A Space Between

by Anna Citrino

Anna Citrino has woven the story of Italian immigrants--their small joys and compelling heartaches--into a moonlit tapestry. Thread by poetic thread, this book is an exquisite fabric of personal journeys, cultural insights, and little known Italian American history. I loved entering this "space between," created with great love and profound grace. --Catherine Ann Lombard A Space Between is that rarity in books of poetry, a book that coheres, where everything is of a piece. . . . The book brings vividly alive the immigrant experience. The differences between the two worlds that the characters inhabit are rendered with skill and delicacy . . . A Space Between has epic sweep rendered in a wide range of voices, each distinctive, each compelling. --Michael L. Newell A massive, ambitious effort of epic proportions that rewards with its interweavings of history, consequence, heritage, and legacy. How heartening it is to witness in these poems the resonance through generations of immigration and sacrifice to provide for living, surviving, prospering. --Nicholas Samaras

Genres: Poetry

171 pages, Paperback

Published December 10, 2019

Reviews

[Lesley Holtaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book beautifully expresses the emotion of leaving a familiar life behind to take a chance on having a better one in a new land. I found myself bookmarking many phrases that perfectly summed up a feeling or thought. It also made me reflect on my own family’s experiences and gave me a new appreciation for the journey they took. Treat yourself to this book.

[Ginny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous and moving book. Citrino's poems are like perfect shards of stained glass, shimmering with vivid images and color and working together to show the often painful truths of the immigrant experience. The poems are told from the points of view of different characters in a Calabrian family in Italy and, later, in California, covering historical events of the time (the SF earthquake, WWI, etc.) and always circling back to the complex feelings and emotional displacement of those who move to a new land. Citrino is a true wordsmith; I dog-eared several pages where the language was just so pithy and beautiful that I wanted to remember it. If you're coming to this book for the peek back into history, you won't be disappointed; if you're coming to it for human truths powerfully told, you won't be disappointed, either. Highly recommended.

[Jennifer]

I could not put this lovely book in verse down! While written as poetry, it has that magical quality of reading like a novel. The storyline is poignant and gut-wrenching. The lives of 3 generations of a family, as they struggle to survive and immigrate from Italy to San Francisco comes alive on the pages of this book. The music of the language sings and soothes as I read, and paints a picture of life and emotions so vivid the reader disappears into the story. What a joy to read! Extensively researched, this book brings alive the painful immigrant experience that future generations forget and helped me appreciate the pain and effort of my own great grandparents as they struggled to settle in the United States. Beautiful.

[David Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A Space Between” by Anna Citrino describes in the most poignant, compelling way the migration of one Italian couple in the wave of immigration from Italy to the United States in the early 20th century. The United States prides itself on being a nation of immigrants, but new arrivals have often been less than welcome. The enormous personal sacrifice most immigrants make and the struggle they endure to establish what they hope will be a better life, if not for themselves then for their children is seldom recognized. Citrino’s book describes in a most intimate way what immigration means to those who take this decisive step. This story is part of the history of every American descended from an immigrant. It is a must-read.
David Hobbs
Washington DC

[Eloise Carbone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love ..... A Space Between!

Anna Citrino is able to create a fullness, a sense of deep connection in the space that exists between the worlds of then and now, before and after, inside and outside as she describes the world of her Italy and America.

Through Anna's poetry we are reminded of both the strife of people living in the "old country" and the strife inflicted on them as immigrants - their loss of place, their loss of identity.

Her poetry tells their/her/our story.

I admire Anna's attention to detail with her inclusion of the timeline of her family history in Italy juxtaposed with the history of America and an in-depth appendix. Her caring invites the reader to consider our own history through thought provoking discussion questions.

A most wonderful read!

[Michelle Van]

A Space Between is a walk through time, a visit to past homes, and a celebration of language. I grabbed a highlighter as soon as I began reading to mark and remember some favorite passages. My favorite is a verse from Luisa's perspective - "I hold my questions the way trees hold birds - I let them come. I let them go" - that has stayed with me since I finished reading. There are dozens of ways to read this book, as narrative, as history, as social commentary, as a masterclass in the use of language, so although short, be ready to take some time to soak in Citrino's work.

[Barbara Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna Citrino’s wonderful, poetic book, A Space Between, invites us into the lives of immigrant grandparents through their rich experiences and voices. They have left their homes and culture of origin in Italy in the late 1800’s to start again in far-away California. We engage with their struggles, joys and hopes. The book ends with their grandchildren’s fragmented quests of searching and learning of their own origins. The book is, thus, both an individual family story, and “part of humanity’s enormous trajectory.” A highly recommended read.

[Kirk]

In "A Space Between," Anna Citrino pulls the reader in from the very first line, "White salt shoes. Hard citrine body."
The balance on display here runs throughout the collection as the author lifts us up and gently sets us back down line after line. The narrative is never rushed, though it does reach a fevered pitch that left this reader breathless and reaching for a second glass of wine to settle the nerves. Yes, the characters come to life, and it is not difficult to empathise with Luisa as her life unfolds, but nature herself comes alive as well, "Then the sea rose / a raving, sickled wave."
Mysterious bees populate a dream. What do they portend?
"A Space Between" will stir all kinds of emotions, and it will have you asking questions about why people move, which levels of sacrifice make it worthwhile, and what role belonging plays in the whole giant web of human movement.
Make room for "A Space Between." It will stay with you long after you’ve read the final lines.

[Allison Pharis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully and artfully written story of the heartbreaking immigrant experience. One could easily race through it in a day but I urge readers to slow down and savor Anna Citrino's poetic wordsmithing. Sublime.

[Steve McCluer · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I was confused by the genre. Is it historical fiction? Or is it poetry? Is it an anthology? In the end, it doesn’t matter. “A Space Between” is a beautiful read. It weaves the stories and perspectives of various generations of a family at the turn of the twentieth century. They must leave one bad situation in their home in Italy to confront another one, totally foreign, in California. Each poem takes us into the mind and emotion of its character. In the process we learn the history of a people that was never taught to us in school. I have seen many stories about people who were torn from the land and culture of their birth and about the hardships they suffered—and the joys they shared—while trying to integrate into the American dream. Few have been written in such beautiful language as that offered up by Anna Citrino. It is easy to pick up and read almost any page when you have only a few minutes. But it is compelling when you read the stories in sequence. I highly recommend reading and sharing this book. It should be required reading in high schools and colleges.