Italy in Mind - (Vintage Departures) by Alice Leccese Powers (Paperback)

About the Book

Comprised of short stories, novel excerpts, essays, poetry journals and letters, this work will delight anyone who loves Italy or great travel writing. Pieces include Barbara Grizzuti Harrison marveling at baroque Sicilian confections, Mary McCarthy celebrating Venice's threadbare dignity, and Henry James's Isabel Archer succumbing to the treacherous antiquities of Florence.

Book Synopsis

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.

About the Author

Alice Leccese Powers is the editor of the anthologies Italy in Mind and Ireland in Mind and the 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. Powers teaches writing at the Corcoran School of Art and Georgetown University. She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband and three daughters.