Sometimes I Swear In Italian

Sometimes I Swear In Italian

By Anthony Buccino

Anthony Buccino's collection Sometimes I Swear In Italian is about growing up Italian American in New Jersey, discovering the roots of his ancestors.

Read about the old neighborhood where the 'bianca lina' man sold bleach to make the white linens, the young boy growing up in the house his grandfather built, and living upstairs from his scary grandma who spoke no English.

This American boy discovers the land his ancestors left to make a better life for him and his generation. The pigeons that follow him throughout Italy provide the connection to his father - who raised homers - who didn't speak English until he started school - the rich heritage of the old country, and the enormous sacrifice of his grandparents.

Despite its title, Sometimes I Swear In Italian contains no profanity in any language.

More about the collection

BUTCHIE

School 7, Belleville, N.J.

Can you believe that little kid?
He got all the way here
fighting, fussing and dragging
and sits in a class stupid
as if the world around him
has been replaced by fools.
They talk in gibberish fluently
but only to each other
and often in his direction.
And these adults are puzzled
at the boy’s every word.
This school is supposed to have
smart people and teachers
but how smart can they be
if they can’t understand
a few words from little Angelo?
The boy who speaks only
his mother and father’s tongue
who never knew his full name
until this first day at school.

- By Anthony Buccino
from SIXTEEN INCHES ON CENTER
Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved.