Giovanna Capone is a poet, fiction writer, and playwright. She was raised in an Italian American neighborhood in Mount Vernon, New York, whose strong Neapolitan influence still resonates in her life.
Her work has appeared widely in various publications. Some of these include Curaggia: Writing by Women of Italian Descent, Bless Me Father: Stories of Catholic Childhood, Unsettling America: An Anthology of Contemporary Multicultural Poetry, Avanti Popolo: Italian-American Writers Sail Beyond Columbus, Queer View Mirror 2: Lesbian & Gay Short Short Fiction, What I Want From You: An Anthology of East Bay Lesbian Poets, and Fuori: Essays by Italian/American Lesbians and Gays. Giovanna’s first play, Her Kiss, was produced and performed to sold-out audiences in San Francisco by Luna Sea Women's Performance Project, in their first Dyke Drama Festival, summer, 1999. She also co-edited Hey Paesan! Writing by Lesbians & Gay Men of Italian Descent with Tommi Avicolli Mecca and Denise Nico Leto. Most recently Giovanna edited the collection Words on Fire! An Anthology of Teen Voices * (Wordrunner Press) as part of her master’s degree for Library and Information Science at San Jose State University. Giovanna completed her M.L.I.S. in 2009. Giovanna lives in Oakland, where for many years she has taught poetry writing workshops to children and teens through California Poets in the Schools. She is also a mixed media collage artist and has exhibited her visual art in venues throughout the Bay Area. * The stunning art work on the cover of this teen anthology was created by Kristy Kilgore-Van Prooyen, a talented young artist who attended Mount Eden High School in Hayward, CA * * This web site's background is an Italian lace table cloth design from an actual table cloth handmade by Antoinette Capone, Giovanna's mother. It's one of her many beautifully crocheted designs. |
Education & Training
Bachelor of Arts, English Literature & Women’s Studies, from Cornell University , Ithaca, New York Graduated: The Women’s Writer’s Center, Cazenovia, New York, a one year program Conversational Italian: Berkeley City College, Berkeley , California Children’s Story Reader Training, Books for Wider Horizons, Oakland , CA San Jose State University, Masters in Library & Information Science, in San Jose, California |