A poetic tarantella of the heart. Walk, tremble and fall in the Matriamia, cry for connection from alleyways up to open windows. Expose your heart. Know what it is to feel "like an errant puzzle piece... never to be found, never to be put into place."

A New Yorker learns to walk on Sanpietrini, connects with gay community in the Matriamia, finds living cousins by hanging out in the village cemetery, talks to a Saint who sees ecstasy in stirring fava beans, learns of the Duchess who bit off the saint's finger, argues with Pulcinella, envisions the epic journey of a painting of La Madonna through four seas to get from Constantinople to Acquaviva delle Fonti, sells wind to sailors, avoids draughts, tangos Sciroccazzo, builds a bridge of hearts and asks the question from Pompeii to COVID 19: "What position do you want to be in for l'eternità?"

“In 1975 at the bequest of my grandfather I made a trip to the ancestral home of my family, the town of Acquaviva delle Fonti in Puglia, Italy. In four words, it changed my life. Jump cut to over 40 years later and I happen to meet Annie Lanzillotto, a gifted writer, director and renaissance woman who shares this same ancestral home as I. Read this book and you’ll understand why I cherish my friendship with this woman.” Joe Mantegna

“Lanzillotto is a mesmerist who gifts us with a sumptuous word feast worthy of a great poet. This tale about ancestors, spiritual renewal and a region of Italy that is both ancient and magical, enfolds you like a mother. Lanzillotto is a master storyteller who will charm you as easily as her female progenitors wove spells and created legends that still captivate today.” Marianne Leone, author Jesse and Ma Speaks Up

"Lanzillotto is a cultural force that should be ensconced in Italian American academic and cultural spaces. Observer, listener, recorder, and channeler of voices and stories, Annie is a literary anthropologist, an epic memoirist, a fabulist of intimate moments that would fade into oblivion were she not there to catch them in her fists and slowly release them." Edvige Giunta, from the Foreword to Whaddyacall the Wind?

“Annie Lanzillotto’s poems are a dream state in real time, sung in two tongues, from one heart, where “three winds form the source.” She is one of our most gifted storytellers, relentless in her pursuit to “shred language and break lines / until meaning comes.” We need her audaciousness and her genuine, wise voice in these uncertain times.” Tim Z. Hernandez, American Book Award Winner, Author of All They Will Call You

"Passionate and lyrical prose. An intimate experience with matrilineal Italian tradition, and a warm and meaningful time with a dear friend that we all so desperately need. Both prophet and angel, Annie Lanzillotto is one of the greatest and most dedicated teachers and mentors you'll ever encounter." Erica Cardwell, author of Wrong is not my Name