Professor Pasquale Verdicchio knows diversity having grown up Italian in North America. He also understands integration and the significance of being Italian American.
Born in Naples, Italy, Pasquale’s family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada when he was 14 years old. He discovered his newfound environment completely foreign, surrounded by lush forests, deep greens, and a language he didn’t know or understand. A stark contrast to the bustling city of Naples he knew and left behind.
Later, he transferred to the University of Victoria, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in marine biology and worked as a biologist for a few years. At age 24, he returned to Italy in search of employment as a biologist. After a year, without finding work, he returned to Vancouver and was offered an opportunity to pursue his Masters at the University of Alberta in Edmonton in romance languages having formed an interest in translating and writing.
Upon graduating, he returned to Italy again in 1983, and in Florence he began networking translating poetry from local poets. He attended the Italian Canadian Writers conference in Rome and cultivated several connections establishing a relationship with a publisher in Canada who published his first book of poetry later in 1985.
While in Florence, Pasquale applied to several universities and was accepted by UCLA in 1984, where he relocated and obtained his doctorate two years later. His timing was perfect because a temporary position vacated at UCSD and he was hired as lecturer and after completing his dissertation in 1986, climbed his way up the academic ladder and has since remained.
Since 1986, Pasquale has played a very active role in the San Diego Italian community by promoting, supporting, and preserving Italian American culture, arts, and heritage through initiatives e.g., Italian American Arts Foundation he co-founded along with Roberto Marino and served as its past president. He also had a crucial role in collecting historical photos of Little Italy in collaboration with the San Diego Historical Society that can been seen on the wall panels at the Italian Cultural Center. He also was the first to bring Italian movies to the House of Italy and co-founded the San Diego Italian Film Festival currently serving as its vice-president.
On his quest in bridging the community to the university, Pasquale states, “Part of my work in the community has been to demonstrate there is a connection, to fill in the gaps. People are reluctant to go to the universities,” reason why Pasquale has taken events to the community. “It would be nice to see a reciprocal interest from the community. Not for myself. Not to fund anything that I am doing, but it would be nice to see the community express an interest in maintaining an entity that says Italian culture at the universities. We have USD, SDSU, and UCSD. They represent different tiers of learning, research, and teaching. They are all important and they all should be supported. What we need from the community is support in terms of scholarships.”
Pasquale currently teaches writing, film, literature and cultural studies in the Department of Literature at UCSD. He is a successful author with over a hundred of published works ranging from translations, poems, reviews, criticism and photography published in journals and books. His most recent poetry collection is This Nothing’s Place which was awarded the Bressani Literary Prize in 2010.
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