BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
Rosanna Battigelli considers herself lucky to be both Canadian and Italian. The Sudbury writer and teacher was born in Calabria, Italy, but raised in Gatchell, a predominantly Italian Sudbury neighbourhood.
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Now Battigelli is sharing her thoughts about cultural identity in a new anthology of Italian-Canadian women?s writing.
?It?s an amazing culture,? she said. ?I am proud of my Italian beginnings, my roots. You do struggle with your identity. But you don?t have to embrace just one . . . I am proud of the fact that Italian immigrants have contributed so much.?
Battigelli is one of 18 short-story contributors to the recently published ECW Press book, Mamma Mia! Good Italian Girls Talk Back, collected by Maria Coletta McLean.
The book strives to challenge ethnic stereotypes and give Italian Canadian women a voice.
Book launches are planned throughout Canada. Its Sudbury launch will be at Chapters this Saturday from 2 to 5 pm.
?Our stories talk about saints and superstitions, weddings and funerals, Italian paesani and Canadian mangiacakes,? said McLean in a news release.
?Our stories are bound by a desire to speak truthfully and courageously about the traditions our ancestors have passed on to us and about the future we wish to build for ourselves.?
Contributed two stories
Battigelli contributed two stories to McLean?s anthology.
One is fictional, and one is autobiographical, said Battigelli, who teaches kindergarten by day at St. James Public School in Lively.
The autobiographical story describes her experiences with her father who died last year. It shows a daughter recalling good memories at her ailing elderly father?s bedside.
The other story is fictional, but is actually based on the lively discussions surrounding her family?s annual sausage-making ritual. In this story, a sausage-making mother berates her daughter after learning of her impending divorce.
?The old country ideas come out, but also the new ways of the daughter,? she said. ?Both have their cultures and traditions . . . It also shows that no matter what, they are connected.?
Italian-Canadian women have always had a voice, but Italian-Canadian girls sometimes don?t. The younger generation is only starting to speak out, said Battigelli.
She hopes McLean?s anthology will go far to reconcile the experience of two generations.
?You can identify with something in every story,? she said. ?Trying to fit in, clinging to Italian culture. Themes of acceptance, belonging, change and the need to adapt. They all touch a chord.?
Battigelli said her own love of writing comes from her parents.
?My father was a great storyteller and my mother still tells stories,? she said. ?It is all part of the oral tradition . . . I love hearing stories about my grandmother and great-grandmother.?
Her desire to become a writer also comes from a childhood immersed in the world of books. Battigelli was a regular customer at the Gatchell bookmobile.
?When I first came to Canada, I didn?t know English,? she said. ?The language barrier made me want to learn the language more quickly. I wanted to understand and be understood, so by the time I was in early elementary school, I was already avidly reading.?
Battigelli has been a part of the Sudbury literary scene for a number of years. She was president of the Sudbury Writers Guild in 2002 and 2003, and has written many short stories, several children?s books, a novel and a literacy book for teachers. Her children?s book, Enchanted Christmas, was published by White Mountain Publications in New Liskeard.
Her kindergarten class inspires her to write for children.
?I use my teaching experience in children?s stories. I wrote a rhyming story about a little boy named Zack . . . there are too many rules for Zack, and Zack has an accident. And I?m not talking about an accident with paints,? she said, laughing.
The author is looking forward to Saturday?s launch. Battigelli and other contributors will read their stories. Battigelli?s uncle, Peter Adavastro, will play traditional Italian accordion music.
For more information, go to www.ecwpress.com.
