Angels of Youth
Angels of Youth, by Luigi Fontanella, is a book of poems written originally in Italian and based on his Italian volume Ceres.
Synopsis
It is divided into four sections, Ceres, Stanzas for Emma, Ars Poetica, and Ballads.<ref name=scambray/>
It includes "Stanzas for Emma" dedicated to the poet's daughter, and "Sequence for my Father" which reflects on his dead parent.<ref name=scambray/>
Publication history
Angels of Youth is a translation of Ceres, Fontanella's ninth volume of poetry, originally published in Italian by Caramanica Editore in 1993.<ref>Ferroni, Giulio, "A proposito di Ceres di Luigi Fontanella: tre interventi di Roberto Deidier, Giulio Ferroni e Valerio Magrelli", RIVISTA DI STUDI ITALIANI 15:2, Dec 1997</ref> The Italian edition won The Orazio Caputo Prize<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and The Olindo de Gennaro Prize,<ref name=scambray>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and received over thirty reviews in prestigious literary journals in Europe and the United States. Devised with American readers in mind, the Xenos Books translation makes subtle modifications in the content, reorganizes the book's structure and adds two new poems.
Critical response
Prof Ken Scambray (University of La Verne) suggested it redefines Italian-American literature by moving away from its stereotypical images, praising its realism and ability to find beauty in the quotidian.<ref name=scambray/>