Were You Always an Italian?
Were You Always an Italian? is a memoir written by American author Maria Laurino and published by W.W. Norton in 2000. It was a national bestseller and its chapters have been widely anthologized including in the , the , , and . Were You Always an Italian? is an examination of third generation ethnic identity. Among the topics the book explores are the stereotypes bedeviling Italian-Americans, the clashing aesthetics of Italian designers, and the etymology of southern Italian dialect words like stunod and cafone. The title was based on a question posed to Maria Laurino by former New York Governor Mario Cuomo.
Chapters[]
- Beginnings
- Scents
- Tainted Soil
- Clothes
- Rome
- Words
- Bensonhurst
- Faith
- Ancestors
- Beginnings
Categories:
- American memoirs
- Non-fiction books about Italian-American culture
- 2000 non-fiction books
- W. W. Norton & Company books