2002. He gave a short talk comparing an
African-Canadian and an Italian-Canadian anthology. This later appeared in his book, Directions Home: Approaches to African-
Canadian Literature (University of Toronto Press, 2012). The chapter title is, “Let Us Compare Anthologies: Harmonizing the
Founding African-Canadian and Italian-Canadian Literary Collections.” Several of his works have been translated into Italian.
The time of Clarke’s lecture is June 1st at 3:00 PM.
The place: Richard Ivey Building, auditorium.
Western Road and Brescia Drive
The Western University campus,
London, Ontario
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 8
BOOKS AND OTHER PRINT
New Perspectives in Italian Canadian Writing: Dynamics of Cultural Inheritance.
Italian Canadiana, Special Issue # 34, 2020. Ed. Delia De Santis. The Frank Iacobucci Centre for Italian Canadian
Studies, Department of Italian Studies, University of Toronto.
What is cultural inheritance if not memories transformed into words on pages bound into a book? Much more
than heirlooms in a trunk, the recreated times and worlds by a writer can remain ever-present in the readers’
mind. This volume is a real bounty of writing genres, presented to us by 27 authors. To purchase this Special
Issue, please write to: info@aicw.ca
Do I Have To Go To Sleep?
Carole Giangrande’s first kid’s book (Do I Have To Go To Sleep?) has just been published by Penumbra
Press (Carole is the author of ten adult books).
“Bear doesn’t want to go to sleep. He wants to play outside with the snowflakes, the winter moon and
a shooting star. When Mama tells him that all bears sleep in winter, he follows her into the den, but
he's afraid of the dark. Mama tells him to snuggle up, to imagine the snowflake, the moon and the
star. Suddenly he can see them all over again. Then she tells him to imagine how beautiful spring will
be when he wakes up. He imagines a beautiful world as he and his mama fall asleep."
Carole presents her book at the February meeting of
CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors,
Illustrators and Performers) Photo: Jennifer Mook-Sang
Available at Moonbeam Books in Toronto or from the publisher’s website at https://www.penumbrapress.com
Erminio Neglia’s New Book
Erminio G. Neglia. Short Stories and Poems. Solely Publishing. 2020.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 9
BOOKS AND OTHER PRINT
Carmelo Militano -- Book Launch
Thursday Mar 12 2020 7:30 pm, Winnipeg, Grant Park in the Travel Alcove
https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/event-17850/Carmelo-Militano----Book-Launch#.Xkc04WhKj-h
Launch of Catching Desire (Ekstasis Editions).
Carmelo Militano’s sixth book Catching Desire is a personal account of the turbulent artistic life, and often
erotically charged art of the maudit, ‘damned,’ Modernist painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani.
Carmelo Militano is a writer, free-lance broadcaster, literary critic, and teacher. He is the author of two poet-
ry collections (Morning After You and The Stone Mason’s Notebook) as well as three books of prose: The Fate
of Olives, Sebastiano’s Vine, and Lost Aria. Militano is the winner of the 2004 F.G.Bressani award for poetry,
Naji Naman poetry prize, and silver San Giovanni poetry prize. All three of his prose works have been short-
listed for various literary awards.
Catching Desire
by Carmelo Militano
Trade paperback $24.95
Reader Reward Price: $22.46
Carmelo Militano's new book Catching Desire is a personal account of the turbulent artistic life, and often
erotically charged art of the maudit, 'damned,' Modernist painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani. Militano
effectively mixes poetry and prose to evoke the life and art of Modigliani. The writing is rich in texture,
images, and detail; a type of sensual reasoning. Modigliani's development as an artist, his tragic search for
beauty, and ultimately his reach to express his vision of spiritual eroticism grounded in the flesh is the poetic
heart beating inside the brain of this new book.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 10BOOKS AND OTHER PRINT
Pivato Mother and Daughter
Emma Pivato has a new novel, Healthy Bodies Also Die, a murder mystery just published by
Cozy Cat Press, USA. This is the seventh volume in her Claire Burke Mystery series. All the
novels are set in Edmonton and all include one or more characters with disabilities who
participate in solving the crime. Other titles include: Blind Sight Solution (2013), Jessie Knows
(2015), Murder on Highway 2 (2016) and Deadly Care (2016). All are available on Amazon as
paperbacks or as e-books.
Daughter, Juliana Pivato has a new book coming out with Guernica Editions as part of the Essential Writers
Series. She edited Pictura: Essays on the Works of Roy Kiyooka. This collection of critical essays looks at
Kiyooka’s poetry, prose and his multi-media work. While he was based in Vancouver Kiyooka also worked in
Regina, Montreal and Halifax. Roy Miki edited Pacific Windows: Collected Poems of Roy Kiyooka in 1997. Juliana
also works as a multi-media artist in Toronto and has some affinity with Kiyooka’s writing and art
experimentation.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 11BOOKS AND OTHER PRINT
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 12BOOKS AND OTHER PRINT
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 13MEMBER SHOWCASE
Quando il sole tace.
di Vittorino Dal Cengio
Pinin l’aveva intravista, quella meravigliosa creatura, durante un giorno di festa al mercato delle erbe nel vicino villaggio e ne era
rimasto incantato. Nessuna delle ragazze del suo paese poteva reggere un benché minimo confronto con quella donna dai capelli
rossi che, visti contro il pallido sole primaverile, le davano un’aura misteriosa. Appariva e spariva in attimi sfuggenti tra le tende
dei banchi di vendita con la facilità di un fantasma, seguita dai lembi del suo aleggiante, sottile abito. E ora, una sera al ritorno dal
lavoro, se la trovò lì, stagliata sulla soglia di una casotta di legno in mezzo alle isbe della borgata dove lui aveva deciso di restare,
illuminata alle spalle da una luce più diffusa e intensa di quella di un lume. Egli sentì, inconfondibile, un impellente desiderio di
entrare, come uno dovesse ubbidire a un’amichevole esortazione. La donna si tenne da parte, il suo abito di un colore sbiadito
confuso con la tinta evanescente delle pareti. Pinin si trovò nel mezzo di una stanza in cui il pavimento, coperto da lisci tappeti,
sembrava emanare una luce propria, nonostante il lume appeso al basso soffitto. Si accorse allora di una bimba che stava
saltellando qua e là lasciando, da sotto le scarpette intrise di colori, impronte di fiorellini al suolo. Pinin si ricordò, nonostante la
difficoltà di quella lingua straniera, delle parole di Alina, l’anziana che lo aveva accolto nella sua isba e curato dalle ferite dopo
l’ultimo scontro a fuoco con i russi più di due anni prima. Alina aveva appunto menzionato la venuta di una maestra per i piccoli
dell’asilo.
Pinin aveva anche pensato di trovarsi una ragazza del luogo per metter su famiglia e aveva cominciato a guardarsi attorno ma
l’apparire di quella donna di una decina d’anni più vecchia di lui l’incuriosì. A guardarla in viso sembrava avesse lineamenti delicati
ma stranamente indefiniti più che altro, di una bellezza non comune. I suoi leggiadri occhi celesti, dopo l’ultimo sguardo di
sorpresa rivoltole da Pinin, indicarono una stanzetta adiacente, separata da una tenda marrone. Pinin vi entrò e, uscitone con più
entusiasmo, seguendo un pressante ordine nella sua mente, in un mutuo linguaggio spiegò alla bimba come impiastricciarsi le
scarpe con colori più vividi, presi dai lati della bacinella che li conteneva. Poi, sempre attenendosi a istruzioni impartite senza
alcuna parola e che egli accettava, ammaliato e via via più a suo agio alla presenza di quella imperscrutabile donna, s’imbrattò
anche i suoi scarponi e cominciò a lasciare tracce di anatra sul pavimento, miste a fiori più grossi e vividi di quelli lasciati dalla
bimba. Allora la donna sorrise, ma con una movenza che a Pinin apparve soffusa da un velo di nebbia. Si unì ella quindi alla
peculiare danza, a tratti toccando le braccia di Pinin, lasciando tracce di fiori luminescenti dai suoi piedi nudi. Strano, pensò Pinin,
fuori c’è ancora la neve che si sta appena sciogliendo e lei è qui senza scarpe. Pinin le pose le mani ai fianchi mentre stavano
ancora saltellando attorno ed ella fece altrettanto con lui. A Pinin non sfuggì il calore umano che la donna gl’impartiva a ogni
movimento. Provava un crescente piacere toccando quel sottile abito a lei aderente dalla vita in su. E poi, mentre la bimba si era
fermata al centro della stanza a toccare i fiorellini sul pavimento, Pinin e la donna scivolarono sui colori freschi e caddero a terra,
lui sotto e lei sopra. Si abbracciarono, rimasero per qualche secondo stretti l’uno all’altra, poi lei si alzò, spostandosi con le
ginocchia sul pavimento verso la bimba, rimanendo carponi. Pinin la seguì alla stessa maniera, fermandosi dietro. Notò quindi il
leggero abito che, essendo la donna con i gomiti a terra e stesa in avanti a comunicare con la bimba, le copriva ora appena le liscie
cosce, la sua pelle fine come l’alabastro. Pinin sollevò allora quel lembo sottile e rimase attonito alla vista. Lei, sotto quel leggero
abito, era completamente nuda. Nella sua mente, Pinin da lei non registrò nessun ostacolo al desiderio che provava così
intensamente. In quella mutua comunicazione ella rimase neutra ma non indifferente, quasi a dargli una scelta. Pinin le si accostò,
posò sfiorando delicatamente le sue dita ai lati e lungo la parte più intima della donna, poi reclinò una guancia sulla natica più
vicina e rimase per un attimo in estasi, rapito da quella ridda di sensazioni a lui nuove.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 14MEMBER SHOWCASE
“Hah hah! Hai visto il suo sedere,” disse la bimba.
Pinin si destò a quel candido commento e rispose subito. “No, no. Vedi, questo tappeto sul pavimento sta sopra un altro che è
sopra a un altro ancora, più sotto.”
La bimba continuò, intenta al suo gioco. Pinin si rese conto che quella breve conversazione appena scambiata si svolse con parole
vere, scandite a viva voce per la prima volta durante quella sera. Si accorse inoltre, per quella esoterica donna, di aver provato una
sensazione pura, sublime, di vero amore quale mai si era figurato esistesse, molto al di sopra della pur piacevole impressione
sessuale. E con quell’amore provò un crescente, vigoroso calore umano, calmante, additivo, provenire da quell’essere, da quella
donna che ora gli appariva come una fata delle storie, per certi sensi inquietante. Alzandosi, le carezzò ancora le cosce, provando
un impeto di passione, quasi la sua mente fosse tutt’uno con quella di lei, sincronizzati nella medesima esaltazione, quasi a
formare un solo, cosciente individuo. Ripose poi la bacinella dei colori nella stanzetta e, in quel momento, sentì un urlo
raccapricciante, d’oltre tomba, che gli fece gelare il sangue e rizzare i peli. All’esterno, la donna gridava: “Noo! Efferato demone,”
accasciandosi con voce straziante.
La bimba era sparita. Pinin si guardò attorno, poi seguì la donna slanciata in una folle corsa sulla neve, verso l’orizzonte, in
direzione opposta al villaggio. Percepì nella sua mente ciò che la donna pensava e che andava ripetendo con rabbia e disperazione
tra sé: me l’ha rapita, maledetto mostro infernale. Pinin aumentò l’andatura, com’era solito fare durante le corse a piedi a scuola,
dove vinceva ogni volta in uno sforzo agli ultimi metri ma non riuscì a raggiungere la donna. Quella pareva spinta dal vento con
l’abito svolazzante, i suoi piedi nudi che sfioravano appena la crosta nevosa mentre gli scarponi di Pinin sprofondavano, invece,
nella soffice neve, impedendogli la corsa. La raggiunse, finalmente, quando lei arrivò all’uscio di una cascina isolata, dove ad
attenderla apparve una vecchia arcigna con una falce in mano, rischiarata dietro da una tremolante fiammella. Al suo lato, l’uomo
che aveva rapito la bimba stava ancora inviando profanità nella sua mente e, ne era sicuro, anche in quella della donna. All’altro
lato, ritta e tremante, la bimba era tenuta per mano dalla vecchia. Pinin non perse tempo; mentre la donna stava ancora lottando
mentalmente con i due antagonisti, egli si scagliò contro la vecchia riuscendo a strapparle la bimba. In una corsa sfrenata,
nell’oscurità, si sentì al sicuro. Sapeva di aver distanziato l’uomo che, ne era certo, l’inseguiva. L’angoscia di non farcela lo prese
però alla gola mentre la saliva gli usciva di bocca ma continuò imperterrito, nonostante sentisse le forze svanire. Allora, alla sua
sinistra, l’uomo lo raggiunse correndo, apparentemente incrociandolo da un’altra direzione. Pinin lo guardò fissandolo negli occhi
e si accorse in quel momento che, nell’oscurità, quell’essere emanava dalle pupille una luce rossa, intensa, ferale, che gli sembrò
infernale.
Il demone, appaiandolo, chiese mentalmente a Pinin: “Vuoi un’aranciata?” E poi stese il braccio e gli porse la bottiglietta che
stringeva in mano.
Pinin la rifiutò con un gesto. Non aveva certo il tempo di berne una e poi, cosa ci faceva un’aranciata nella steppa se, a casa, era
difficile trovarne una al bar del paese?
Il demone gli prese la bimba dalla stretta delle sue braccia e svanì nel nulla assieme a lei, ma solo fisicamente. Pinin si fermò,
spossato. Sprofondò la sua faccia nella neve, cercando un momentaneo refrigerio ma, come pochi attimi prima, la sua mente non
era libera. Il demone gli stava dimostrando come, in mille modi e con ogni arguzia, avrebbe potuto causargli la morte, essendogli
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 15MEMBER SHOWCASE
omnipresente, incutendogli in quella maniera una profonda, atavica paura e terrore in caso avesse tentato di riprendersi la bimba
o di cercare la donna. Io, la donna, la vecchia e la bimba siamo della stessa famiglia, pareva gli volesse inculcare in testa.
Pinin aveva pensato spesso alla morte in quei due anni e più da quando era stato ferito in quell’ultima battaglia. Aveva perso
subito i sensi e i suoi compagni alpini lo avevano creduto morto e lasciato quindi sulla neve, all’abbraccio mortale del gelo, finché,
per miracolo, all’albeggiare era rinvenuto, raccolto poi dai famigliari di Alina, tenuto nascosto e curato come un fratello. Ne aveva
visti di orrori durante quella ritirata, cose da far impazzire chiunque e doveva la sua vita a quei generosi contadini, anime semplici
e comprensibili, pur essedogli nemici in guerra. Aveva quindi deciso di continuare a vivere tra loro, non una nuova vita,
semplicemente una logica continuazione. Avrebbe potuto tornarsene a casa a guerra finita ma a chi doveva la sua gratitudine?
Alla patria che l’aveva destinato a combattere sulle steppe russe o a chi l’aveva accolto moribondo? Si sentiva sì in colpa per tutti i
suoi commilitoni caduti, ma semplicemente perché egli era ancora vivo. E non poteva cancellare dalla sua mente le atrocità che gli
impedivano ancora il sonno, che lo angustiavano in permanenza.
Dalla neve questa volta lo raccolse Alina, che lo aiutò verso l’isba.
Pinin costatò che aveva perso, che non poteva far nulla contro i demoni che lo tormentavano, eppure voleva vincere, in qualche
modo, forse dimenticando quelle sconvolgenti scene di tregende che lo angosciavano. Sapeva di essere un buon carpentiere e
aveva promesso ad Alina di aggiustare una vecchia scrivania. Doveva solamente dar un colpo di martello a quattro chiodi per
fissare la nuova cornice nella parte superiore e, nonostante le proteste di Alina che lo voleva a letto a riposo, cominciò a
martellare. I primi chiodi li conficcò facilmente, il terzo si bloccò in un groppo e subito gli saltò alla mente la vivida immagine del
demone che gli diceva di stare attento, quel chiodo poteva essere il percussore di una bomba.
Alina lo trascinò a letto, non insistendo per la cena, come aveva fatto altre volte in quelle circostanze.
Pinin, vistosi sconfitto in ciò che sapeva di eccellere, si ricordò anche delle corse ciclistiche prima della guerra; aveva vinto diverse
volte e in allenamento faceva la salita Pedescala-Rotzo in meno di mezz’ora. Voleva vedere chi l’avrebbe sorpassato ma,
immediatamente, si trovò arrancante su per la salita di Ignago, seguendo il demone dagli occhi rossi, non fidandosi di stargli
davanti. Il suo ragionamento non faceva una grinza perché poteva controllarlo a breve distanza da dietro per poi scattare verso il
traguardo su quella non impegnativa salita. Non riuscì però a raggiungerlo, nonostante i suoi immani sforzi sui pedali. Vide il
demone al traguardo che pedalava all’indietro, in su, essendosi girato sulla bicicletta, in segno di scherno, voltandogli non la
schiena, ma gli occhi fiammeggianti in faccia e il petto peloso sotto la maglietta aperta. Pinin accusò anche quell’ultima sconfitta.
Non avrebbe mai potuto vincere su quelle forze malefiche.
Il mattino seguente Pinin prese una decisione. Voleva lasciare tutti quei brutti ricordi e quei tremendi incubi su quella terra
maledetta. Avrebbe intrapreso il ritorno a casa, a piedi, da solo.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 16MEMBER SHOWCASE
Foto di guerra
di Pier Angelo Piccolo
I suoi occhi me lo raccontano tutto, lo strazio di quelle ore, l’ ansiosa trepidazione … povero giovane, dolce, ingenuo.
Fissavo intensamente quella immagine sopra la mia bancarella, i suoi colori erano il bianco e il nero.
Caro nonno Angelo, volevi farci credere di essere felice lì in mezzo, tra milioni di ragazzini di tutto il mondo che s’ammazzavano
(invece di lavorare, creare, inventare, pregare, studiare, giocare, fare l’amore), poveri giovani come te che si odiavano terrorizzati,
senza conoscerne il perché.
Eri proprio uguale al mio bambino e io ti sto osservando, adesso, in quella foto di cento anni fa e vedo che hai la stessa identica
faccia di mio figlio, nato da poco, ciò mi rende ancora più triste.
Ti eri fatto fotografare mentre facevi la guerra e pensavi, pensavi … chissà a cosa pensavi.
Io, adesso, conosco già come sarebbe stato il tuo avvenire: ti saresti salvato da quel conflitto immane dove perirono in molti,
avresti vissuto fino agli anni sessanta del ‘900 e avresti visto il futuro … ma, prima, ti sarebbe caduto un figlio, giovane di vent’anni,
in un’altra sciagura, in una orribile seconda guerra mondiale, perche’ la prima non bastava a questa bestia chiamata uomo.
Tuo figlio affonderà e annegherà.
Nel 1944, a bordo di una nave maledetta.
Tu, però, non conoscevi ancora nulla del tuo destino e, sul retro della foto scrivevi: “Cara Angela, sono al fronte e penso a te.”
Già, il fronte: eri al Piave a combattere la tua battaglia sul Montello, giorni e giorni di viaggio terrorizzante per raggiungere il
nemico e ti sembrava che la nonna fosse lontana, irraggiungibile, in un altro pianeta.
Oggi, dal casello autostradale di Treviso Nord, uscita per il Montello, a Venezia, dove stava la nonna ad aspettarti, ci impiego
dodici minuti.
Se esco da casa per andarci a comprare il vino buono che fanno da quelle parti, mia moglie nemmeno se ne accorge e quando al
ritorno gliene offro un ombra mi dice:”figo ‘sto vino, l’hai comperato dal Gigi qui sotto?”
Tutto è ormai cambiato nel nostro mondo ora, ma lo sguardo che avevi in quella foto, più lo osservo e più vedo che è lo stesso che
ha mio figlio: anche lui, spesso, si chiede quale sarà il suo destino.
Tu, allora, sparavi ai crucchi tedeschi mentre, adesso, siamo tutti fratelli d’una grande comunità europea.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 17MEMBER SHOWCASE
Combatterà un’altra guerra mio figlio?
Sono almeno cinquemila anni che gli uomini combattono e si ammazzano in continui conflitti, se riuscissimo a non farlo fare ai
bambini come lui, ai suoi compagni di classe delle elementari, ai suoi coetanei variopinti del resto dell’umanità, saremmo già noi,
la nostra generazione, eroi agli occhi di Dio.
“Quanto vuole per questa foto?” mi chiede l’avventore del mio mercatino.
“Non è in vendita, caro amico, questa è mia, personale. Le altre foto vengono otto euro le piccole, dodici le grandi.”
“Così tanto?”
“Eh sì,valgono moltissimo: hanno tutte almeno cento anni.”
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 18MEMBER SHOWCASE
Excerpt from Arianna Dagnino's The Afrikaner (Guernica Editions, Toronto,
2019): A Tale of Hate, Love, Guilt and Redemption under African Skies
She thinks of Africa. She was born here, like her ancestors, who lived and died on this continent. It’s part of her destiny, she
guesses: to be African without wanting to, without knowing how to be African. She loves this land, yet she has closed herself off
from the violence in this land. Moreover, the whiteness of her culture — much more than her skin colour — has isolated her from
its context. Yes, she was raised as a bush girl, but her head is soaked in Western literature, music, art, science.
During her student years, in that moment of hopeful enchantment allowed by youth, she discovered the sweet seduction of living
in Spain, France, Italy. She took part in the research on Neanderthals at the prehistoric Lascaux caves and on Palaeolithic skulls at
Monte Circeo. She drank directly at the source from which civil liberties, philosophy and science sprang. Europe lured her with its
web of highly cultured, highly sophisticated, highly civilized micro-worlds. How distant Africa had seemed to her, then.
“Yet, you came back,” Dario once remarked as they were having coffee on the terrace of her house, their voices floating on the
bluish heat haze of the Highveld. Invariably, each round of thoughts brings her back to him. Dario was right, he was always right in
reading her unspoken truths. Eventually, her life roots had drawn her back. As the saying goes, you cannot be sown in wildness
and settle among daffodils. “In Europe you seemed to have found what you were looking for. What was missing, then?” Dario
eventually asked her.
She remembers taking her time before answering, plunging her eyes into the cloudless, limitless eastern plateau beyond the city
skyline. “I left my soul at the foot of the Table Mountain. I want it back,” she had just heard a returning South African writer tell
his interviewee on the morning radio program. She too had yearned for the heart of the land, the immense skies, men pacing over
parched plains, the slow passage of time. And the silence — that silence that says it all. She too had romanticized this place. Her
place. She too had wanted to feel at one with life — its pulse, its magic. Instead, turning towards him, she said something else: “I
was short of breath, up there.”
And if they asked her what she misses most about Europe, now, what would she reply? Art, without hesitation. Its intentionality.
The processing of the soul. Imagination in motion. But it might not be entirely accurate. Perhaps, even more than that, she misses
people intent on questioning life, incessantly scorching and scouring their minds. That’s it. Two opposite and fascinating worlds
have been playing their existential games on her. Attracted to both, she has sought the key to reconcile them without losing
anything along the way. But after what happened to Dario, her house of cards has collapsed. Africa, she feels, has betrayed her.
Yet only Africa, she knows, can redeem her.
Her life is no different from that of many other white-born children of this continent: She invaded Africa, grew in her womb, was
raised by her and learned to love her as if she were her real mother, no matter how dysfunctional the womb might turn to be.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 19MEMBER SHOWCASE
Poems by Anna Maria Panunto
Silently Broken
Cracks barely visible to the human eye.
Yet, this heart still beats to the rhythm of human time.
Eyes, drowning in the dead sea,
Tears, a forbidden secret with his God.
His solemn prayers are heard in old chapels.
A musical voice resonates in his dreams.
The angels hear the tragic churns of a forgotten place.
Earthly steps never seize to feel foreign.
Manically walking towards multiple paths.
Hands keener than an eagle.
Hands warmer than a tender heart.
Silently broken….
Jasmine and Pearls
(dedicated to Cathy)
Gold velvet and fresh jasmine flowers
Smell my fabric, for it is gloriously scented
And oh, my love,
I own a vintage string of white pearls!
Forget the jagged knife that rests in my back pocket
It is only there as a theatrical prop.
I am jasmine and pearls,
With fresh lipstick and all that jazz.
Entitled
Lips fluttering like agitated wings,
frazzled in motion, desperate to encapsulate air.
Mourning eyes fall to the sullen ground.
Claiming and then, tearing, an ancient existence.
The clock of time
calls upon a resurrection.
Truth, at the crack of dawn,
waits patiently for the prayer of release.
A newfound voice,
entitled to entitle.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 20NEW MEMBERS
Arianna Dagnino
Arianna Dagnino’s cultural and professional experience crosses many borders and five continents. Born in
Genoa, Italy, she studied in London, Moscow and Boston before entering journalism and international
reporting, which led her to spend several years in Southern Africa and Australia and travel across China and
the Middle East.
She has published books – both in Italian and English – of fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as studies
on the impact of digital technologies and global mobility on creativity and cultural flows.
Her newly-published novel The Afrikaner (Guernica Editions, Toronto, 2019) is an on-the-road tale set
between South Africa and Namibia that covers the terrains of love, race and science. Arianna holds an MA in
Modern Languages and Literatures from the University of Genoa and a PhD in Comparative Literature from
the University of South Australia. She currently teaches Italian Studies and film adaptation at the University
of British Columbia; together with her colleague Dr. Ernest Mathijs she has just finished writing a film script based on her novel
The Afrikaner.
Arianna is a Board Member of the Dante Alighieri Society of BC (http://
www.dantesocietybc.ca), a Certified STIBC Translator(French/Italian), an Accredited NAATI
Translator (English>Italian), a Member of the Writers’ Union of Canada, a Member of the
Literary Translators’ Association of Canada, and a Member of the Professional Order of Jour-
nalists in Italy.
You can find her @ https://blogs.ubc.ca/afrikaner/
The Afrikaner. A Novel (Guernica Editions, Toronto, 2019)
https://www.guernicaeditions.com/title/9781771833578
Anna Maria Panunto
Anna Maria Panunto lives in Montreal, Quebec. She is of Italian origin and speaks three languages:
English, French, and Italian. Anna is a Course Lecturer at McGill University and an Adult Education
teacher at the EMSB. She has been writing poetry since the age of 13. Over the decades, she has
published poetry, short-stories, radio play, articles, and other stuff. She is proud of her Italian origin
and so, cultural identity plays a pivotal role in all her writings. Most important of all, Anna believes in
self-expression and communal support – these two forces identify her existence.
AICW Newsletter / Issue 92 Spring 2020 / page 21BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!
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