Before Pier Giorgio Di Cicco was made Poet Laureate of Toronto (2004-2007), he was instrumental in the establishment of Italian-Canadian literature as a phenomenon in Canadian culture. He achieved this through his own impressive list of publications such as The Tough Romance (1979) and Virgin Science (1986). The essays in this volume examine Di Cicco's publications in this pluralistic social context. The contributors include Linda Hutcheon, Mary di Michele, George Elliott Clarke, Domenic Beneventi, Licia Canton, Joshua Lovelace, Stacey Gibson, Jim Zucchero, Clea McDougall and Joseph Pivato.