My name is Luciana Ruzzier. I am a proud Italian-American who grew up in the greater Hartford area! I am currently a Broadcast Journalism student at Quinnipiac University. I have worked with Q30, the campus TV station for several semesters in many forms. I am co-director of the Q30 news website and also a member of the QuadNews staff.
Preserving a Heritage 
Matriarch Is Versed In Expressing the Wisdoms Of Family Ancestry — Debut Publication Inspires Readers To Recount And Share Valuable Traditions
“Matriarch ~ A Journey Through Tradition” (Work Smarter Now, $24.20) will be released on April 24, 2011. An Italian-American woman residing in central New Jersey, Suzann Brucato has created a photo journal as a tribute to motherhood, family, and heritage. Work Smarter Now has published this full-length collection of poems where Mrs. Brucato conveys the importance of family traditions as a contribution to ensuing generations.
Originally from a culturally-rich Italian neighborhood in Union City, New Jersey, Mrs. Brucato was raised in a home where parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles embraced the Italian language. Her home and community experiences bestowed a deep-rooted understanding of traditions through family, faith, foods, and celebrations. At a young age, Suzann had the opportunity to travel to Florence, Venice, Rome, and Naples where she connected with extended family. Distance from her grandparents in her early teens deepened her appreciation of culture and customs.
Mrs. Brucato does not consider herself a poet, but rather a daughter, wife, mother, sister, friend, teacher, gardener, and an American woman from a rich Italian heritage. “When I became pregnant with my son, I began seeing relationships differently, especially my role in my family. At first, I attempted to create a family tree, hoping it would help me see the bigger picture.” Losing her grandmother soon after her son was born increased her need to understand the importance of traditions in sustaining family connectedness.
This collection of poems and photographs provides a depiction of the journey of a woman in the eyes of a child, spouse, parent, and grandparent. “For Suzann, family is a quilt tied together by foods and celebrations that live and grow from year to year,” says Rosalie Bennett, a New Jersey artist.
Suzann’s home was filled with heirlooms from family in the United States and Europe, including crocheted tablecloths, cross-stitched doilies, quilted blankets, and handmade ornaments, each having unique stories Suzann has shared with her children. But a fire in her home destroyed them all; except for the dining room table that was a wedding gift from her mother’s mother. Suzann emphasized, “This table brought together many festive meals in our dining room, provided a place for Easter breads to rise, and held countless holiday cookies to cool. Like the home that had held it, it too has been rebuilt and is now our dinner table where every evening we eat dinner as a family and celebrate home.”
Suzann M. Brucato was born in Union City and moved to Fords, New Jersey where she lived until she was married in 1990. She attended Rutgers University and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Montclair State University where she graduated cum laude. She and her husband Paul celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in 2010 and have two children, John and Maria. With many years as a corporate business analyst and consultant, Suzann became a small business owner in 2003. In addition to enjoying writing and painting, Suzann is a gardener and finds comfort in playing in the dirt. Suzann has published in many small press journals and anthologies, with “Matriarch ~ A Journey Through Tradition” her first published full collection. The publication date represents the anniversary of her grandparent’s marriage, April 24, 1937.
MATRIARCH ~ A JOURNEY THROUGH TRADITION
Author: Suzann M. Brucato
ISBN: 978-0-615-47832-6 | Library of Congress Control Number: 2011927566
Paperback, 66 pp, 8.25 x 10.75 in
Printed in the United States. Publication Date: April 24, 2011
List: Print Format – $24.20; Digital Format – $14.29 – Available at http://www.MagCloud.com
Web: http://www.MatriarchJourney.com | Email: TheFaceOfPoetry@mindspring.com
PUBLICIST
Work Smarter Now, LLC.
Post Office Box 534, Lincroft NJ 07738
http://www.WorkSmarterNow.com
Phone: 732.747.3422
Email: WorkSmarterNow@mindspring.com