Interviews

Frank Cardinal Leo was ordained as a priest in 1996. He was consecrated as Auxiliary Bishop of Montreal, the city where he was born in 1971, in September 2022. He was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto in February 2023 by Pope Francis, and in December 2024, he was elevated to the College of Cardinals. This past June, as part of…

In a rare and intimate interview with Elio Iannacci, visual artist Mauro Balletti reflects on his five-decade-plus collaboration with Mina—the iconic, reclusive Italian singer—whose image he helped reshape through boundary-pushing photography, collage, and cover art. For half a century, celebrated visual artist Mauro Balletti has helped shape the identity of reclusive Italian music icon Mina—as both her artistic director and…

Mickey & Joe: Good. Bad. Ugly. Dirty is having its world premiere in Montreal from May 17 to 25, 2025. Playwright and actor Michaela Di Cesare’s latest work reframes the story of Italian unification through the eyes of the silenced. In this interview for Accenti, Michaela reflects on legacy, resistance and rewriting the past.  *** Let’s start with the obvious…

In a Tension of Leaves and Binding (Guernica 2024) is Renée M. Sgroi’s second collection of poetry. Her previous collection, life print, in points was published by erbacce-press in 2020. A member of The Writers’ Union of Canada and The Ontario Poetry Society, Renée is also a contributing editor for Arc Poetry Magazine. She discusses her new collection in this interview for…

Douglas Anthony Cooper is not an author you will find anyone reading under a beach umbrella. His novels are structurally complex, metaphysical, sometimes visionary; they report on existence at the boundary between reality and imagination. They have been described as “architectural.” Born in Toronto, Cooper has been a global wanderer for decades, travelling and living in countries on both sides…

In this interview / conversation, authors Liana Cusmano and Christopher DiRaddo speak about their writing, family and Italian heritage. The event was organized by Accenti Magazine, in collaboration with the Association of Italian-Canadian Writers (AICW), with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts via The Writers’ Union of Canada. The transcription has been edited for length and clarity.…

Guy Rex Rodgers is the founding executive director (2004-2021) of the English Language Arts Network, or ELAN; "a not-for-profit organization that connects, supports, and creates opportunities for Quebec’s English-speaking artists and arts communities.” He is the producer, writer, director and narrator of What We Choose to Remember, a 93-minute feature documentary that looks at the impact that non-Francophone immigration has had…

Born in Toronto, visual artist Robert Marra studied and created ceramic arts while living in Italy in the 1980s. He continued his studies in fine arts at OCAD and Sheridan College in Toronto. Since the mid-1990s, his work has focused on styles that can be described as modern and post-modern. His more recent, mixed-media, contemporary work walks a line between…

In his new book, Il Vagabondo: An Urban Opera (Guernica 2021), Glenn Carley introduces a new avant-garde genre – literature as installation art. Written in libretto form meant to be read as operatic recitative in a style called sing/speak, the book also brings a unique perspective to the Italian-Canadian immigrant experience. Anna van Valkenburg interviewed Glenn Carley for Accenti. ***…

Genni Gunn is the author of twelve books, including three novels, three short fiction collections, two poetry collections, a collection of personal essays, as well as an opera libretto. She is also a musician, and toured Canada as a bass guitarist, pianist and vocalist before turning to writing full time. She lives in Vancouver. Genni Gunn discusses her latest collection…

Jennifer Robson is the author of six novels set during and after the two world wars. Her latest novel is Our Darkest Night set in Italy during World War II. A former editor by profession and a self-described lifelong history nerd, Robson studied French literature and Modern History as an undergraduate at Western University, then attended University of Oxford, where she…

In Celibate: A Memoir (Apprentice House Press, 2019) Maria Giura recounts the deep crisis and sense of displacement she experienced for many years, and her hard-won journey to inner peace. In the memoir, Giura struggles to understand and, at the same time, free herself from her attraction to and complex relationship with a Catholic priest, Father Infanzi. Becoming a nun…

Award-winning Italian writer Marco Balzano’s most recent novel is Resto qui (2018), translated into English as I'm Staying Here by Jill Foulston, and now available in North America. His other works include Le parole sono importanti (2019), Il figlio del figlio (2016), L'ultimo arrivato (2014), and Pronti a tutte le partenze (2013). I'm Staying Here interweaves historical events with the…

Nino Ricci was the featured guest of the third edition of the Librissimi Toronto Italian Book Festival, held online on May 9, 2020 with reduced programming in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Below is the transcript of the interview with Nino Ricci that was conducted via videoconferencing. You can also watch the interview here. *** When we were planning a…

Paula Brancati stars in the film From the Vine (2019), directed by award-winning Canadian filmmaker Sean Cisterna. Brancati co-produced the film which also stars Emmy Award winner Joe Pantoliano, veteran Italian actor Marco Leonardi, and Canadian icon Wendy Crewson. Set in Toronto and Acerenza, Italy, From the Vine is based on the acclaimed novel Finding Marco by Kenneth Canio Cancellara. "At its core,"…

In The Red Zone: An Earthquake Story (Amulet Books, 2019), graphic novelist Silvia Vecchini provides a look at how a natural disaster can strike and forever change a community. Sualzo illustrates the book, originally published in Italian as La Zona Rossa (Castoro 2017). In the book, Matteo, Giulia and Federico have ordinary lives; they hang out with friends, help around…

Through her new book, In the Backyard: Relearning the Art of Aging, Dying and Making Love (Guernica 2018), Mary Melfi attempts to make sense of life, and answer the big questions that arise when we are faced with the nasty realities of poor health and unrealized aspirations. Recently, she sat down with Accenti to talk about her work and her…

Caterina Edwards immigrated to Edmonton at age eight with her British father and Venetian mother. The Edmonton author was the first Canadian woman of Italian heritage to publish in western Canada. She is well known for writing narratives of the return throughout her literary career, including The Lion’s Mouth (1982), Finding Rosa (2008), The Sicilian Wife (2015), and her story…

Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli is the author of La Brigantessa (Inanna Publications, 2019), a novel based on true events in the aftermath of Italy’s 1861 Unification, a turbulent period known as “The Decade of Fire” (1860-1870), when scores of brigands rebelled against the harsh policies imposed by the new government, which in turn ordered the destruction of these outlaws and anyone…

Mark Frutkin has published 16 books of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Five of his books are set in Italy, including Fabrizio’s Return, which won both the Trillium Award and the Sunburst Award. He worked as a consultant on a public art project titled “Postcards from the Piazzas” in Ottawa’s Little Italy and has collaborated on a book of photos and text on…

  In her memoir The Unfinished Dollhouse, Michelle Alfano recounts the journey she underwent in accepting and embracing her son’s transgender identity. From tell-tale signs in early childhood and the mental and physical afflictions in the early teen years, to the reactions of family and friends and the final steps in a social and medical transition from female to male, Alfano explores…

Guido Nincheri is recognized as the most prolific Montreal artist of stained-glass windows and frescoes, but it was not his intention to settle in Montreal when he arrived with his bride in 1913. The newlyweds were originally headed to South America when the possibility of war in Europe changed their plans. The artist is most often cited for his fresco…

Waiting for Chrysanthemums combines a “procedural” with a family story. What inspired you to approach the story this way? Before I say anything, I must tell you that nothing I have written hasn’t already happened. That goes for Waiting for Chrysanthemums and my other writings. I think I write about power struggles, about good and evil, right and wrong. This novel presents the…

Your new play Successions comes on the heels of your hit comedies 8 Ways My Mother Was Conceived, and In Search of Mrs Pirandello. It is the story of two second-generation Italian-Canadian brothers: one, an uptight, upwardly-mobile lawyer running for office; the other, an easy-going fellow who would rather party than work. After the sudden death of their parents, the brothers must decide what to…

Montreal playwright Vittorio Rossi, at present gearing up for a revival of Paradise by the River, on the internment of Italian-Canadians during the Second World War, has a message for dramatists just starting out: write about what you know and make sure you have an interesting, intriguing, emotionally-charged tale to tell. That has been the secret to his success, and the lifelong resident of…

Accenti: Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what in that background qualifies you to write about Shakespeare? Tassinari: I don’t think you need any special qualifications to write about Shakespeare. It all depends upon what one has to say and how one says it. What counts are one’s arguments and the quality of the writing.…

There is an informality about Anthony Mancini that is quite surprising. He smiles broadly, dispelling any preconceived notions of severity and weariness one might expect from a high-ranking churchman. His congenial laughter and easy manner put one quickly at ease. But these attributes should not be mistaken for laxness, when it comes to matters of conviction. As Montreal's auxiliary bishop…

Basilio Catania was born in Sicily in 1926 and moved to Milan at the age of three. He received a doctoral degree in electrical engineering from the Milan Polytechnical School in 1952. After completing his studies, he taught at both the Milan and Turin Polytechnical Schools and undertook a career in telecommunications research. He holds five US patents for inventions…

ACCENTI: Thank you for agreeing to appear in the inaugural issue of Accenti Magazine. Sheila Copps: No problem. I'm very excited about it. It's wonderful. ACCENTI: You delivered a very emotional address during the ceremony designating Madonna della Difesa Church a national historic site. Do you feel a special attachment to the Italian Canadian community? Sheila Copps: I was taught to speak French by…