Perfect Italian
From award-winning author Kiki Petrosino comes a poignant exploration of identity, heritage and belonging for readers of Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong, Slow Lightning by Eduardo C. Corral and Seamus Heaney’s North
Through vivid imagery and spare, precise verse, Kiki Petrosino’s Perfect Italian examines the complexities of cultural inheritance, the nuances of language, and the emotional weight of diasporic identity as a Black and Italian American. The collection weaves personal memories with ancestral echoes, reflecting on themes of family, grief, and the search for connection across generations and geographies. From the sensory experiences of travel in Italy to the tension of navigating dual identities, Petrosino’s work captures the beauty and struggle of self-discovery. Her language creates a rich tapestry of emotions and landscapes, offering a profound meditation on the intersections of race, culture, and belonging.
Perfect Italian is the third and final installment in Petrosino’s series on heritage and identity. Previous books in the collection, also published by Sarabande, include White Blood (2020) and Bright (2022)
Kiki Petrosino is the author of several poetry collections which include Perfect Italian (2026) White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia (2020), Witch Wife (2017), Hymn for the Black Terrific (2013), and Fort Red Border (2009), and the memoir Bright (2022) all published by Sarabande Books. She holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop. She is a Professor of Poetry at the University of Virginia where she teaches in the MFA and undergraduate Creative Writing programs. Petrosino is the recipient of a DeWitt Wallace/Readers Digest fellowship from MacDowell artist residency, a Pushcart Prize, a Fellowship in Creative Writing from the National Endowment for the Arts, the UNT Rilke Prize, & the Spalding Prize, among other honors. Petrosino is based in Charlottesville, VA.
