Lately, he's focused on one particular part of Italy, helping release Reis Monfrin-e, a spoken word/music CD representing poets and performers in the distinct language of the Italian region of Piedmont.
How did you become a co-producer of this disc?
It all began when I discovered a great poem in Piedmontese. It turned out a friend of mine knew the poet and was able to record him reading the poem in his home studio. That was only the beginning. I ended up cramming 90 texts into the CD's 12-page booklet. There have been some poetry books in Piedmontese, but as far as I know, there had been no recordings.
Piedmont is in northern Italy. Some of your ancestors came from there?
Right. It borders on France. The Italian language, created when the country was unified, is a normalized version of Tuscan. All the regions have their own language.
Tell me about Piedmontese.
It's a Romance language. It has some resemblance to Italian. It has some resemblance to French. The inhabitants of Piedmont were originally Celtic. And there were centuries of invasions from all over. Somebody who speaks Italian would get the gist of Piedmontese, but the languages are only marginally similar.
How did you choose all the poets and musicians on the CD?
A few of the people are famous in the area. I found some of them from books and online. I went with the advice of the people I collaborated with over there. One of the bands, Ariondassa, I had already brought over for Festa Italiana. Another band came from the same town as my cousin and another from the town of my great grandmother. There are many more over there. I'm thinking of doing a second CD.
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Is Piedmontese dying or thriving?
It depends on who you ask. Some say it's vibrant with new books and music coming out. Others think that young people aren't speaking it, but in smaller towns, people younger than me speak it. Because it seems threatened, people are doing things to keep it alive, but it may not have a bright future. Whether Piedmontese will be there 50 years from now is hard to say. I hope so! I'm trying to do my little part.
We did an event over there on Nov. 12 for the CD in a coffee shop inside a castle outside Asti. One hundred people showed up. Everybody was amazed at the turnout. We sold 30 CDs! I'd be happy if I had a record release party of any kind in Milwaukee where I sold 30 copies!
