MONDO PULEO

My brother Joe was more American than me. The paradox was that Joe was perceived as an American and lived in Cassano d'Adda, Lombardia,...

Sicilian is my native language. Yet, to survive in an Italian academic system and in a melting pot American society, I acquired Italian...

When I arrived in the United States in April 1966, I was excited about my new life in America. Everything was different. I felt reborn, a...

After many years of trying to make a living in Boston, I returned to Italy in the summer of 1997. Having been away from Italy for over 25...

When my mom died, I did not have a chance to say goodbye. Anxiously I rushed home from teaching. When I arrived there, I could read on my...

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.” (II.2.40-44) Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare I...

Dopo l’emigrazione negli Stati Uniti nel 1966, mio padre, ogni tanto, mi chiedeva di aiutarlo con piccoli lavoretti che voleva completare...

Coming to America and leaving Italy was never my priority. It was an alternative, and I welcomed the chance for a new life. I looked...

Era la mattina del 5 Aprile 1966 quando partii nel buio per il lungo viaggio in America. Era di nascosto come per evitare gli sguardi dei...

Pre-Scriptum Sensuality is the key to life, and we use a considerable portion of our lives in search of tastes that satisfy our desires....

I wake up In the dark Dipping biscuits In my coffee I warm-up In the dark Thinking about My mother’s love I regret In the dark Avoiding...

I travel repeatedly to my birthplace: Salice, Messina, in the Peloritan Hills of Sicily. In reality, I have visited Salice three times...

My mom, my younger brother, Pippo, and I always waited for my father to come home on his re-welded bicycle to have dinner. He usually...

My love for wine began even before I knew what was happening around me. My mother, Signora Grazia (as she was respectfully called by her...

‘If I Were in Charge of the World’ by Judith Viorst is a poem that I often share with my students. It makes me laugh. It makes me...

Merge endlessly the women I love Unite lyrical Sappho With Greek waves That slip into poetry Blend oratorical Cleopatra With African...

There is a typical Italian saying, “Si sa’ dove si nasce, e non si sa’ dove si muore,” One knows where one is born, but one doesn’t know...

A name is more than just a name. When my daughter was born, I named her Graziella. Later on, when my mother became a US citizen, she...

Once a friend, always a friend. Days, months, years pass, but true friendship picks up life where it was left off. Daunting time is...