Voices Beyond the Mainstream: Interviews with Italian Canadian Writers Caterina Edwards, Antonio D'Alfonso, and Pasquale Verdicchio

Abstract

This contribution provides a smattering of the main events that gave rise to Italian Canadian literature through the voices of prominent authors in the field. Along with the early history and the literature, the foundation of Guernica Editions and the Association of Italian Canadian Writers are presented as driving forces in the development of Italian Canadian literature. Often vilified and displaced at the margins of both Italy and Canada, Italian Canadian writers are on the threshold of making names for themselves. In effect, their identities have constantly been negotiated through the diasporic movements within and outside of Italy and Canada, which put the issue of a double consciousness to the forefront. Caterina Edwards, Antonio D'Alfonso, and Pasquale Verdicchio are Italian Canadian writers concerned with the consequences of migration on new generations: loss, alienation, and split identities are shared feelings that continue to permeate their literary production. Besides bringing to the surface the stalemate reached after that initial awakening in 1978, these interviews dust off a new mode of aesthetic intrinsic of history and emotional ties.