Joanna Clapps Herman, Edvige Giunta, Maria Laurino, and Annie Lanzillotto read from Our Roots Are Deep with Passion: Creative Nonfiction Collects New Essays by Italian-American Writers

Four authors read from this collection of Italian-American autobiographical works edited by Lee Gutkind and Joanna Clapps Herman. This anthology consists of twenty-one original essays on the myriad ways Italian ancestry accents the lives of Americans, addressing topics such as the enduring power of the evil eye, turbulent relationships between husbands and wives, as well as parents and children, and the nostalgia for a father’s accordion, to name a few. Contributors include novelists, scholars, critics, and memoirists from across the country who explore the unique intersections of language, tradition, cuisine, and culture that characterize the diverse experience of Americans of Italian heritage.