Close-up

The floor is cold. We lie on gray cement, eroded by a decade or more of kids playing mini sticks hockey and one-on-one basketball. Faint remnants of hopscotch tape are fused to the concrete—lines in this unofficial archive. No one really takes much care of this space; it’s where the kids are sent to be kids. There are holes in…

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.…

Some days the sea was all brute force. A throaty, roaring blast. It slammed its weight against the shore, almost reaching our door step, then receding, only to slam us again. On those days Mara sat on her red wooden chair, just outside the grotto, unmovable. The sea smashed and roared around her. She watched. Surely this effort would bring…

“Mom, the woman will be here at 11:30. Are you ready?” “What’s her name?” the mother asked, slumping in her recliner and crossing her arms defensively. “Beverly, I think. She is the company manager. It’s just for an estimate of the moving costs. It will only take about 30 minutes. If you don’t like her, we’ll interview other companies. We’ll…