Books by Maria Famà

Once again, Maria Famà makes us smile as she cajoles us with profound folk wisdom and ironic wit. This is a book everyone of any background can delight in. The witty folk wisdom it offers can be cherished for a lifetime. -Daniela Gioseffi, American Book Award winner The Good for the Good weaves wit and warmth into poems inspired by Italian and Sicilian sayings embraced by her family through generations. -Amy Barone, Author of We Became Summer These poems create a rich tapestry of folk wisdom, linguistic hybridism, and inter-generational transfer across two sides of an ocean. . . . Famà's reflections on the legacies of her Sicilian heritage are as timeless as the sayings that inspired her work. -Lina Insana, Associate Professor at University of Pittsburgh

Poetry. European American Studies. "LOOKING FOR COVER is Maria Fama at her best. Her poetry is a lyrical invitation to a world that is richly and sensuously detailed, where everything is honored-most notably the timelessness of the ancestors and our own lives as we revisit ourselves"-Janet Mason. A graduate of Temple University, Maria Fama is the author of four other books and has been published in numerous literary journals and anthologies. Maria Fama is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Aniello Lauri Award for Creative Writing (2002 and 2005), the 1994 Dream Images Poetry Award, and the Amy Tritsch Needle Award for Poetry, in 2006.

"In her unique, rhapsodic way, Maria Famà transmits history, both past and present, in her poetry. Bringing a modern touch to traditional storytelling, she gives voice to memory in the beat of our times. Through her words, we visit many corners of the world, not just the Sicily and South Philadelphia which are most likely to be familiar to her, but every other place her stories bring us. Famà seems to be at home everywhere, even the spirit world, as indicated in the title of this collection, Mystics in the Family. Her characters are endearing, and so is her way of invoking them. Each subject is eyed with her purity of vision, and treated with tenderness and respect. Through Famà''s poetry, history is appreciated, revered-and loved." -- Rosemary Petracca Cappello, Poet, Writer, and Editor of Philadelphia Poets