Mary Climbs In: The Journeys of Bruce Springsteen's Women Fans

Tuesday, 10 October 6pm : Italian Cultural Institute

Speakers: Alane Mason Salierno, Joseph Luzzi, Greg Pell (translator).

The Italian Cultural Institute in New York

is pleased to host the presentation of the book

When Things Happen

by Italian writer

Angelo Cannavacciuolo

(Rutgers University Press, 2023).

The author Angelo Cannavacciuolo

in conversation with:

Gregory Pell, Translator and Professor of

Romance Languages and Literatures Hofstra University

and

Alane Salierno Mason,

Vice president and Executive Editor, W.W. Norton & Company

and Founder Words Without Border

October 10, 2023 | 6PM

Italian Cultural Institute

686 Park Avenue, New York

Please RSVP at iicny.rsvp@gmail.com

indicating “Cannavacciuolo”

Michele Campo is living the bourgeois Italian dream. Now a speech pathologist in his forties, he resides in an expensive Naples home with his partner, Costanza, daughter of an upper-class family. Michele’s own family origins, however, are murkier. When he is assigned to work with five-year-old foster child Martina, he grows increasingly engrossed by her case, as his own buried family history slowly claws its way back to the surface. The first novel by acclaimed Italian writer Angelo Cannavacciuolo to be translated into English, When Things Happen tells a powerful and intriguing story of what we lose when we leave our origins behind. It presents a panoramic view of Neapolitan society unlike any in literature, revealing a city of extreme contrasts, with a glamorous center ringed by suburban squalor. Above all, it is a psychologically nuanced portrait of a man struggling to locate what he values in life and the poor vulnerable child who helps him find it. You can order the book HERE

A. Cannavacciuolo is an award-winning Neapolitan writer and director. He is the author of several books, including Guardiani delle Nuvole (1999) and Il soffio delle Fate (2001). Read more HERE.

6.30pm - Libreria Pino, in collaboration with IIC and Leonardo da Vinci Society

Speakers: Sara Marinelli. (usfca.edu.)
Reading of some excerpts: Alessia Patregnani 
Vocalist: Esther Rayo who will perform two Italian arias

Lorraine Mangione and Donna Luff: Mary Climbs In – The Journeys of Bruce Springsteen’s Women Fans

When: Friday, October 27 @ 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm (Register Here)

Where: I AM Books – 124 Salem Street, Boston MA 02113

Bruce Springsteen has been cherished by his fans for decades, from his early days playing high school gymnasiums through globally successful albums and huge stadium shows to solo performances in intimate theaters. As his long and illustrious career has evolved, the legendary devotion of his fans has remained a constant. Springsteen fans have become worthy of study in their own right, with books, memoirs, and even a movie documenting their passion and perspectives. But his fans are not monolithic, and surprisingly little attention has been paid to why so many women from across the world adore The Boss.

Mary Climbs In illuminates this once overlooked but increasingly important and multi-faceted conversation about female audiences for Springsteen’s music. Drawing on unique surveys of fans themselves, the study offers insight into women’s experiences in their own voices. Authors Lorraine Mangione and Donna Luff explore the depth of women fans’ connection to Springsteen and the profound ways this connection has shaped their lives. Reflections from fans enliven each page as readers journey through the camaraderie and joy of concerts, the sorrow and confusion of personal loss and suffering, the love and closeness of community, and the search for meaning and for the self. Viewed through a psychological lens, women fans’ relationship with Springsteen is revealed in all its complexity as never before. 

Mary Climbs In is an important interdisciplinary contribution to the growing field of Springsteen studies and a must-read for any fan.

Register Here.