Italian Canadians at Table: A Narrative Feast in Five Courses

The persistence of misconceptions about Italian-Canadian food culture raises many questions for us. Are we gluttonous, inebriate and too loud? Do we force-feed guests? Are we in fact food-obsessed? How many grains of truth can a stereotype hold? We had to know, so we asked articulate and thoughtful Italian-Canadian writers and simpatico friends from British Columbia to Newfoundland. The responses were surprising, thoughtful, entertaining and often touching, making my co-editor, Delia De Santis, and I very glad we asked, as every piece which streamed over the internet? ether was a gift and a joy to read. And the result is Italian Canadians at Table, a passionate literary feast of poetry and prose.

Delia De Santis’ short stories have been widely anthologized, and several of them have been translated into Italian. Her collection Fast Forward and Other Stories was published in 2008. She is the co-editor of the anthologies Sweet Lemons, Writing Beyond History, Strange Peregrinations, Sweet Lemons 2, and the soon to be released Italian Canadians at Table. Delia is a member of the Canadian Authors Association and The Writers?Union of Canada. Loretta Gatto-White is a Nova Scotia columnist, food writer and essayist. Her work has appeared in Canadian newspapers, magazines, anthologies and online in her food journal.