Italy in Mind: an Anthology

Marc Notes: A Vintage departures original--T.p. verso. Publisher Marketing: E. M. Forster observed, "One does not come to Italy for niceness. One comes for life". And there is life abounding in this rhapsodic, witty, and lushly atmospheric anthology, in which forty-one literary travelers train their sensibilities on various aspects of the Italian scene. Italy in Mind is Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, marveling at baroque Sicilian confections, and Mary McCarthy, celebrating Venice's threadbare dignity. It's Henry James's Isabel Archer, succumbing to the treacherous antiquities of Florence, and Ernest Hemingway's Frederic Henry, rowing across Lago Maggiore. It's the savage isolation of D. H. Lawrence's Sardinia and the splendid urbanity of Edith Wharton's Rome. Comprising short stories, novel excerpts, essays, poetry, journals, and letters, the resulting volume will delight anyone who loves Italy or great travel writing. Publisher Marketing: Comprising short stories, novel excerpts, essays, journal entries, letters, and poetry. Italy in Mind captures all the contradictions of the Italian scene: enduring tradition and trendy consumerism, ravishing landscapes and urban sprawl, demonic bureaucracy and unvanquishable human warmth. Each entry is accompanied by a biography of the author, and the entire collection is preceded by a lively introduction by editor Alice Leccese Powers. The result is a work of enchantment, a tribute both to Italy and to generations of literary travelers. Review Citations: Library Journal 07/01/1997 pg. 111 (EAN 9780679770237, Paperback) Contributor Bio:  Powers, Alice Leccese Alice Leccese Powers is the editor of the anthologies "Italy in Mind," "Ireland in Mind," "France in Mind, "and "Tuscany in Mind, "and co-editor of "The Brooklyn Reader: Thirty Writers Celebrate America? s Favorite Borough." A freelance writer and editor, she has been published in "The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, Newsday," and many other newspapers and magazines. Ms. Powers also teaches writing at the Corcoran School of Art and Georgetown University. She lives in Washington, D. C.