Fred L GardapheFred L. Gardaphe is Distinguished Professor of English and Italian American Studies at Queens College/CUNY and the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute. After writing the "Introduction" to the Signet Classics reprint edition of Christ in Concrte (1993) he devoted much of his career to teaching, writing, and lecturing on di Donato's work, as well as other American writers of Italian descent. His books include Italian Signs, American Streets: The Evolution of Italian American Narrative, Dagoes Read: Tradition and the Italian/American Writer, Moustache Pete is Dead!, Leaving Little Italy, and From Wiseguys to Wise Men: Masculinities and the Italian American Gangster. His latest study on humor and irony in Italian American Culture, will be published by Penn State University Press Read More Read Less