Representation of Calabria in the Works of Juliet Grames's Fiction: Interview with Juliet Grames, Fall 2024

Juliet Grames is an (Italian) American author and editor, best known for her debut novel The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna (Ecco, 2019). Born and raised in rural Connecticut, Grames grew up in a tight-knit Italian American family. This experience influenced her writing, particularly in her portrayal of family dynamics, immigration, and the cultural tensions between American and Italian identities.Grames's passion for storytelling started at an early age, fueled by her family's rich oral traditions and her love for literature. After completing her education, she pursued a career in publishing, where she gained significant experience in the editorial side of the industry. Grames has held prominent roles in publishing, working as the associate publisher at Soho Press, overseeing various literary projects and crime fiction.Her debut novel, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna, is a multigenerational family saga that spans nearly a century and explores themes of immigration, trauma, and resilience. The novel follows the life of Stella Fortuna, a woman born in a small Calabrian village in Italy, whose numerous near-death experiences shape her life and relationships. Loosely based on her grandmother's life and inspired by her family's stories, Grames intricately weaves historical events and personal narratives to explore more significant issues such as women's roles, mental health, and cultural expectations. Grames's writing has been celebrated for its emotional depth, historical detail, and complex characters. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna was well-received by critics and readers alike, making comparisons to works by such authors as Elena Ferrante. Some reviewers lauded the story for its vivid depiction of the immigrant experience, particularly the challenges faced by Italian American women in the early to mid-twentieth century. Fellow Italian American author Adriana Trigiani celebrates the work stating, “Juliet Grames has written a magnificent debut, creating a deeply felt, richly imagined world based upon her family history. The dark beauty of Calabria and the promise of America sets the stage for Stella's volatile life . . . Moody, original and profound.” While Jessica Shattuck, bestselling author of The Women in the Castle claims, “Reading The Seven of Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is like listening to the rollicking stories of your Italian grandmother—full of memorable characters and speckled with fascinating bits of history. This is a fantastic and timely family story.”Grames's second novel, The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia (2024), further establishes her as a compelling historical and literary fiction voice. The story builds on the themes of family, cultural identity, and historical trauma that defined her debut. The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia is set in the nineteenth century in a remote village in southern Italy where a young boy's disappearance ignites a tense investigation that uncovers dark secrets and long-held grievances within the tight-knit community. Grames balances the mystery at the story's center with rich, character-driven explorations of superstition, religion, and the power dynamics in rural Italy. Like her debut, the novel draws on her heritage and interest in Italian culture, delving deeper into historical events that shaped the region.Critics have commended Grames for her ability to vividly recreate the world of rural southern Italy, bringing to life not just the landscape but the social and cultural milieu of the time. The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia reflects Grames's gift for weaving suspense with emotionally resonant storytelling, crafting a narrative that resonates with themes of loss, community, and the enduring impact of history on individuals. With this second novel, Grames has proven her versatility as a writer, expanding her repertoire while offering insightful explorations of Italian and Italian American identity. The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia has been lauded for its atmospheric prose, intricate plotting, and psychological depth, further cementing her reputation as a significant contemporary author.Grames, now a well-established figure in the literary world, continues to write and work in publishing, all while drawing on her Italian American heritage to create deeply personal, historically rich narratives. She lives in New York City, where she is involved in various literary projects and advocates for diverse voices in the publishing industry.In this exclusive interview with Juliet Grames, the acclaimed author of The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna and The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia, we explore the compelling themes, characters, and inspirations behind her novels. Grames has become a distinctive voice in contemporary literature, weaving rich historical narratives that are deeply personal yet universal in scope. Her novels examine the lives of Italian and Italian American families, dealing with generational trauma, cultural identity, and the complexities of immigrant experience.This interview is especially exciting, as I had the privilege of meeting Juliet Grames in person at a special event, “Lunch with Author Juliet Grames,” hosted at Teresa's Cafe in Wayne, Pennsylvania, by Main Point Books. In an intimate setting, Grames shared anecdotes about her Italian heritage and writing with warmth and insight. That experience left a lasting impression, and now I am thrilled to have the chance to delve deeper into her creative production.In this section, we will discuss the major themes in The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna and The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia. We will explore how Grames's family history influenced her debut novel, which traces the extraordinary life of a woman haunted by mysterious near-death experiences. Additionally, we will also examine the inspiration behind The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia, her second novel, set in a nineteenth-century Italian village, and how this work differs from her debut.Grames is known for her intricate, character-driven plots and evocative descriptions of rural Southern Italy. We will uncover her approach to researching and writing historical fiction, including the meticulous work she puts into crafting authentic settings and complex characters. We will explore how she manages to balance the demands of writing with her career in publishing.Finally, we will look toward the future. With two critically acclaimed novels published, we're curious about what's next for Grames. What themes or periods of history might she explore next? Does she have any upcoming projects that she can share? We will also ask about her thoughts on the evolving landscape of publishing and her role in advocating for diverse voices in literature.We hope this interview offers readers a deeper appreciation of Grames's work and an inside look at her journey as a writer.GRAVANO: The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna and The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia dig deeply into the Calabrian culture. What drew you to Calabria as the setting for these stories? What Calabrian cultural markets spoke to you the most?GRAMES: My grandmother was born in Calabria, in the village of Ievoli, a hamlet of Feroleto Antico, near Lamezia Terme in Catanzaro, in 1920. She came to the US in 1939. My grandmother and her sister, my great-aunt, were a big part of my upbringing. Their reverence for their hometown, which they never returned to, was infectious, and my curiosity about their childhood became a kind of obsession for me, especially as I got older and realized how much adventure, danger, hardship, and logistical cunning their stories featured. It struck me as extraordinary, and I didn't understand why no one was writing it down. Eventually, I realized there was one way to fix that problem. I wrote my first novel, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna, in my grandmother's cultural space in Ievoli, drawing heavily on family lore and tradition as a starting point for the rest of the research I did. For The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia, I ventured outside of that comfort zone and set the novel in the Aspromonte mountains, a part of Calabria that fascinated me from a historical standpoint. It is, however, culturally very different from the province where my family comes from, and in many ways, I felt like I was starting from scratch in trying to get to know the area and its people well enough to depict it authentically in a novel. The challenge was more than worth it to me.GRAVANO: Can you share any insights into the research process for your novels, especially regarding Calabrian customs and history?GRAMES: I spend years researching a novel before I start writing; on average, the full process has taken me seven years per novel, although not without overlap. I read everything I can on and adjacent to my subject matter, but reading is only one component. I also arrange and conduct interviews, perform photo and archival research, visit or study folk museum exhibitions, seek out music and recipes that can offer texture or insight into the other information I've collected. Text-based research is not enough for someone who wants to work with authenticity in this cultural space. For much of their history, Calabrians have been prevented, through circumstance and exploitation, from voicing their own stories in writing, so to rely on written history is to be limited to outsiders’ perspectives.GRAVANO: Can you discuss how your half-Italian background influenced the portrayal of the immigrant experience in your novels?GRAMES: I was lucky enough to grow up in a community with many first- and second-generation immigrants, and I've been fascinated by their stories my whole life.GRAVANO: Was finding a publisher willing to publish Italian American works difficult?GRAMES: Not at all. In the current zeitgeist, the American publishing world is thirsty for our stories.GRAVANO: Can you describe your writing routine? How do you balance research and writing?GRAMES: I work for three hours every day on my book project, but usually, those three hours are wholly devoted to research. After two to three years of this, while I collect information and ferment my thoughts about the amalgamated data points, I will start to sketch characters and story outlines inspired by glimmers that have come to me during the course of the research. When I feel ready with my outline, I will turn to full-time writing and usually write a rough draft of the book over the course of three to four months. Then, I will spend an additional one to two years editing, reflecting, and resuming research in case unanswered questions emerged out of the writing process. I do not share my work with anyone before that final point; I need to feel completely satisfied with the authenticity before I can bear for anyone to see it, and that satisfaction is hard to come by.GRAVANO: How do you deal with writer's block or moments when the writing process feels challenging?GRAMES: I have never experienced writer's block, maybe because my process spends proportionally little time on the actual writing part. If I ever feel like I'm struggling to write something, that's a sign to me that I shouldn't be writing it, and I stop and move to another point. Usually, I do not come back to the things I abandon; some things just don't work, and that's ok. You have to try them to know.GRAVANO: How do you choose which historical elements to include in your novels and decide when to take creative liberties?GRAMES: I wish I could answer this question, but it's also a mystery to me.GRAVANO: What role does your Italian heritage play in your creative process?GRAMES: It's everywhere, in expected and unexpected ways. I have struggled over this question for a long time, trying to figure out how to quantify the influence of my Italian heritage while also acknowledging that my approach to what I feel is my Italian identity is not universal. Can I pin my preoccupation with the preservation of tradition or my tendency to stubbornly obsess over a single story on my Italian heritage? What about my focus on food and culinary literacy as a gate to human experience? What about my hundred-year-old grudges and stubbornness about doing things my way and tendency to belabor the morbid? What about my fascination with elderly interlocutors? Are any of these things not a product of my Italian heritage?GRAVANO: How do you approach character development, particularly in creating characters that feel authentic to their cultural background?GRAMES: Characters need to be individual human beings drawn from the granular specificity of their experience. You have to know every tiny thing about them before you start writing. If you don't, you're not creating characters; you're creating stereotypes.GRAVANO: Can you give us any hints about the themes or settings of your upcoming third novel?GRAMES: It will involve the stories of Great War soldiers and Italian violin-making.GRAVANO: How do you envision your third book building on or diverging from the themes of your first two novels?GRAMES: So far, everything I've written has grown out of everything else. What I want to say next is very much part of the continuum of what I've tried to say already.GRAVANO: How has your writing evolved from your first novel to your second one, and what lessons have you learned from your previous works that you're applying to your current projects?GRAMES: I hope my writing has evolved and will continue to evolve. The lesson I relearn every day is that the work itself must always be met with reverence and awe and love.