L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 4 MARIELLA RADAELLI NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Mario Mignone: the tale of an Italian émigré L ife, we all know it, is truly unpredictable. There's very little we can anticipate and we rarely think about how, at times, a cheerful, carefree moment with a loved one, a col- league, a family member or even a mere acquaintance, could be the last one we share with them. When we of L'Italo-Ameri- cano received this beautiful inter- view with professor Mario Mignone, of SUNY Stony Brook, we could not imagine he would not have lived long enough to see it published. His death, which occurred suddenly on the 9th of September, took everyone by sur- prise and leaves an immense void: in his family's hearts and souls, without a doubt, but also in those of the many, many students he mentored, supported and encour- aged throughout his academic career, as well as in those of his numerous readers around the world, Italy included. Life and activities at the Cen- ter of Italian Studies at Stony Brook University, which he directed, will no longer be the same without his guidance and the time needed to settle back into the prosaic routine of academic life will, certainly, be filled with moments of sadness and hurt: it is always in the simplest of things we tend to miss those we lost the most. So, it is with even more pride we publish, today, this beautiful interview with Professor Mignone, where he talks about his life as an immigrant, his career and his feelings towards Italy and the US. This is how we wish to honor the life and work of a proud Italian-American and a true inspi- ration for many of us. Mario B. Mignone was the Director of the Center for Italian Studies at Stony Brook University where he was also distinguished professor of Italian Studies. He was a celebrated author, whose last book is a fascinating memoir of his journey to America not soon to be forgotten. His vivid, heartfelt and heartening memories were triggered by looking at a family portrait depicting his mother, his brothers and sisters posing in front of Saint Peter's Cathedral in 1960 in Rome, before collectively taking a DC-8 to New York. L'America e la mia gente is published in Italy by MnM print edizioni, while an English version, entitled The Story of My People - From Rural Southern Italy to Mainstream America was released in New York by Bordighera Press. Professor Mignone, can you describe the specific emotions associated with the moment of departure? Your parents bought you new clothes to wear that memorable day. The departure of any emigrant is never a happy occasion. Even though we had been waiting for six years for that moment, it was difficult to say goodbye to so many people who were dear to us and to detach ourselves from all those places and things so famil- iar to us and to which we were connected. Unfortunately, I had witnessed the departure of many emigrants, some very close to me. Many times I underwent the loss of friends snatched away by the emigration process, yet it never became routine: new departures, new loss, and pain. And then, it was finally our moment to cut the umbilical cord and depart for the unknown. When you arrived in New York, you found a job as a fac- tory worker four days after your arrival. You didn't speak the language but your very determined aunt Flora helped you find a paid position: you were hired by Hertlein Special Tools Co., beginning what you call "my baptism in the Ameri- can productive system." Thanks to that humble job that provided you enough money to support your family, you could attend evening English classes at Roosevelt High School and then enter City College (CCNY), the first university to offer free college tuition in the United States. I did not have the luxury of looking for the job that I liked. I needed a job as soon as possible to help support my family; my family of eight could not abuse the generosity of my grandpar- ents for too long. It would have been irresponsible for me, the oldest sibling, to search for the dream job! You built the whole story around specific moments of challenge, change and growth. We emigrated when the West- ern world was going through pro- found social and cultural transfor- mations, which I reference in the book. I framed my personal story and that of my family in the his- torical, social and cultural context of the early 1960s, years of social engagement. In 1960, although Italy was enjoying the "economic miracle," we did not feel the effects of it in the South, and were migrating either abroad or to the Italian industrial triangle by the thousands. I was determined that in one way or the other I was going to leave, just the way many other thousands of people in our area had been doing. I was not going to wait and see if the effects of the "miracle" were eventually going to trickle down south and provide some form of employment. I did not believe in that kind of ephemeral hope. Once you arrived in the States and first settled in the Bronx, your uncle Gelsomino told you: "well, in America you will make it only if you work hard. The word 'work' is the only key to success." Is that still valid today? Yes, it is still valid, and it will always be valid. Naturally, we don't mean necessarily physical work. My father used to say, "You cannot take a short cut to complete a task because eventual- ly your work will not stand out." Skills, passion and commitment are the ingredients to success. You wrote that your father spoke and acted like a charac- ter by Sicilian realist (verista) writer Giovanni Verga named Padron 'Ntoni, a man strenu- ously faithful to the ideals of honesty and hard work. Did your father play a big role in teaching you a sense of duty, responsibility, and endurance? I certainly had my father as a model. He had worked hard all his life on the farm. His actions were my lessons. You always felt great affec- tion for your grandfather as Mario Mignone during an academic speech (Ⓒ: Stony Brook University) Continued to page 6

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