Lu ciucciu. Poema in dialetto calabrese [The Donkey: poem in Calabrese dialect]. New York: Tipografia Sisca & Sons, 1913.
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The only known book-length publication of Alessandro and Marziale Sisca's father, Francesco Sisca, or of the publisher or printer that bore their family name, this poem was a “bilingual” collaboration — Calabrian dialect by the father, and Italian translation (as well as preface and notes) by his son, Alessndro, who took several pen names, the most famous of which was Riccardo Cordiferro.
Though the family was Calabrian by birth, the curiosity of this work is that the Siscas had built their reputation in Italy as masters of the Neapolitan dialect (e.g., Alessandro (Cordiferro)'s Core ‘ngrato, q.v.) while living in Naples; contrast this with the popularity of Cordiferro years later as a poet writing in the Calabrian dialect, e.g., Ode alla Calabria, q.v..
This copy belonged to Calabrian-American poet Pasquale Spataro, who featured examples of poetry by both Francesco Sisca and Riccardo Cordiferro (Francisco's son, born Alessandro) in his anthology, Poeti calabresi in America (Bergamo, 1957), q.v.
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