PELOSI, Olimpia 1957-

PERSONAL:

Born August 27, 1957, in Serino, Italy; daughter of Carmine (an engineer) and Filomena (a teacher; maiden name, Verderame) Pelosi; married David M. Billmeyer (a biologist), September 1, 1994; children: Stanley Murphey. Ethnicity: "White." Education: University of Salerno, Ph.D. (Italian language and literature), 1978, Ph.D. (foreign modern languages), 1981; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ph.D. (Romance languages), 1990. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Roman Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Painting.

ADDRESSES:

Home—6079 East Old State Rd., Schenectady, NY 12303. Office—Department of Language, Literature, and Cultures, State University of New York at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12222. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

State University of New York at Albany, associate professor of Italian language and literature, 1990—.

MEMBER:

Modern Language Association of America, American Association of Teachers of Italian, AISS, AISLLI.

WRITINGS:

Cinque saggi sul Polifilo, Edisud (Naples, Italy), 1987.

Satiroa barocca e teoriche sul genere dal cinque all'ottocento (criticism), Federico & Ardia (Naples, Italy), 1991.

Teseo e l'anima errante (criticism), Federico & Ardia (Naples, Italy), 1996.

Dal mio lato dell'ombra (poems; title means "On My Side of the Shadow"), Ibiskos (Florence, Italy), 2000.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

A book of poems, with English translation; collecting material for a novel.

SIDELIGHTS:

Olimpia Pelosi told CA: "I write because it is the only way I have to be completely happy and at peace with myself. There are two sides to my writing: the academic one, in which I have been more prolific until now, and the creative one, which I cherish the most in my heart. My academic writing is influenced by critical curiosity and intellectual challenges; my creative work is influenced by my feelings and emotions. My work is inspired by life, memories, dreams, the beautiful Italian and American landscapes that I love, and the intense desire to 'save' some dazzling or sad moments I have experienced."