Living Biculturalism, Writing Transculturalism

This book is a collection of essays in honor of Luigi Fontanella. Living more than fifty years in the United States and writing his innumerable works in Italian surely underscores a certain characteristic that distinguishes him from the majority of writers in Italy. First, it is geographical: Luigi lives in the US, whereas the majority of poets who write in Italian live in Italy. (2) It is geo-cultural; for while Luigi lives in the United States, he is engaged for sure in its cultural milieu. Indeed, Luigi has always been

in direct dialogue with Italy and all that it pertains. It is this continued intellectual conversation - this to-and-fro - that places him hermeneutically and linguistically under the greater umbrella of "Italian."