Maria Laurino | |
---|---|
Born | North Jersey, U.S. |
Alma mater | Georgetown University (BA) New York University (MA) |
Spouse | Anthony Shorris |
Children | 1 |
Maria Laurino (April 24, 1959) is an American journalist, essayist, memoirist, and former political speechwriter.
Maria Laurino, a third generation Italian-American, grew up in North Jersey. [1] She graduated from Georgetown University and received her graduate degree in English literature from New York University. In 2018, Laurino was honored as a Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia (Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy) by the Italian Consul General Francesco Genuardi on behalf of Italian President Sergio Mattarella. [2]
Laurino began her career as a journalist at The Village Voice , where she covered local and state politics and social issues, such as New York's housing market and the resulting surge in its homeless population. [3] In 1989, Laurino left the Village Voice to become the Chief Speechwriter for New York City Mayor David Dinkins, serving until the end of his term in 1993. After leaving government, Laurino returned to freelance journalism, writing for numerous publications, including The New York Times ; and her essays have been widely anthologized, including in the Norton Reader. Her first memoir, Were You Always an Italian?, was a national bestseller and explored the issue of ethnic identity among Italian-Americans. [4] Her second memoir, Old World Daughter, New World Mother, examined the pull and tug the author experienced between Old World traditions that valued familial dependence and a New World feminism that prized female autonomy. In 2014, she published The Italian Americans: A History, chronicling the Italian-American experience from 1860 to the present day (companion book to the PBS series of the same name). [5] In 2024, Laurino published The Price of Children: Stolen lives in a land of without choice. [6]
Laurino is married to Anthony Shorris, a civil servant who served as First Deputy Mayor of New York City and Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. They have one son and live in New York City. [7] [8]
Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are shops selling Italian goods as well as Italian restaurants lining the streets. A "Little Italy" strives essentially to have a version of the country of Italy placed in the middle of a large non-Italian city. This sort of enclave is often the result of periods of Italian immigration, during which people of the same culture settled or were ostracized and segregated together in certain areas. As cities modernized and grew, these areas became known for their ethnic associations, and ethnic neighborhoods like "Little Italy" blossomed, becoming the areas they are today.
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Were You Always an Italian? is a memoir written by American author Maria Laurino and published by W.W. Norton in 2000. It was a national bestseller and its chapters have been widely anthologized including in the Norton Reader, the Italian American Reader, Don't Tell Mama!, and Crossing Cultures. Were You Always an Italian? is an examination of third generation ethnic identity. Among the topics the book explores are the stereotypes bedeviling Italian-Americans, the clashing aesthetics of Italian designers, and the etymology of southern Italian dialect words like stunod and cafone. The title was based on a question posed to Maria Laurino by former New York Governor Mario Cuomo.
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