Sep 29 2020 69 mins
In this episode I am joined by my friend, colleague, and teacher Marybeth Bonfiglio. Listen in as we discuss some of the most pressing questions facing the Italian diaspora, as well as other Euro-descended ethnic groups, at this time when there is an emergent collective surge towards ancestral reclamation and remembrance.
We share some of our experiences about growing up in Italian American communities, how we have both been impacted by the pressures of assimilation, and our concerns and questions about the ethical and appropriate transmission of cultural traditions and magic.
MaryBeth is a writer, mentor and ancestral catalyst. She believes storytelling heals, connects and can shift worlds, especially when we learn to tell and re-tell the stories of our ancestors and the stories of ourselves as future ancestors. She believes our bodies hold history and our cell memory holds magical multitudes. She received her MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles and guides writers closer to all their voices. She is currently holding a container for ancestral storytelling, magic, ritual, oracle and fortification through Blood + Belonging; an ancestral wisdom school. She also runs Radici Siciliane which is a community pilgrimage effort, bringing the Sicilian diaspora back to Sicily to learn ancestral arts from elders. She has three daughters and a long time partner. She's originally from the land of the Eries People in upstate/western NY but now lives on the land of the Multnomah people in Portland, OR. Her italian nonne come from Sicily, Salerno, and Venaus. And her maternal grandmother comes from Poland.
We share some of our experiences about growing up in Italian American communities, how we have both been impacted by the pressures of assimilation, and our concerns and questions about the ethical and appropriate transmission of cultural traditions and magic.
MaryBeth is a writer, mentor and ancestral catalyst. She believes storytelling heals, connects and can shift worlds, especially when we learn to tell and re-tell the stories of our ancestors and the stories of ourselves as future ancestors. She believes our bodies hold history and our cell memory holds magical multitudes. She received her MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles and guides writers closer to all their voices. She is currently holding a container for ancestral storytelling, magic, ritual, oracle and fortification through Blood + Belonging; an ancestral wisdom school. She also runs Radici Siciliane which is a community pilgrimage effort, bringing the Sicilian diaspora back to Sicily to learn ancestral arts from elders. She has three daughters and a long time partner. She's originally from the land of the Eries People in upstate/western NY but now lives on the land of the Multnomah people in Portland, OR. Her italian nonne come from Sicily, Salerno, and Venaus. And her maternal grandmother comes from Poland.