An interview with Frank P. Riga about his first book,
Beppo – A Calabrian Tale.
I am interviewing my ‘late in life’ friend and most
interesting person. Frank P. Riga. He is a retired college English professor,
who waited until he retired to tackle his first novel. To say Frank is an avid
reader is an understatement. He has been a passionate reader all his life. What
inspired him to finally write a book of his own? I hope this interview will
give some insight into that question.
With his second book half written and his eye on a possible third book, I
think it is safe to assume writing has become his late in life passion. Frank, like many of his generation, is not on
Facebook or Social media. I’m sharing this interview, to share his story. Feel
free to comment and share. Here is a link to Frank’s Author page on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Frank-P.-Riga/e/B001KI7GLM/
https://www.amazon.com/Frank-P.-Riga/e/B001KI7GLM/
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Q. Tell us a little about yourself Frank.
A. I was born in
Buffalo, New York to Italian parents who emigrated from Calabria. Now retired, I taught in the English
Department of Canisius College where I also directed the Graduate Scholarship
Office. My area of specialty was
nineteenth century British literature, but I also taught courses in Shakespeare
and children’s literature. My articles
appear in several scholarly journals and include essays on Shakespeare, C. S.
Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Jean Rhys, Giuseppe Lampedusa, and others. My library reference book, The Index to the London Magazine,
appeared in 1977. A few of my poems and
short fictions have been published in several periodicals and collections. I am particularly pleased with my articles on
Christmas traditions, which include Santa Claus, La Befana, the Magi, and the
creche.
Q. You have recently
published the novel, ‘Beppo, A Calabrian Tale’. It is available in both print and digital
format. What is it about?
A. In brief, my novel
is the story of Beppo Cordiale who was born in a small village in the
Aspromonte in Calabria. The year is
1901, and Beppo plans changes that would improve the lives of his fellow
villagers. His efforts are thwarted by a
greedy and ruthless adversary who falsely accuses him of attempted murder and
has him convicted during a corrupt trial.
Escaping prison, Beppo meets with Giuseppe Musolino, the famous
Calabrian bandit and vendettist, and discovers the difference between vendetta
revenge and justice. Further
complications force him and his new wife, Rose, to emigrate to America.
Q. Have you always
had the urge to create a story, or did the desire come late in life?
A. It began it when I was two or three months shy
of my eightieth birthday. I made an attempt in my early twenties to write an
academic satire, and when I finished it, I put it away somewhere and haven’t
looked at it since. During my long life,
I did publish some short pieces, but Beppo
is my first novel.
Q. What inspired you to tackle the daunting task of writing a novel?
A. Beppo was inspired
indirectly. Reading a biography of
Giuseppe Musolino, the Calabrian vendettist, triggered memories, some vague and
others clear, of growing up in a more or less traditional Calabrian
family. Beppo then found his way into my
writing. I began with the intention of
writing a fictive biography of Musolino, but after a few pages of composition, my
true subject took over. I wanted to
celebrate the place in Italy of my parent’s origin and to counteract the notion
that Italians are all inspired by Mafiosi.
I think The Godfather is a
very fine book, for example, but Italians are too much associated with that
kind of life. To write a fictive
biography of Musolino would have reinforced that stereotype.
Q. Did you discard Musolino entirely to avoid the Mafia
stereotype?
A. I kept Musolino in
the novel as a contrast to Beppo. As I
wrote, I made continuous references to Musolino, who appears in the novel at
one point, and to Renzo Tramaglino, the hero of Manzoni’s great novel I Promessi Sposi. These allusions center my novel’s principal
theme, the search for justice in a world where justice is hard to come by. Both Renzo and Musolino are unjustly
condemned in a system of justice corrupted by powerful, selfish interests. My Beppo, too, is unjustly convicted of a
crime, but he refuses the vendetta and waits for the courts to exonerate him. He then must suffer the consequences of his
decision.
Q. Do you write more
by logic or intuition, or some combination of the two?
A. Having done some writing in scholarship and criticism
before my late attempt at fiction, I should be guilty of careful preparation
and extensive research in the writing of Beppo. That’s not what happened. After discarding the Musolino temptation,
which, I think, would have required more logical preparation than intuition, I
found that I had a story arc and a good feel for the characters I should
develop. Some incidents came with the
narrative outline but not where they’d fit in.
As I began writing, the unfolding narrative determined the direction I
would take, but a sense of reasonable control was always alive in my mind. Curiously, if Beppo is a historic fiction, history came with the territory. In the writing, it was incidental—necessary
to the time and place, but of secondary concern for the characters and their
story. As a writer of fiction, then, I
would say my intuition was guided by my reason and emotions.
Q. Who is your
favorite among your characters?
A. I really don’t have a favorite character in Beppo. The hero is an honorable man,
perhaps a bit innocent, and I love Rose, his soon-to-be wife. Ciccio embodies the best of friendship. Their interaction within the warmth and
concern of the Cordiale home creates, I hope, a moving ensemble that draws the
affection of the reader.
Q. What scenes did you enjoy writing the most?
A. There are a number
of scenes that I thought worked well. My
selection may give away too much, if not of the novel, then of the writer. If I had to choose, I’d say my favorite
scenes deal with love making and food.
Q. Having read Beppo’s story, I would have to agree. The
love making and food scenes were both tastefully done. What age group would you recommend this book
to?
A. I wrote Beppo
as an adult for adults. I didn’t intend
to scandalize or shock my readers, although the love scenes may be too frank
for some and the scenes of violence too graphic. In these instances, I wanted to give
sufficient detail to enhance the episode, but not so much as to invite
voyeurism.
Q. What was the most difficult part of the writing
process? How did you resolve this
problem?
A. The funniest part
of the writing process for me was the writing itself. Perhaps a better phrase would be ‘the oddest
part.’ When I sat down to write, I
sometimes hadn’t any idea of where I was to go.
Yet invariably, the scene or incident would present itself. There was one curious thing that I think
happens to many people. I would
occasionally go to bed with some unresolved narrative difficulty. When I woke in the morning, the solution was
in my mind—usually something simple.
It’s strange, but once involved in the process of writing, the mind
doesn’t seem to want to let go, even in sleep.
Q. Do you take time off when you finish a book or do you get
right back at it?
A. When I completed Beppo, I thought I’d rest a while, let
my imagination wander a bit. I had some
idea for a second Beppo volume, but I didn’t think I was in hurry to begin
it. The rest period turned out to be
brief. As my imagination engaged the
second Beppo book, the images and story line demanded words on paper. I’m currently writing the second volume,
tentatively entitled, Beppo’s America: An
Immigrant Tale.
Q. What do you hope people will take with them, after
reading your story?
A. I hope people will
read Beppo for its evocation of
Calabria at the turn of the twentieth century, for its concentration on family,
friendship, and young love, and for the refusal of a good man to take up the
unjust ways of those who oppress him.
Thank you for your time Frank. I have read and reviewed
stories from many of my writer friends. If I can’t give a book at least three
stars, I don’t review it. I never pad a review. I just say what is in my heart.
My honest review of ‘Beppo – A Calabrian Tale’ was not allowed on Amazon
because of our friendship. I would like to include it here.
.
Beppo - A Calabrian Tale
★★★★★ from Joe P. Attanasio on April 8, 2017
.
The kind of story you think back on after reading, most
enjoyable.
.
This book transported me to a small farming town in southern
Italy just after the turn of the twentieth century. The living was simple by
today’s standards, but life was not easy. This romantic tale deals with ideals,
as well as revenge and justice. I found this a compelling read because of the
human aspect. The struggles presented in this story, combined with the ideology
of the protagonist, made for an enjoyable read. The ‘flavor’ of the times and
the people presented in this book showed considerable research and familiarity
with Italian customs by the author. I like a book that entertains and educates,
I was not disappointed.
