America! America!: atti e memorie del popolo [America! America! Acts and Memoirs of the People]. Casalvelino Scalo [Salerno]: Ed. Giuseppe Galzerano, 1979 [1981].
Title
America! America!: atti e memorie del popolo [America! America! Acts and Memoirs of the People]. Casalvelino Scalo [Salerno]: Ed. Giuseppe Galzerano, 1979 [1981].
Description
Antonio Margariti (b. Ferruzzano, Reggio Calabria, Italy, 1891 – d. Willow Grove, Pennsylvania, 1981) published these memoirs in 1979 at age 87. This "savage and touching" book (Durante) awakened a vast interest, so much so as to be a finalist for the Viareggio Literary Prize.
The education of the poor Calabrian immigrant took place entirely in America through his frequenting of anarchist circles; Margariti committed himself, among other things, to the circulation of L'Adunata dei Refrattari and of Il Martello, as well as to committees for Sacco and Vanzetti and to antifascist initiatives.
For Margariti and many other immigrants, the anarchist circle represented therefore a social occasion that, for the first time, allowed them to attend theatrical events, concerts, picnics, and dances. It also offered educational opportunities, a school for critical thinking (often a real school, with teachers, courses, and classes). Here one could better define and give historical breadth to those spontaneous and rebellious inclinations that the helpless confrontation with priests, bosses, and all sorts of profiteers had nurtured for a long time.
Workers from all over the country became galleanisti (followers of Galleani), even if this did not mean that they were strict observers of the famous leader’s doctrine. These memoirs, written in Calabrian dialect by the unlettered Margariti, were translated into Italian by the publisher.
The education of the poor Calabrian immigrant took place entirely in America through his frequenting of anarchist circles; Margariti committed himself, among other things, to the circulation of L'Adunata dei Refrattari and of Il Martello, as well as to committees for Sacco and Vanzetti and to antifascist initiatives.
For Margariti and many other immigrants, the anarchist circle represented therefore a social occasion that, for the first time, allowed them to attend theatrical events, concerts, picnics, and dances. It also offered educational opportunities, a school for critical thinking (often a real school, with teachers, courses, and classes). Here one could better define and give historical breadth to those spontaneous and rebellious inclinations that the helpless confrontation with priests, bosses, and all sorts of profiteers had nurtured for a long time.
Workers from all over the country became galleanisti (followers of Galleani), even if this did not mean that they were strict observers of the famous leader’s doctrine. These memoirs, written in Calabrian dialect by the unlettered Margariti, were translated into Italian by the publisher.
Creator
Antonio Margariti
Publisher
Ed. Giuseppe Galzerano
Date
1979 [1981]
Format
19.5 x 14cm; 136 p.
Language
Italian
Citation
Antonio Margariti, “America! America!: atti e memorie del popolo [America! America! Acts and Memoirs of the People]. Casalvelino Scalo [Salerno]: Ed. Giuseppe Galzerano, 1979 [1981].,” Italian-Language American Imprints: The Periconi Collection, accessed April 20, 2024, https://italianamericanimprints.omeka.net/items/show/212.
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