Absence makes the Heart grow fonder. The Relationship with One’s Place of Origin: Expressions and Changes
Abstract
The field of Italian Australian studies is both diverse and dynamic. It dealt with topics not in line with its supposed “traditional” scope and it has identified new areas of concern to scholars in the field. This volume examines from a post-colonial perspective one of the many cultural practices: i.e. the creation of literature, by migrants from Sicily and Calabria the two major Italian regional groups in Australia. By re-creating some aspects of their ancestral experience in the new frontier, these migrants avoid the danger of losing it and, at the same time, seek to reconcile their past with their present, thus creating a dynamic hybrid culture which is both Italian and Australian. What this volume clearly shows is that a distinctive profile, like any great cultural force, is always in a state of evolution and of self-questioning. In this way a culture is never stable, never predictable and never complacent.