Giovanna Miceli Jeffries
A Room of One's Own 2717 Atwood Ave., Madison, Wisconsin 53704
press release: A Room of One's Own welcomes Giovanna Miceli Jeffries for an author event from her recent memoir Bitter Trades.
Giovanna Miceli Jeffries was born in Ribera (AG), Sicily, where she grew up and finished high school. She is an Emerita from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and holds a Master and Ph.D. in Italian Language and Literature. She is the author of several books, of numerous articles and book-chapters on contemporary Italian literature, culture and pedagogy.
In the 13 life stories of Bitter Trades, the narrator tracks with fierce passion, honesty and inevitable humor her growth as a child and teenager in the inter-reliant poverty and scars of post-war Sicily. Amid the ageless beauty of the Mediterranean landscape, the author brings into relief the patriarchal culture of submission, fear and abuse, as well as loyalty and devotion to family, as she explores her maturation as a woman through immigration, displacement, and education across cultural borders.