Maria Laurino

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Maria Laurino (born April 24, 1959) is an American journalist, essayist, and memoirist.

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and education

Maria Laurino, a third generation Italian-American, grew up in northern New Jersey. She graduated from Georgetown University in 1981 and received her graduate degree in English Literature from New York University in 1983.

[edit] Career

Laurino began her career as a journalist at the Village Voice in 1983, where she covered local and state politics and social issues, such as New York's exploding housing market and the resulting surge in its homeless population. In 1989 Laurino left the Village Voice to become the Chief Speechwriter for New York City Mayor David N. Dinkins, serving until the end of his term in 1993. After leaving government, Laurino returned to freelance journalism, writing for numerous publications, including The New York Times; and her essays have been widely anthologized, including in the Norton Reader. Her first memoir, Were You Always an Italian?, (W.W. Norton, 2000) a national bestseller, explored the issue of ethnic identity among Italian-Americans. David Chase, the creator of the television series The Sopranos, called Laurino's book "completely original and informative"; Laurino subsequently co-wrote an episode of the television show with Michael Imperioli. Her forthcoming memoir, Old World Daughter, New World Mother, (W.W. Norton, October 2008) examines the pull and tug the author experienced between Old World traditions that value familial dependence and a New World feminism that prizes female autonomy.