EDITOR'S NOTE O my country, I canseethe walls andarches andthe columns andthe statues andlonely towers ofourancestors , but I don't seethe glory. - Giacomo Leopardi, "All'Italia" (1818), tr. Jonathan Galassi z o s l/l < CO -I < o H o X CL Ma had ancient la faded gloria Rome for non and Leopardi vedo. Renaissance If the by the glory early Italy of ancient Romeand Renaissance Italy had fadedforLeopardiby theearly nineteenth century, formanythe Risorgimento (1815-70) that ledtoherunification, after Leopardi 'sdeath, marked Italy'sglorious return. Earlier thisspring, Italians aroundtheworldmarked the 150th anniversary ofunification thathad culminated , symbolically, on March17,1861, withthe proclamation ofVictor Emmanuel II (whobarely spokeItalian) as king. In theweekleadingup to theanniversary, theUniversity ofOklahoma was fortunate to hosttheHonorableFabrizioNava, consulgeneralofItaly,who gave a talkabout theRisorgimento as partofa two-day celebration honoring eminent Italian playwright, novelist, and poetDacia Maraini, who visitedOklahomathat week.Highlights during Maraini's visit tocampus included a galaevening andperformances ofher playMaryStuart , animatedconversations with students andfaculty ininformal settings, andthe interview withMonicaSegerthatappearsas the marquee feature, inthisissue,inourspecialsectiondevotedto contemporary Italianliterature (page 27). Even as celebrations of the Unitad'ltalia echoedup and downthepeninsula thisspring, certain discordant noteswere struck by those whoquestioned whether unification, inthewords of David Gilmour, had trulybeen "an exemplary caseofliberty triumphing overrepression." (Gilmour's newsurvey of"thediversities andcentrifugal inclinations inItalian history," The Pursuit of Italy, waspublished intheUKearlier this spring andisforthcoming intheUS infall2011.)Ifatthe end oftheeighteenth century, according to Gilmour , Italyremained "a literary idea,an abstract concept, animaginary homeland orsimply a sentimental urge," bytheearlytwenty-first century, many wondered whether thecountry, theperennial "sick man"ofEurope, shouldbeconsidered a "failure" asa nation, toechothetitles oftworecent studies. IntheVeneto, oneofthelastregions tobe annexedduring unification, a crowdin Vicenza celebrated thenational holiday inMarch byburningGaribaldi in effigy. Politically, economically, andsocially, theglories ofpastgoldenagesseem mutedinthebright glareofcorruption scandals, anti-immigrant xenophobia, economicstratification , andconstant mediababble. No surprise, then,thatthefourteen Italian authors presented in thisissueareboth"outof stepwiththeirown time"yet"uniquelypositionedtoobserve it,"as Jamie Richards notesin heressayonGianniCelatiandtheEmilian writers (page48).In a country thatsometimes seems "incapable ofrecognizing andvaluing itscultural patrimony," Italy's writers, inthewordsofAlgerian -born novelist AmaraLakhous, shouldnotbe viewedas "saviors ofthenation" or"modern-day Garibaldis" (page 44).Rather, theauthors featured herenurture personal patrimonies, reflecting current realities but,for themost part, onlyobliquely commenting onthem. Emblematic oftheir stance is the speakerin Maria Luisa Spaziani's"The Glory":"thepoetalwaysscatters herwordsto thewind/- three thousand drones diefor oneto touchthequeen- // thisis theheaventowhich other namesaregiven"(page 46).Inherconcludingstanza , Spazianiwrites: "themost famed marblecansuddenly reveal/flaws more slender than a hair, /then everything cracks, crumbles, andthe vainmenhirs / meltintowind-swirls, theysuck awayyourname."InSpaziani'sItaly, as for Leopardi ,theglory ofancient arches, columns, and statuesis veinedwithhistorical - and human mutability . Theauthors inthisissuereflect more thediversity than theunity ofcontemporary Italy, sharing a common languageevenas they scatter their wordstothewind. Editorial note: Dacia Maraini's visit tothe University of Oklahoma was made possible by generous support from the following campus sponsors: the College of International Studies; Friends of the College of Arts &Sciences; Department of Modern Languages, Literatures &Linguistics; School of Drama; and the Puterbaugh Foundation, in cooperation with the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles. JulyAugust 201 11 3 ...