Ethnic Regionalism in American Literature: The Case of Sicilian/American Writers

國文學中的族裔地域主義：西西里／美國作家的案例

Chiara Mazzucchelli

《Tamkang Review》 38卷1期 (2007/12) Pp. 117-143

https://doi.org/10.6184/TKR.200712_38(1).0005

摘要

1900年以來，一種獨特的西西里性(Sicilian-ness)在一群義大利作家—瓦爾嘉(Giovanni Verga)、皮蘭德羅(Luigi Pirandello)、夏夏(Leonardo Sciascia)、康索羅(Vincenzo Consolo)、卡米雷力(Andrea Camilleri)-的作品中展現。耐人尋味的是，一種並行的現象似乎也在美國出現。許多西西里美國作家企圖重新定義美國性的概念，擴大美國文學的典範，讓美國文學接受族裔認同的發聲，另一方面這些作家也將作品轉向族裔地域主義的顯現。
我試圖在本文中回答下列問題：為什麼許多西西里及西西里美國作家從事文學地域主義？他們以何種方式進行？西西里性如何在美國開展，如何轉為西西里美國性，也就是我所謂的sicilianamericanità?曼奇歐尼(Jerre Mangione)的族裔美國書寫如何具體展現上述現象？
歸根結柢，我提議，美國文學中的地域族裔認同建構的作用是一種論述，旨在質疑將某一人群的複雜結構化約為同質的國家認同，不管那一群人是「美國人」或「義大利人」。由此觀點視之，對西西里美國性的研究看來似乎是地方中心主義的(particularistic)，卻能在國家認同與國家文學的文化建構意義上提供文學研究的學者可貴的見解。

關鍵字

文學 ； 地域主義 ； 族裔 ； 認同 ； 義大利美國人 ； 西西里美國人 ； 義大利人 ； 西西里人 ； 曼奇歐尼 ； 西西里美國性

並列摘要

Throughout the 1900s, the sense of a distinct Sicilian-ness manifested itself in a corpus of texts by Italian authors such as Giovanni Verga, Luigi Pirandello, Leonardo Sciascia, Vincenzo Consolo, and Andrea Camilleri, just to mention a few. Interestingly, a parallel phenomenon seems to have emerged in the United States. While attempting to redefine the concept of Americanness and expand the canon of American literature so that it embraces articulations of ethnic identities, many Sicilian-American writers have turned their works into literary manifestations of ethnic regionalism.
In this essay, I have tried to answer questions such as: Why and how have many Sicilian and Sicilian-American writers engaged in literary regionalism? How did a sense of Sicilian-ness develop in the US, and turn into Sicilian Americanness, or as I have called it sicilianamericanità?
Ultimately, I suggest that the construction of a regional ethnic identity in American literature functions as a discourse that aims to question the reduction of the complex fabric of a population to a homogenous version of national identity, be it ”American” or ”Italian.” Seen from this perspective, a seemingly particularistic study on sicilianamericanità could provide scholars of literary studies with precious insights about the meaning of cultural constructions of national identities and literatures.

並列關鍵字

literature ； regionalism ； ethnic ； identity ； Italian-American ； Sicilian-American ； Italian ； Sicilian ； Jerre Mangione ； Sicilianamericanità

參考文獻

Barolini, Helen, (ed.)(2000).The Dream Book: An Anthology of Writings by Italian American Women.Syracuse:Syracuse UP.

Bevilacqua, Piero(1993).Breve Storia dell`Italia Meridionale.Roma, Italy:Donzelli Editore.

Dal Lago, Enrico+Rick Halpern, (eds.)(2000).The American South and the Italian Mezzogiorno: Essays in Comparative History.New York:Palgrave.

Di Prima, Diane(2001).Recollections of My Life as a Woman: The New York Years: A Memoir.New York:Viking.

Fazio, Venera,Delia De Santis, (eds.)(2004).Sweet Lemons: Writings with a Sicilian Accent.New York:Legas.