The Black Body - (Other Voices of Italy) by Anna Maria Gehnyei

About the Book

The memoir of rapper and activist Anna Maria Gehnyei, The Black Body reveals the challenges she faced as the child of Liberian immigrants, born and raised in Rome but perpetually viewed by her fellow Italians as a foreigner.

Book Synopsis

In her memoir, Anna Maria Gehnyei, better known as singer, rapper, and producer Karima 2G, reveals the challenges she faced as the child of Liberian immigrants, born and raised in Rome but perpetually viewed by her fellow Italians as a foreigner.

The daughter of the first Kpelle man to ever leave his native village and emigrate to Europe, Anna is proud of her heritage but only knows Liberia as a mystical, faraway land that appears in her parents' stories. Though Italy is the only homeland she knows, she is merely classed as a resident, not a permanent citizen. At school and in the streets of Rome, she is treated to a mixture of patronizing condescension and xenophobic hostility. But Anna refuses to be bullied into mute submission, finding her voice as a performer and activist who demands recognition for Italy's growing immigrant population.

Review Quotes

"In this important memoir, Anna Maria Gehnyei revisits the route she traveled in order to inhabit her 'Black Body' with pride and determination, in a country like Italy, where bodies like hers are constantly racialized. Through the exploration of her family memory and a journey to Liberia, Gehnyei grounds her present in the past, creating continuity between her own story and the stories of the children of the African diaspora around the world."--Caterina Romeo "author of Interrupted Narratives and Intersectional Representations in Italian Postcolonial Literatu"

"A rapper, dancer, and beatmaker, Anna Maria Gehnyei is also a bold and brash writer. Every line of her electrifying memoir pulses with sharp social critique. You will love it all!"--Abdourahman A. Waberi "author of In the United States of Africa"

About the Author

ANNA MARIA GEHNYEI, also known as Karima 2G, is a musician, dancer, and producer and the founder of the Black Lives Matter movement in Rome. This is her first book.

ELLIS KIERANS is an assistant professor of teaching in the Italian Department at Pennsylvania State University and co-editor of the Other Voices of Italy series. She has published widely on the works of Italian women.

SANDRA WATERS is the managing editor of Italian Quarterly and co-editor of the Other Voices of Italy series. She is the editor of The Spaces and Places of Horror and translator of Porpora Marcasciano's AntoloGaia, among other publications.

IGIABA SCEGO is a Somali Italian writer, cultural activist, and freelance scholar. She was born in Rome to Somali parents who took refuge in Italy following a coup d'état in their native country, where her father served as foreign minister. She holds a PhD in education on postcolonial subjects, has done extensive academic work in Italy and around the world, and has a special interest in immigration and mobility. Her first memoir won Italy's prestigious Mondello Prize. Her novel The Color Line won the Premio Napoli. Scego received the International Viareggio-Répaci awards in 2021. Most recently, she was longlisted for Premio Strega for her second memoir Cassandra a Mogadiscio. Her previous novels include Beyond Babylon and Adua. She also co-edited the anthology series Africana (Feltrinelli) with Chiara Piaggio.