LOCAL WRITER HONORED BY THE NYS ASSEMBLY

by Tiziano Dossena

Jul 02, 2011

From left, Assemblyman Joseph Saladino, Samantha Dossena,
Senator Joseph Griffo and the author Tiziano Thomas Dossena

I was recently introduced to the New York State Assembly by the Assemblyman Joseph Saladino, President of the NYS Italian American Legislators, and recognized by the Assembly Speaker, Peter Rivera, who lauded me for my accomplishments and invited me to come back as a guest of the Assembly. The Assemblymen applauded me, cheered and spent a few minutes taking pictures with me and my daughter, who will attend Cummings School of Veterinary Science at Tufts University in the fall. As many of the readers may know, the introduction and recognition of a special guest to the Assembly is an honor bestowed upon people whose activities have enriched the culture of the State.

Truthfully, I did not know what to expect… I’m not much of a social person. I like to write. I like to create. I’ve always stayed on the side, out of the limelight, which is hard to do as a magazine executive (I have been for 21 years the Editorial Director of L’Idea magazine, a bilingual quarterly published in Brooklyn since 1974). I kept on saying to myself that maybe I shouldn’t have been there. The enthusiasm of the Assemblymen surprised me so much that I did not know where to look, and I am glad I did not have to make a speech.

They wanted to take pictures with me, which I really thought was funny. This was one of the few times I was being recognized personally, and I felt fulfilled and satisfied. That was the most unusual part, because I was honored to take pictures with them, but they were asking to take pictures with me. I was like a child in the FAO Schwarz toy store. It was really peculiar.

I am the product of a Public School education, since I graduated from John Jay High School in Brooklyn, Kingsborough Community College, Queens College, New York City Technical College and SUNY Purchase College. I published two books (Caro Fantozzi and Doña Flor) and two more are on the way. I wrote and published countless articles in Canada, Italy, France, Switzerland, Greece and USA. I organized and assisted in the creation of many events in our community, as a member of the Sons of Italy, the Lions International and the Circolo Culturale di Mola.

I am, most of all, a Brooklyn child, since I spent my youth in Carroll Gardens playing soccer with then not-yet-champ Vito Antuofermo,my college years working in the evenings in Brooklyn Heights, at the famed Queen Restaurant, and driving to Astoria to meet my date. Of that, I am proud. I hope all my friends in Brooklyn and Queens will feel the same way about my recognition by the NYS

Role Reversal: Assemblymen Honored to Meet Local Author

Writer and editor Tiziano Thomas Dossena was recognized by the New York State Assembly earlier this month, making for a special, and rather peculiar experience.

By Edouard Boulat                                                                                                                   June 27, 2011

 

From the left, former Senator Nicholas Spano, author Tiziano Thomas Dossena and Assemblyman Joe Saladino.

 

Tiziano Thomas Dossena is not one to bring attention to himself.

Despite a largely successful career as what can perhaps only be described as a Renaissance man – fiction writer, journalist, poet, sculpture, art critic – Dossena admits to sometimes avoiding some of the social events and formalities that go along with his profession. So when New York State Assemblyman Joseph Saladino invited him to Albany to honor him in front of the rest of the Assembly, he had his reservations.

“First of all, I did not know what to expect,” said Dossena, a Crestwood resident. “I’m not too much of a social person. Like most people that like to write…I like to write. I like to create. I’ve always stayed on the side. So when I got there I was a little shaken up. I told myself, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come.’”

Born in Milan, Italy in 1952, Dossena began writing at a young age, and at sixteen came to America to pursue his studies. When he returned to Italy in 1978, Dossena was showered in awards and prizes for his contributions to the arts, everything from sculpture, to journalistic essays, to works of poetry and fiction.

Since then, Dossena has earned five different degrees from colleges and institutes in New York, and his work has appeared in magazines and anthologies throughout Italy, France, Greece, Switzerland, Canada and the United States. Dossena’s first book, a collection of short stories titled Caro Fantozzi, was released in 2009. The following year, he co-authored his second work, Doña Flor, An Opera by van Westerhout, a chronicle of Italian composer Niccolò van Westerhout’s life.

These were not the reasons why Assemblyman Saladino invited Dossena to Capitol Hill, however, or at least they were not the only reasons. For as much as Dossena has contributed in way of essays, articles, and short stories, he has also done his fair share in and for the community.

From 1998 to 2004, for instance, Dossena served as a council member of the Committee of Italians Abroad in New York, as well as its secretary from 1998 to 2001. Dossena is also a member of a number of other academic and cultural organizations, including the New York Academy of Sciences, Accademi Tiberina, and the Haute Académie Français. For the last nine years, Dossena has been one of the leading members of the Eastchester chapter of the Sons of Italy – the largest and oldest Italian-American organization in the United States – which funds scholarships for local youths and holds numerous events in the community.

Today, Dossena is a staff writer for the bilingual online magazine USA Bridge Puglia, as well as the Editorial Director of the non-profit Italian quarterly L’Idea, published in New York since 1974. Both of these jobs, Dossena does for free.

It goes without saying, that as Assemblyman Saladino read off these very same accolades in front of the rest of the Assembly earlier this month, any hopes Dossena had of slipping by unnoticed during his visit to Capitol Hill all but vanquished. In fact, it wasn’t long before assemblymen from all different districts were lining up to shake Dossena’s hand and congratulate him, to the point where order had to be restored by the Sergeant-in-Arms on duty.

“Actually we disrupted the assembly a little bit,” Dossena recalls. “I was shocked. We started to get a little loud without realizing it, so he had to tell us to quiet down and for everybody to sit back down and get back to work. It was very, very friendly. I was surprised. I didn’t expect it.”

Assembly Speaker Peter Rivera then officially acknowledged Dossena’s presence and achievements, inviting him to come back to the Assembly soon. Dossena’s daughter Samantha, who accompanied her father to Albany and will attend the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University this fall, was also recognized.

The strangest was still to come, however, as shortly after the Assembly ended their session, Dossena was faced with some rather unexpected requests from a number of assemblymen and New York State senators.

“They wanted to take pictures with me, which I really thought was funny,” Dossena said. “This was one of the first times I was being recognized personally, and it was a great sense of gratification. That was the most unusual part, because I was honored to take pictures with them, but they were asking to take pictures with me. I was like a child going to a graduation. It was a funny thing.”.

 

 

THE NYPD COLUMBIA ASSOCIATION WELCOMES ITALIAN AMERICAN AUTHOR.

May 13, 2011

From left, Anthony Cesarano, President of the Columbia Association, Robert Salerno, winner of the 2011 Mario Biaggi Valor Award, and the author Tiziano Thomas Dossena.

 

The NYPD Columbia Association welcomed at their meeting Tiziano Thomas Dossena, an Italian American author and publisher from Yonkers. The journalist lectured on his recently published book, Doña Flor, An Opera by Niccolò van Westerhout, which narrates the life of Niccolò van Westerhout (1857-1898) and considers the problems and uncertainties associated to the first performance of his opera-masterpiece. Supplemented by a foreword by the Maestro Vito Clemente, the book also includes the original text of the libretto and its translation, the biography of the librettist Arturo Colautti and the genealogical tree of the van Westerhout family, from their first migration to Apulia to the composer's birth.

The well-known Italian American writer talked about the fascinating story of the birth of this opera, the musical characteristics of this lyrical drama and the difficulties related to the translation of the libretto. The author spoke also about the dealings that brought to the unearthing of van Westerhout’s tomb and the final return of his rests to his adored hometown, Mola di Bari.

After his lecture, the author socialized with the officers, who inquired about his magazine and activities. During the evening, Dossena also met with Robert Salerno, winner of the 2011 Mario Biaggi Valor Award, and promised to write an article for his magazine about the Columbia Association’s happening.

Tiziano Thomas Dossena is the Editorial Director of the Brooklyn quarterly L’Idea. His works have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies in Italy, France, Greece, Switzerland and the United States. Mr. Dossena is also the author of a short stories collection, “Caro Fantozzi,” published in 2009 by Scriptum Press (New York).

VENDOLA VISITS NEW YORK.

The Apulian community of New York had the opportunity to meet for the first time the new governor of their region, Nichi Vendola, and it did it with a tangible interest and enthusiasm, filling the hall of St .Anthony's Society of Brooklyn.
Introduced by the President of the Circolo Culturale di Mola, Leonardo Campanile, to an audience that included dozens of representatives of various associations, members of the Federation of Apulian Associations of the tri-state area, Vendola spoke of his trip in the U.S., which had proven to be "very fruitful for (my) Region: international high-level relations, learning information on the best practices which are put into action in other parts of the world, study what they do in California on sustainable mobility, on hydrogen-powered cars, to learn what they do in other parts of the world to help the planet not to choke and make a better world for future generations. "
The governor then stated that he lived the previous days' very intensely, especially because he represented Apulia and Italy in front of very important players in the world "and that he was the only Italian at the summit convened in California by Governor Schwarzenegger to lead the world economy towards the goal of environmental sustainability.
The political sensitivity of this man, shown in its stances on the environment, has been proven by his speech, addressed to the crowd of emigrants who had turned up to celebrate his visit and express their joy, but also to ask questions about their regions. Vendola spoke of the Apulia region as of an almost 'legendary' place, listing its cities and praising them for their unique and unforgettable beauty, offering a sort of collage of images and descriptions that fully reflected his poetic vein.
The Chairman of the Environment and Freedom Party took advantage of the occasion to praise the role of immigrants: "Apulia is the people who fostered all over the world progress, talent, affluence, who have worked hard, who have carried in their heart the image of their homeland.” Vendola then felt it necessary to specify that, referring to the love of the emigrant for his homeland, "for the one who lives from far the place of his family, its history, its cradle and its roots, he retains a clear memory of it, he cultivates it, and he always brings it with him. Love cannot simply mean to describe the beauty of your place. Love means to locate your place and give pride to that place, which is not parochialism; pride is the ability to keep the good things we have and make it available to others. "
With an audience clearly captivated by his magic words, Vendola completed the discussion on migration, stating that the names of the cities he had heard in the hall were the names of his life and his feelings, and that "the beautiful Apulia is also peasant laborers, and the pride and great struggles that have brought great comfort ", but that in the south of Italy there is a curse: "To travel is not a recognized verb, only to emigrate is known." The friendly bard of Italian politics has therefore expressed his wish that “his grandchildren could travel without this meaning to emigrate, because to emigrate is painful and not acceptable. "
The governor Vendola then concluded his speech by declaring: "I love the words of President Obama because they show us the need to build a better culture in a new era. You know, I'm a man of the left and I became one also because of my love for America. I've always associated the word 'left' also to the love for New York, for all the wonderful things that this city has built. We must never forget that many of the builders of the wonders of New York were Italian. "

The warm and prolonged applause given by the participants at the event confirmed that his words had hit the mark and that his countrymen had appreciated his availability.
After his extraordinary speech, Leonardo Campanile, who is also vice-chairman of the Federation and managing director of the quarterly L’Idea, introduced Tiziano Thomas Dossena, Editorial Director of  that magazine and Marketing Director of Idea Publications, who donated to the governor three books recently published by his publishing house. In his brief speech, Dossena indicated that the executives of "Idea Publications had strong and undeniable ties to Apulia: Leonardo and Domenic Campanile by birth, Silvana Mangione by heritage and I am Apulian by adoption."
Regarding Dr. Silvana Mangione, editorial director of the publishing house, Dossena said that it was she who affirmed:
"A new publishing house was founded because there is a lack of thought that needs to be filled. It arises because a wide range of people want to be known, to make their voice heard, to affirm their capacity to contribute to the cultural heritage of their country of origin or residence. Idea Publications was created for all those reasons. In our view, the Italian culture is composed of three equally important elements: the culture produced in Italy by people who were born and living there; the one produced by the Italians and descendants of Italians abroad, wherever they are, and that produced by foreign people living in Italy. In creating this publishing house, we decided that our voice would be that the "culture of return": that is, go to our native land, bringing the richness of the culture produced by us and still carrying the fragrance of Italy."
The Milanese writer added: "Together, we proposed to the Apulia Region to help us publish the Italian translation of a collection of short stories of an author from Apulia, Fred Gardaphè. The project started in 2008 and the book, entitled Imported from Italy, was published in 2009, the first volume of the ‘Writers Italians Abroad’ series. This book was followed by Puer Centum Annorum, the biography of Don Bruno, the beloved pastor of Mola di Bari and by Doña Flor, An Opera By van Westerhout, both Apulian books in all senses. We therefore donate these three books, in the hope that ours is the right path to continue so that the culture of Apulia in the world actually becomes a culture of return. "
The important event then concluded with the gifting from the President of the Federation of Apulian Associations John Mustaro of a crystal apple, a symbol of the Big Apple that Vendola declared to love so much.

Lecture on  Doña Flor at Westchester Community College.

On March 9th, the Editorial Director of the Brooklyn’s quarterly L’Idea Magazine, Tiziano Thomas Dossena, gave a lecture on "Doña Flor, recent work by van Westerhout" in the auditorium of  Westchester Community College, at the presence of a large group of students of the college’s Italian Club and various guests.
The conference, the first in a series that will be held in various universities, national associations and libraries, aims at clarifying the reasons behind the lack of recognition of the Apulian composer and simultaneously elucidate the technical characteristics that make Doña Flor a gem in the operatic world.
Dossena, co-author of "Doña Flor, an opera by Niccolò van Westerhout, " published in 2010 by Idea Publications, New York, spoke for two hours of the composer and his magnificent opera, with fascinating details hitherto unknown to listeners. The many questions at the end of the presentation proved that he had fully captured the interest of the public.
Professor Maddalena, a lecturer of Italian at that college, concluded the event by promising students the Milanese author's return for a second reading on the subject and for a conference on the anniversary of the unification of Italy.

Doña Flor visits the Sons of Italy.

Leonardo Campanile and Tiziano Thomas Dossena, co-authors of  "Doña Flor, An Opera By Van Westerhout”, a bilingual volume that describes the magnificent opera of the Apulian composer, presented their book on October 28 at the Garibaldi Lodge of the Sons of Italy of Eastchester.
After the ritual presentations by Lina Astarita, president of the Garibaldi Lodge, Dr. Silvana Mangione, Editorial Director of Idea Publications, described the stimulating factors that brought to the emergence of this new Italian American publishing house and to the publication of this book. Campanile expressed his immense respect for van Westerhout and then outlined the contents of the book, offering an interesting but brief analysis of the various chapters.
Dossena, a Yonkers resident, concluded the presentation, by citing the many technical difficulties encountered in both the translation of the libretto and in finding material on the composer and its magnificent opera.

Last April 1st, the Massapequa Lions celebrated their 60^th Anniversary at the Stuart Thomas Manor of Massapequa. The evening was pleasurable and well organized and the doo-wop music crowned the festivities.

During the gala, Linda Ruggiero was awarded a President Plaque for her leadership and determination, John Diaz the PPDG Melvin Jones Award for his humanitarian work and Sue Piccolo the distinguished Knight of the Blind Award for her indefatigable efforts with cornea transportation for transplant use. Plaques for the longest membership were also awarded to George Russo and Tom Corwin for their 35+ years of affiliation with the Massapequa Lions.

The association received citations and proclamations from many official sources. Among them, the ones from Senator Fuschillo, the New York State Assembly and the Town of Oyster  Bay.

Four new members were installed with great fanfare by the Past International President Al Brandel: the Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto, the NYS Assemblyman Joe Saladino, the author Tiziano Thomas Dossena and the Funeral Director Lucille Romanelli-Cavalli.

Mr. Saladino, President of the NYS Italian American Legislators, received, as a token of friendship from Mr. Dossena, Editorial Director of the Italian language magazine L’Idea, his recently published book Doña Flor, an Opera by Niccolò van Westerhout.

       Vol 105 Number 15                                                                                                   Friday, April 9, 2010

Yonkers Author Writes New Book

Yonkers resident Tiziano Dossena has