Sicilian Culture: The News & Views: American Italian Cultural Roundtable Honors Helen Barolini & Fred Gardaphe

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American Italian Cultural Roundtable Honors Helen Barolini & Fred Gardaphe

The American Italian Cultural Roundtable holds its 13th Annual Celebration and Awards Luncheon at noon on Sunday, June 10th at the Ristorante Antonio, 140 West 13th Street in Manhattan. This year the Roundtable honors author Helen Barolini for her contribution to Italian-American letters, and Professor Fred Gardaphe for his contribution to Italian-American studies.
Helen Barolini is an award-winning, author whose fiction and non-fiction has created a bridge between the United States, her homeland, and Italy, the ancestral land where she lived much of her married life to the late Italian poet and journalist Antonio Barolini. Awarded a writing grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for her first novel, Umbertina, additionally her short stories and essays have appeared in literary journals, collections, and anthologies. She has been cited in the series Best American Essays for 1991, 1993, and 1999 and her essay, "How I Learned to Speak Italian" is among The Best American Essays 1998. She is the author of seven books and over fifty stories and essays that have appeared in literary reviews, anthologies, and collection. Barolini received an American Book Award and other honors: a writing residency at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center on Lake Como in Italy, and the MELUS 2000 Lifetime Achievement Award. With The Dream Book recently re-issued by Syracuse University Press, all of Helen Barolini's books are now in print.
Dr. Fred Gardaphe directs the Italian-American Studies Program at the State University of New York at StonyBrook. He earned his M.A. in English at the University of Chicago and his Ph.D. in Literature at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He taught English and Educational Studies at Columbia College in Chicago. At Columbia he created and taught writing, literature courses and courses in Italian/American film and literature from 1978-1998.
He is Associate Editor of Fra Noi, an Italian American monthly newspaper, Editor of the Series in Italian American Studies at SUNY Press, and co-founding co-Editor of Voices in Italian Americana, a literary journal and cultural review. He is past President of the American Italian Historical
Association (1996-2000), and served as Vice President of the Italian Cultural Center in Stone Park, IL from1992-1998. His edited books include: New Chicago Stories, Italian American Ways, and From the Margin: Writings in Italian Americana.
Singer-guitarist Enrico Granafei provides entertainment for Sunday's Luncheon. A multilingual singer, he regularly performs in Italy, Canada and the USA. He plays and sings traditional and contemporary Italian folk music. His recordings include Jazz, Bossa Nova and Neapolitan folk songs.
In 1984 the late Dr. Michael R. Cioffi and Angela Marrantino founded the American Italian Cultural Roundtable, Inc. as a not for profit cultural and educational organization to promote an appreciation and understanding of Italian and Italian American culture in the tri-state area. The Roundtable motto is: "Understanding Through Culture." In 1986, Fordham University began sponsorship of the AICR, with Dr. Joseph Perricone as liaison. Topics include: literature, art, drama, music, dance, fashion, science and History.
Formats include: panel discussions, lectures, exhibits, presentations and performances in collaboration with colleges, universities and other educational and cultural institutions. Dr. Richard Sorrentino currently serves as President and Angela Marrantino as Chair of the Board.
For further information about attending the Luncheon or joining the Roundtable,
contact Richard Sorrentino (732) 229-5977 or Angela Marrantino (212) 243-3293

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