Writing the companion book to the PBS documentary series The Italian Americans allowed me the opportunity to take part in a project that for years I had admired from afar, having shared cappuccino and conversation with a few of the people involved in its creation and development. As I dug into the project, the team at Ark Media, a group of smart, talented, and generous filmmakers, were always available and eager to share their voluminous material with me.
Special thanks to Maia Harris, who reached out during the project’s earliest stages; Jeff Bieber at WETA Television, who offered ideas and encouragement; and WETA’s intrepid interns Robert Gabriel and Lyndsi Bosco. My talented research assistant, Shayna Garkofsky, delved deep into the subject matter, gamely tackling historical and contemporary research. At Ark Media, Julia Marchesi and Muriel Soenens were the source of many engaging discussions, along with Josh Gleason, whose commanding memory aided my own. The illustrations in this book are possible only because of the tenacity and skill of Ark Media’s wonderful Hannah Olson, who always seemed to have photos and facts at her fingertips, along with Michael Shorris, who applied his walker-in-the-city photographic eye to my research requests and, in an unforgettable feat, tracked down from a photograph the city bus on which I had left a canvas bag with all of my notebooks for this project. And most of all, my thanks to Ark Media’s John Maggio, who not only created a superb documentary film, but generously offered his advice and friendship, always accompanied by lots of laughter, making this companion book a joy to write.
Friends and colleagues provided excellent ideas, observations, facts and figures, and objects that made their way onto these pages. My thanks to Stefano Albertini, B. Amore, Wayne Barrett, Paul Berman, Mary Brown, Alan Christian, Rose Marie Cleese, Adam Cohen, Lawrence DiStasi, Geoffrey Dunn, Laurie Fabiano, Donna Gabaccia, David Giovannitti, Edvige Giunta, Joanna Clapps Herman, Aldo Mansi, Tom Robbins, Stephanie Romeo, Joseph J. Salvo, Matthew Santirocco, Joseph Scelsa, Joseph Sciorra, Anthony Tamburri, and Andrew Zambelli. A special thanks to Wallis Wilde-Menozzi for cherished lunches discussing Italian and Italian-American culture.
My thanks to friends and family for hand-holding during the course of an intense year: Jennifer Brown (who held stepladders, too, in pursuit of this project), LynNell Hancock, Gary Lang, Ruth Pastine, and Vincent Santoro. Thanks to my mother-in-law, Sylvia Shorris, who provided additional Mediterranean wisdom; James and Cindy Shorris; my brother Bob, for his love, good humor, and continued encouragement of my work; and my late mother, Connie, who enthusiastically supported this project.
I couldn’t find a better advocate—and friend—in my agent, Susan Ramer, whose constant support and reassuring presence guided me along the way. Anna Mageras at W. W. Norton always graciously offered her assistance and answers to my many, many questions. Designer Chris Welch and copy editor Stephanie Hiebert each provided an elegant and attentive eye to every page. Alane Salierno Mason was, quite simply, the perfect editor for this book. I’m always grateful for Alane’s intelligence, insights, and graceful editorial suggestions, but this illustrated project gave us the opportunity to search for objects from Italian-American childhoods long ago, finding a shared madeleine in homely nutcrackers and pastel-colored wedding almonds.
There is no greater gift than imagining the meaning and lessons of the past with the people who guide you through the present, and whose presence adds meaning to each day. My son Michael, my joy, my husband Tony, my love, thank you for teaching and inspiring me.