My life so far...
My American mother brought me into the world in Prague where my father, an Italian diplomat, was posted. After bouncing around countries for bit, I came to the U.S. when I was twelve and returned to Italy after graduating from Barnard College.
In Rome I was lucky enough to work in the movie industry as a dubbing producer and director. Some of the movies I worked on are: Federico Fellini's Amarcord, The Clowns, Casanova, City of Women; Luchino Visconti's Twilight of the Gods, Death in Venice, Conversation Piece and Lina Wertmüller's In a Night Full of Rain, Blood Feud.
I came back to New York City in 1980 and started my new American life by selling De Cecco pasta in Little Italy. Troubleshooting for a translation company came next, then advertising. While changing jobs I got married to a transplanted Virginian. Wanting to write, I applied to the MFA program in creative writing at Columbia University from which I graduated in 1990. I also became an American citizen.
Writing awakened my old love of painting. I love the concentration it requires. The entire world recedes and all that matters is what is in front of me. Not unlike writing except the results are almost immediate. A novel, depending on the subject matter can take years to complete. I live in Greenwich Village and consider myself blessed for living my days doing what I love and spending my evenings with the man I love.
Photo by Vassili Spiropoulos, Italy, 2009
On Writing
I’ve often been asked why I started writing in the first place. Below is an essay, Writing My Way Home, that tries to answer that question. Perhaps it will interest you.
Writing My Way Home