Italian American Writers Association

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: (718) –777-2726


The Canadian Italians Meet the American Italians


The Italian American Writers Association (IAWA) in collaboration with the Cornelia Street Café will be having a special night of four featured Canadian Italian Writers on Saturday, May 14th, 2005 at 5:45pm to 7:45pm.

The Four Featured Readers:

Salvatore Ala was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. His book, Clay of the Maker, was published by Mosaic Press (1998). He has also published five broadsides of poems, Ten Poems, Thirteen Poems, Fourteen Poems, Keystrokes and Barbershop (Green Alley Press,1994-2003). Salvatore’s poems have appeared in the Fiddlehead and the Literary Review of Canada. Alistair MacLeod wrote of the poems in Clay of the Maker: “They are poems of integrity and clarity, and many of them possess a starling beauty.”
Licia Canton is a Montreal writer, editor and literary critic. She holds a Ph.D. from Université de Montréal and is currently editor-in-chief of Accenti, The Canadian Magazine with an Italian Accent. She has published four books on Italian Canadian writing (as editor) ­ The Dynamics of Cultural Exchange (Cusmano 2002), Adjacencies: Canadian Minority Writing (with Beneventi and Moyes, Guernica 2004), Rebus: Artists and Poets in Correspondence (with Anna Carlevaris, BuschekBooks 2005) and Antonio D'Alfonso: Essays on His Works (Guernica 2006). She has written prize-winning poetry and short stories (in English and Italian). She can be reached at http://www.accenti.ca/
Joseph A. Farina was born in Stanto Stefano di Camastra, Provenza di Messina, Sicily, Italy and immigrated to Canada when he was a child. He practices law in his hometown of Sarnia, Ontario. His poetry has appeared in the Alberta Poetry Yearbook, and in the newsletter of the Association of Italian Canadian Writers. He won second prize in the Sarnia Observer “My Hometown” contest for his essay “My New Home Town.” Several of his poems have been published in Green’s Magazine, Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine, Ascent, and in the Tower Poetry Magazine. He is working on The Cancer Chronicles to be published by Serengeti Press 2006.
Venera Fazio was born in Bafia, Sicily, Italy and immigrated to Canada when she was a child. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and for 15 years worked in the Mental Health field. She is co-editor of the anthology Sweet Lemons: Writing with a Sicilian Accent (Legas 2004). Her writing has been read on radio, published in the anthologies The Many Faces of Woman (River City Press 2001) and The Dynamics of Cultural Exchange (Cusmano, 2002) and in a number of magazines in Canada and the United States.

This event will take place on Saturday, May 14th Time: 5:45pm –7:45pm at the Cornelia Street Café,
29 Cornelia Street, New York City 212-989-9319. We will have open mic readings starting at 5:45pm sharp and the four featured readers will start at 6:45pm sharp. Admission: $6.00 which includes one beverage.
Directions: By Subway: A,C, E, B, D, F, V to West 4th Street, 1 & 9 to Christopher St./ Sheridan Sq.

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
The Italian American Writers Association (IAWA) is currently conducting a membership drive to broaden the member base. Membership Rates: $30 (Students and Seniors $15), Associate $100-249, Patron $250-499,
Founder $500-1,000. Kindly make checks payable to: IAWA and Mail to: Treasurer, Italian American Writers Association, PO Box 2011, New York, NY 10013. IAWA is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit corporation. Donations are tax-deductible.

For further information about attending this event or joining the Italian American Writers Association (IAWA), contact Program Coordinator: MariaLisella@aol.com