"L'autodafe' del camminante" Arturo Giovanniti, Poet and Trade-Unionist - American Tour

One hundred years ago, on November 23, 1912, Arturo Giovannitti, a trade-unionist originally from the Region of Molise in Italy, defended himself before a Court and a jury in Salem, Massachusetts. He had been one of the leaders of the famous Bread and Roses Strike of the textilke workers in Lawrence, Mass, and unjustly accused of murdering a young striker, Annie LoPizzo, killed by the police. His famous self-defense, together with a poem he wrote while imprisoned: “The Walker,” have become the basis of a theatre piece, written and directed by Stefano Sabelli, director of the Teatro del Loto of Ferrazzano, in the province of Campobasso. Interpreter of the “Auto-da-fè of the Walker” is Diego Florio, a young Italian actor. The Auto-da-fè of the Walker is starting its American Tour on at the John D.Calandra Italian-American Institute of Cuny, which a full schedule including two symposia on the figure of Arturo Giovannitti, at Yale University and at the Canlandra Institute. The final performance will be held in the Everett Mill in Lawrence, Mass, where the strike began, on the very date in which Giovannitti pronounced his self defense and was acquitted of a crime he did not committ. With the sponsorship of the Region of Molise and the Province of Campobasso, PROGRAM November 12 6PM PERFORMANCE at JOHN D.CALANDRA INSTITUTE November,.13 - 12 Noon LECTIO BREVIS at Fiorello LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing November,14 - 1PM PERFORMANCE at PALISADES PARK JR.SR. HIGH SCHOOL November,15 - 6PM PERFORMANCE at SCUOLA D’ITALIA GUGLIELMO MARCONI November, 15 - 6PM PRESENTATION OF THE BEAUTIFUL REGION OF MOLISE FOLLOWED BY A TASTE OF MOLISANA CUISINE at ENIT November, 17 - 4PM PERFORMANCE at WESTCHESTER ITALIAN CULTURAL CENTER, November, 18 - 7PM PERFORMANCE at CERCEMAGGIORE CLUB, November,19 - 4.30/6.30PM Round Table at YALE UNIVERSITY – NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT Speakers: Prof. Robert Forrant (UMass) Prof. Anthony Tamburri (Calandra Institute) Prof. Antonio D’Ambrosio Prof. Anna Iacovella (Yale) Moderator November, 19 - 8PM PERFORMANCE at YALE OFF BROADWAY THEATER organized by ISYSAA (Italian Society of Yale Students and Affiliates) November 20 - 6/8 PM SYMPOSIUM at JOHN D.CALANDRA ITALIAN AMERICAN INSTITUTE – CUNY Speakers: Prof. Anthony Tamburri, Dean – moderator Greeting by the Presidente of the Province of Campobasso, Hon. Rosario De Matteis Brief remarks by Silvana Mangione, Deputy secretary general – CGIE Brief remarks on “The Auto-da-fè of the Walker” by Stefano Sabelli Prof. Antonio D’Ambrosio Prof. Joseph Tusiani Prof. Robert Viscusi Prof. Marcella Bencivenni David Giovannitti, Arturo Giovannitti’s grandson November, 23 - 7PM PERFORMANCE at Everett Mill organized by the Bread and Roses Centennial