Honest, Erminia, I have no more interest in stereotyping Italians, or
Italy's wonderfully many-rooted culture, than I do the 'English' (whoever
they are). I assure this part of the 'entire world' isn't rejoicing to The
Sopranos. I do know what you mean about a certain 'type' of English person,
it doesn't mean I'm one of them, and I resent being categorised as such, I
gesticulate, I talk a lot, a standing joke about me is that if my hands were
tied up I wouldn't be able to speak, I'm demonstrative, gregarious,
melancholy, moody. As my surname is rather distinctive I've been able to
trace my ancestry back to 1600, which is quite good for a lower-class
person, and it says I'm totally 'English', but I have no sense of
nationalism. My one attachment to being English is to the language, and its
literature, oh yes and to certain parts of the landscape, both urban and
rural, which thrum to me, so I'm very proud for instance of coming from
Warwickshire, and speaking in the heartland words of the language, but
that's about it. No royalist me, for instance.
I love Montale, Ungaretti, Leopardi, Dante, Umberto Saba, Pavese for
examples.
Best
Dave
David Bircumshaw
Leicester, England
Home Page
A Chide's Alphabet
Painting Without Numbers
www.paintstuff.20m.com/index.htm
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/index.htm
----- Original Message -----
From: "Erminia Passannanti" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, December 07, 2001 11:07 PM
Subject: Re: Announcement: apologies for cross posting.
> The entire world is enjoing on the screen "The Sopranos",(recently on UK
> channels - as though Italy of the Arts, Italy of Philosophy, Italy of
> the "others", Italy of the Letters, was but Mafia, still, and for ever.
>
> I cannot think of a country and a people more stereotypized than us.
>
> erminia
>
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