George De Stefano
George De Stefano is journalist, author, and critic who has written extensively on culture and politics. His work has appeared in such publications as The Nation, Film Comment, Newsday, Gay City News, The Advocate, Cineaste, In These Times, and The Italian American Review. He is also a contributor to the Web publications PopMatters, Rootsworld, The Examiner, and I-Italy.
Mr. De Stefano’s book An Offer We Can’t Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America (Faber and Faber, 2007) explores some of his longstanding preoccupations as a writer: cultural mythologies and their social impact; ethnic identity and stereotypes; popular culture, especially film; and how such social categories as race, class, sexuality, and gender interact in American society.
He has contributed essays to other books, including Our Naked Lives (Bordighera Press, 2013), The Essential Sopranos Reader (University of Kentucky Presses, 2011), and Mafia Movies: A Reader (University of Toronto, 2011). He is a contributor to The Routledge History of the Italian Americans (Routledge; 2017).
Mr. De Stefano also has written about the AIDS pandemic, Latin American literature, gay rights issues, Italian cinema, and music (Afro-Cuban, African, jazz, blues, and gospel, and “world music”). Mr. De Stefano is deeply interested in food—its cultural and social significance, production and distribution, and the critical importance of preserving biodiversity in agriculture. The Slow Food movement, which began in Italy as a protest against corporate “fast food,” fascinates and inspires him.
He is researching a new book about the history of Italians in New Orleans to be titled Gumbo Italiano: How the Sicilians Made New Orleans. He also is pursuing opportunities in feature writing, commentary, and cultural criticism. He is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, the Authors Guild, and the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors. He can be reached through his website.