Literary Voices of the Italian Diaspora in Britain : Time, Transnational Identities and Hybridity

This volume studies the literary voices of the Italian diaspora in Britain, including 21 authors and 34 pieces of prose, verse, and drama. This book shows how authors both recount the history of the migrant community in the period 1880-1980 while creatively experimenting with hybrid forms of expression and blending words with visuals. Literary Voices of the Italian Diaspora in Britain discusses topical issues like migration and social integration, cultures and foods in transition, as well as plurilingualism. The book pays special attention to discussions of the horrors of the Second World War – especially on the tragedy of the Arandora Star (2 nd July 1940) – to show this literary community’s political commitments. More importantly, it will begin to fill the void left by a critical tradition which has only appreciated the northern American and Australian branches of Italian writing. Acknowledgements Contents Chapter 1: Introduction: A Migrant Literature in the Making—In Search of a Name and a Canon 1.1 The “Ethnicity Factor” and the Corpus 1.2 From Theory to Content Organisation: The Structure of This Volume Addendum Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Web Resources Chapter 2: History and Histories: Transnational Lives Through Time 2.1 Beginnings: From the Late 1800s to the First World War 2.2 Economy and Ideology: The 1920s and 1930s 2.3 The Darkest Times: 1940–1945 2.4 A New “Renaissance”: The Post-war Years Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Web Resources Chapter 3: Departures, Arrivals and Settlements: Pictures from Rural Italy and Urban Britain 3.1 Where It All Started: Geo-literary Frescoes of the Centre and the North of Italy 3.1.1 Southern Lazio, Picinisco and Its Hamlets 3.1.2 Tuscany, the Garfagnana and the Barga Area 3.1.3 Emilia Romagna, the Ceno Valley and Bardi 3.2 First Arrivals: London, Cardiff and Edinburgh 3.2.1 London and Little Italy 3.2.2 The Valleys of South Wales: Port Talbot, Cardiff and Swansea 3.2.3 Edinburgh, the Coastal Route to Cockenzie and Glasgow 3.3 A Nation at War: Pictures and Maps of Internment Camps 3.4 Aftermath Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Web Resources Chapter 4: From Street Musicians to Educators and Actors: The Long Road to Social Integration 4.1 Padroni, Organ Grinders and Hokey Pokey Men 4.2 Fish Fryers, Confectionaries and Restaurateurs 4.3 Boarders and Hoteliers 4.4 Educators and Actors Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Web Resources Chapter 5: Italian Cultures, Traditions and Foods in Transition 5.1 From Corn, Pigs and Ciocie to “Lace Chemises” and “Skinny Denim” 5.2 Catholic Rituals and Family Life in Britain 5.3 The Past and the Present: Towards New Food Identities Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Web Resources Chapter 6: Languages in Contact: Italian, English, German and French 6.1 Italian and Dialectal Forms as Icons of the Past 6.2 English, Cockney, Welsh and Scots: Encountering and Appropriating Linguistic Otherness 6.3 Between Historical Truth and Identity: German and French Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Chapter 7: Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Web Resources Appendix: Authors, Texts and Contexts England Bibliography Primary Sources Wales Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Web Resources Scotland Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources Web Resources Index