With Your Words in My Hands tells a story of love and migration through epistolary correspondence, exploring the emotional impact of separation and the ways in which love, frustration, fear, sadness, and empathy shaped immigrant experience. It highlights the enduring power of written communication in shaping our understanding of distance and proximity.

Format: Hardback
Length: 336 pages
Publication date: 07 April 2021
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press

Following Antonietta and Loris's First Kiss in the Shadows of the Italian Alps

Just a year after the end of the Second World War, Antonietta and Loris's first kiss took place in the shadows of the Italian Alps. However, their love was soon tested by a distance that would prove insurmountable. Antonietta's family decided to move to Montreal, Canada, creating a vast geographical divide between them. The two hundred kilometers separating Ampezzo, Italy, from Venice, Italy, seemed insignificant compared to the vast ocean that lay between Montreal and Venice. Despite the distance, Antonietta and Loris remained steadfast in their love for each other and continued to write to each other regularly. Their letters became a lifeline that kept their connection alive across the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

Migration Enters the Couple's Intimate Worlds

Migration entered the couple's intimate worlds, stretching the distance between them in unimaginable ways. Antonietta's family's move to Montreal meant that they were now living in a new country, surrounded by unfamiliar customs and languages. Loris, on the other hand, remained in Italy, struggling to cope with the loss of his beloved Antonietta. The letters they exchanged became a means of expressing their emotions and maintaining their connection, even though they were physically separated by thousands of miles. The letters were filled with longing, frustration, and the hope of reuniting one day. They shared their dreams, fears, and hopes, knowing that their love was the one constant that could sustain them through the challenges of migration.

A Rare Complete Epistolary Record of an Immigrant Experience

Sonia Cancian's book, "With Your Words in My Hands," presents a rare and complete epistolary record of an immigrant experience defined by love and sustained in writing. Cancian has meticulously translated the letters, capturing the immediacy of emotion and longing that they embody. She provides context to these exchanges, dating back to the beginning of the largest migration movement from Italy to Canada, and shows how love, frustration, fear, sadness, and empathy were palpable elements that inflected the quotidian aspects of immigrant experience. The letters reveal the struggles and triumphs of individuals who left their homes in search of a better life, and the ways in which they navigated the challenges of assimilation and integration into a new culture. Cancian's translation brings these letters to life, allowing readers to experience the depth of emotion and the power of language in conveying the complexities of the immigrant experience.

Reconfiguring Distance and Proximity

For countless couples whose love is fragmented by separation but woven together with envelopes and stamps, or onscreen in today's instant messaging, these letters remind us how the experience of distance and proximity, absence and presence, can be reconfigured within the world of intimate correspondence. The letters serve as a testament to the enduring power of love and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. They remind us that even when we are physically apart, our hearts can remain connected through the written word. The letters also offer a glimpse into the personal lives of the individuals who wrote them, providing a window into their hopes, dreams, and fears. Through these letters, we gain a deeper understanding of the immigrant experience and the ways in which it has shaped our world.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780228005520