Mary Melfi



Mary Melfi (born 1 July 1951) is a Canadian writer of Italian descent. A prolific poet, novelist, and playwright, Melfi was born in Casacalenda, a small mountain town south of Rome in 1951. At the age of six, she immigrated with her family to Montreal, Quebec where she attended the local English schools. She received a B.A. in English Literature from Concordia University and a Masters of Library Science from McGill University. Since completing her studies in 1977 she has published over a dozen books of critically acclaimed poetry and prose. Her first novel, Infertility Rites, was published by Guernica Editions in 1991; it was later translated into French and Italian. In 1994 Doubleday Canada published her children's fantasy book: Ubu, the Witch Who Would be Rich. Also a playwright, Mary Melfi's works for the theater have been workshopped in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. Noted for her black humour, wry wit and imaginative style critics have suggested that this author manages "not only to make us laugh, but also think." In-depth reviews of her writings can be found in William Anselmi's book entitled: Mary Melfi, Essays on her Work (Guernica Editions, 2007). Melfi's account of peasant life in Southern Italy during the 1930s entitled Italy Revisited: Conversations with my Mother is due to be published in 2008 by Guernica Editions. To complement the book, Melfi has created a website in which she has compiled thousands of photos of peasant life in turn of the century Italy.

Mary Melfi presently lives in Montreal with her husband.

Works

 * The Dance, the Cage and the Horse (1976)
 * A Queen Is Holding a Mummified Cat (1982)
 * A Bride in Three Acts (1983)
 * A Dialogue with Masks (1985)
 * The O Canada Poems (1986)
 * A Season in Beware (1989)
 * Infertility Rites (1991)
 * Ubu, the Witch Who Would Be Rich (1994)
 * Sex Therapy, a black comedy in 12 scenes (1996)
 * Painting Moments, Art, AIDS and Nick Palazzo [Editor] (1998)
 * Office Politics (1999)
 * Stages, Selected Poems (1998)
 * My Italian Wife and Foreplay, two plays (2008)

Critical Appraisals

 * William Anselmi's (editor) Mary Melfi, Essays on her Work (2007)