O to Be Italian in Toronto: Mary Di Michele's Elegies

"O to be Italian in Toronto: Mary di Michele's Elegies” Italian Americana 19.2 (1991): 181-188

7 Pages Posted: 8 Feb 2016

Date Written: February 6, 1991

Abstract

In this paper I want to trace the elegiac strain in Di Michele's poetry, from its focus on personal loss to its more recent focus on broader political issues. Early on, that is, the focus of Di Michele's narrative of loss is specific: on family and Italy, the family home and homeland. Gradually, however, the narrative's focus becomes broader until, in Luminous Emergencies, the elegiac form is transformed from the poet's mourning the loss of a specific person or place, to her mourning a loss that is so universal, so enormous in its scope, that the poet's task is to personalize it.

Suggested Citation

Cooke, Nathalie, O to Be Italian in Toronto: Mary Di Michele's Elegies (February 6, 1991). "O to be Italian in Toronto: Mary di Michele's Elegies” Italian Americana 19.2 (1991): 181-188, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2728727 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2728727

Nathalie Cooke (Contact Author)

McGill University ( email )

Arts Building
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Montreal, Quebec QC H3A 0G4
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5143984400 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.mcgill.ca/english/staff/nathalie-m-cooke

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