Rocco Blasi

Born in Laurenzana (in the Italian boot's ankle), I came to America around Christmas 1953. After studying Italian, Latin and Greek for thirteen years, I found English a most illogical subject at De Paul University where I earned a BA before joining the US Army in 1958. The GI Bill helped me attain a Master's in '64 and my PhD in '74 at Loyola University while teaching English to American students at Wright College in Chicago. I retired forty years later (sixteen as English Department Head). Life is full of delicious ironies, don't you find?


I have edited scientific books, Italian-American magazines, written songs, poems, short stories, a play, and three novels. My Italian poems were published in 2017 by BCC and Le Ali di Frida. The father of five, I coached soccer teams, Boy Scouts, women's karateka, and yet enjoyed playing cards and coffee klatches with my Italian-German-, French-, and Spanish-speaking American friends. I am still trying to solve one New York Times Crossword Puzzle.