Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Department

Italian

Language

English

Publication Title

Voices in Italian Americana

Abstract

Robert Ferro is, by his own definiton, a gay writer. His contributions to gay literture of the post Stonewall and early AIDS years are very will documented in Robert Bergman's book The Violet Hour: The Violet Quill and the Making of Gay Culture. But Robert Ferro is also an Italian-American author. Although many have read his novels from a gay perspective, Ferro's works have been deeply influenced by his Italian heritage. In this paper I will examine three of Robert Ferro's novels: The Family of Max Desir (1983), The Blue Star (1985) and Second Son (1988). In all three the Italian elements are essential: through his characters, Ferro relives his frequent trips to Italy, and in The Family of Max Desir and in Second Son, the main characters and their families closely resemble Ferro's Italian-American family.

Comments

This published version is made available on Dickinson Scholar with the permission of the publisher. For more information on the published version, visit Bordighera Press's Website.

Download Full Text
COinS