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Maria Fama
Maria Famà is a poet of Sicilian descent. Through publications, books, and readings, she has tried to shape a poetic voice from her experiences as a woman, as an Italian American, and as a participant in a multicultural society. Famà believes that the predominant force in her artistic development was her upbringing in a Sicilian immigrant household. At home, she learned of the Sicilian culture where women were powerful within the home and where she heard from earliest childhood the ritual prayers, traditional teachings, and story-telling poems that were orally transmitted through the generations in this ancient culture.
Famà did her undergraduate and graduate work in History at Temple University, where she also studied Italian and its literature. She studied for one year in Rome, Italy where she more fully discovered her Mediterranean roots. She met relatives in Sicily, lived with a Neapolitan family in Tuscany, and made the strong ties of family and friendship that bind her still to Sicily and Italy.
Maria Famà’s books of poetry include Currents (Adams Press, Chicago, 1988); Identification, first edition, (malafemmina press, San Francisco, 1991); Italian Notebook (Hale Mary Press, Syracuse, 1995) written in collaboration with Mary Russo Demetrick; and Identification, second edition, (Allora Press, Philadelphia, 1996). Famà’s latest poetry manuscripts, Looking For Cover and Other Nations, An Animal Journal, are being considered for publication. A partial listing of the many anthologies in which her work appears is: Sweet Lemons (Legas Press, 2004); Breaking Open (Purdue University Press, 2003); Milk of Almonds (Feminist Press, 2002); Identity Lessons (Penguin Books, 1999); Curaggia (Women’s Press, 1998); La Bella Figura: A Choice (malafemmina press, 1993); and the forthcoming in 2006 anthologies: She Is Everywhere, Volume II and Women Singing.
Famà’s poetry appears in numerous journals, literary magazines, and publications. Her work is currently being taught at several universities both in the U.S. and abroad. She has given readings of her work in several venues around the United States. Academic papers about Famà and her work have been presented at conferences in the USA and in Italy. In 2002, Maria Famà received the Aniello Lauri Award for Creative Writing. In 2003, she was Editor’s Choice of the Paterson Literary Review, was a finalist in the 1998 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Awards, and won the 1994 Dream Images Poetry Award.
As part of Allegro, a video production company, Maria Famà wrote and produced two poetry videos and a video documentary on writer, Jerre Mangione. In addition, Famà has read her work on National Public Radio, appeared on television, and is featured reading her poetry in the award winning documentary film, “Prisoners Among Us.” |