A source of pride for those who trace their ancestry there, Sicily is a big triangular island in the Mediterranean Sea that boasts a deep history, Europe's largest volcano and some of the best cuisine in the world. Kansas City, a Midwestern city straddling Jackson, Cass, Clay and Platte counties, is known for its meat-based cuisine, jazz music and some unsubstantiated boasts about fountain proliferation. The area also has a contingent of people of Sicilian ancestry, some of whom like to write. For instance: poet Maryfrances Cusumano Wagner,
New Letters editor Robert Stewart, writer and teacher Al Ortolani, fiction writer Carmela Palazzo Hakan, gastronome journalist Charles Ferruzza, and poet-musician J.T. Knoll. Hear these
Italian-Americans share their work at 7 p.m. at the Writers Place (3607 Pennsylvania,
816-753-1090). Admission is a suggested donation of $5 ($3 for Writers Place members), and includes Sicilian and Italian foods to sample. For more information, see
writersplace.org.
— Chris Packham
Fri., Aug. 27, 7 p.m., 2010
