Lettura e autorialità delle emigrate italiane. Il caso del settimanale newyorkese Divagando

The Italian-language, New York-based weekly Divagando (1943-1963) shows clear evidence of the new role of immigrant women in a full-fledged consumer (and soon postwar) society. A family magazine addressed to all members of the Italian ethnic community, and with a strong grassroot Catholic leaning, Divagando opted from its beginnings for a rather unprecedented opening to contributions from women writers in a broad range of journalistic and literary capacities, presenting side by side typical columns of ‘household’ interest, tear-jerking serialized novels and sentimental novellas, oftentimes by well-known Italian female authors (Matilde Serao, Milli Dandolo, Ada Negri, Mura, Leda Rafanelli, Liala, etc.). At the same time, its last page consistently published bilingual letters from its women readers scattered all around the U.S., commenting and criticizing its editorial choices in lively participatory terms. But the female readership clearly resulted at the center of interest of the (mostly male) editorial team also in a variety of other ways, as shown by the unavoidable presence of vivacious advertising campaigns, and – during its first years – by a strong appeal to the mothers of faraway soldiers and more in general to the involvement of women in the war efforts. The study presents a number of notable instances of such a diversified and meaningful presence, drawing on a heretofore overlooked material of literary, socio-historical, and – in the publishing sense – ‘human’ interest.