Book Presentation: Il perche del pellicano

Luigi Fontanella is Professor Emeritus of Italian and former chair of the European Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department at SBU. Poet, literary critic, novelist, dramatist, and translator, he is the Chief Editor of Gradiva Publications, and the President of I.P.A. (Italian Poetry in America). His most recent books are Raccontare la poesia 1970-2020 (2021); the novel The God of New York (2023); Dell’ultimo orizzonte. Poesie scelte (2023, Premio Camaiore alla Carriera); Bertgang: An Oneiric Phantasy (2025). In 2005 President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi nominated Fontanella Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana.

Annalisa Macchia’s first poetry collection, La stanza segreta, was published in 2004. It was followed by La luna di Cézanne in 2008 and Interporto est in 2014. The year 2020 brought the short, sharp, and sarcastic work Il bestiario delle bestiacce, a metaphorical zoo of humanity. Her latest book is You Cannot Stare at the Sun (2023). Macchia collaborates with the Florentine cultural association Pianeta Poesia and the literary magazine Erba d’Arno. She is part of the Gradiva editorial team, the international journal of Italian poetry. She also handles the literary criticism for the Circolo degli Artisti–Casa di Dante.