Italian Poet Shares His Love Of America Through Poetry at UWG Poetry Reading

The University of West Georgia recently welcomed Italian-based poet, Pietro Federico, for a reading of his latest collection, Most of the Stars. The collection features 50 poems, one for each U.S. state. To promote this collection, UWG Creative Writing Professor Greg Fraser and Emory University Associate Teaching Professor of Italian Angela Porcarelli, interviewed Federico on his inspiration behind his work.

The event was kicked off with a reception featuring charcuterie and wine where a limited number of copies of Most of the Stars were given to attendees. Once those were gone, a chapbook featuring seven poems from the collection was made available. Following the reception, guests were invited into a lecture hall for the reading and interview. The event concluded with a book signing.

“I fell in love with your country—with its vastness—and not only geographically,” said Federico. “There’s something about the soul of the country that is limitless.”

Federico emphasized his need to study the U.S. in order to portray it accurately in his work. Although he was not able to visit all 50 states, he traveled to several and gained insight into others through books, movies, and conversations with Americans.

“This book required a lot of study, because I could not cover the entire United States by myself,” said Federico.
A majority of Federico’s poems are persona poems in which he adopts the roles of different characters. In order to portray all of these diverse voices, he had to study the world from a distance with the understanding that these were the feelings and perspectives of others. He calls this technique ‘the eagle eye’, and this approach allowed him to connect more closely with the experiences and emotions of real people.

One example of this can be found in his poem, New York, where a Chinese restaurant owner witnesses a transgender woman standing in the rain crying because of a lost love. Federico embodies the owner, while accurately describing the chaos, neon lights and bustling atmosphere of New York City, making for a compelling read.

“I could feel reality more intensely because I had that eagle eye,” said Federico.

Federico immersed himself into the world and approached every poem with care. His dedication to studying America and his exploration of persona poems provided a unique lens through which the audience could see the world and their own experiences. It prompted them to think more deeply about perspective, empathy and the power of adopting different voices in order to convey complex emotions.

“I came to this event because I hadn’t encountered much poetry from different languages or cultures,” said attendee Griffin Lockard. “I agree with a lot of Pietro’s ideas on writing, and will try to apply them to my own work.”