John DarrettaAs a professor of Literature and Communication Arts, John Lawrence Darretta has researched, written, and taught the origins and meanings of symbolic allegory in both literary and visual arts. He is a poet blessed with the gift of "seeing" beyond physcal appearances into abstract meanings of the "deep down things," as defined by Gerard Manley Hopkins.A former metropolitan New York college professor and Communication Arts Department chairperson, he holds a PhD in Literature from Fordham University (New York). As a Fulbright Professor to Italy, he taught at universities in Milan and Turin. Darretta also studied at the Museo Nazionale del Cinema (Turin), and the American Film Institute (Los Angeles, California). Writing credits include contributions to books on American literature and Italian cinema, as well as authoring Vittorio De Sica (G. K. Hall) and Before the Sun Has Set: Retribution in the Fiction of Flannery O'Connor (Peter Lang Publishing). Darretta's poetry has appeared in America Magazine, Penwood Review, Journal of Pastoral Counseling, Haiku Journal, and other venues. Nature's Wheel, a poetry collection, was published by Kelsay Books. Read More Read Less