By Brianna Holcomb
Special to The Chronicle

She walked into a barbershop and told the barber that she wanted a mustache. He smiled at her and said, “I can do that.” The barber then proceeded to cut her hair into a short boy cut and placed the fallen strands from her head into a bag. “Come back in a week to pick up the ’stache,” the barber told her as she left the shop.

The woman behind this mustache is Annie Lanzillotto, a poet, singer and performance artist. On Wednesday she graced the stage of Hofstra’s Spiegel Theater.

The Italian-American writer gave insight into her book “L is for Lion: An Italian Bronx Butch Freedom Memoir” as well as her book of poetry called “Schistsong.” The reading also gave insight into Lanzillotto’s personal history. She shared humorous anecdotes and intimate tales that shaped her life.

Lanzillotto commanded the stage, engaging everyone in the audience from the students to the faculty members as she read excerpts. She encouraged the audience to join in on the Italian fish market cry that she remembered from her childhood. With some very poor Italian accents and a few giggles, the audience complied with smiles on their faces. It occurred to me that she was able to encourage everyone to smile no matter where she went.

Before starting, Lanzillotto asked everyone to keep a pen and paper nearby in case “inspiration hit them.” Several students reached into their bags pulling out notebooks and pens. As she spoke, pens and pencils met paper remembering family get-togethers and “grandma stories,” as Lanzillotto liked to call them.  Her stage presence was entertaining to say the least, as Italian words rolled off her tongue with ease.

Her memoir featured events from her life, specifically those relating to growing up as a lesbian in an Italian family. She also told stories of being a woman: “I wanted to keep the story close to my experience. What did I see? What did I hear? What did I feel?” said Lanzillotto.

Listening to the words of her memoir, it was easy to see that she held those moments near and dear to her heart.

Lanzillotto read an excerpt from her book, titled “Never Come Out in a Lincoln Continental.” As she read the title a few giggles erupted, including some from myself, as well as a few quizzical looks. As she read the story it was clear what the chapter was about. She was telling the story of how she came out to her older brother, who was once a soldier in the Vietnam War, in his Lincoln Continental. Lanzillotto talked about how she was never close to her brother after the war and here he was, asking to take her out. She described getting into his car and the doors locking all around her. As he started to speed off, he told her that he knew what she was and he didn’t want any of her friends around him or his kids. She described the heartbroken feeling that arose within her as she sat in that car.

After reading the excerpt Lanzillotto went on to talk about her relationship with her family and how being a lesbian affected that relationship. To this day, her family does not speak to her and she fears for her life, which led to her cutting off connections with her brother.

Stanislao Pugliese, a professor of modern European history at Hofstra, also gave insight into his life as an Italian. He told the audience that by coming out and writing a book about it, Lanzillotto had broken the trust and bonds of her family, leaving her shunned. Several Italian-American students nodded their heads, seemingly understanding the mentality. One student even gave testimony to the unspoken rule, telling a story about his grandmother cutting off communication with an uncle due to a falling out.

Lanzillotto felt it was necessary for her to tell her story, remembering the death of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers freshman that committed suicide.

“I stay alive by writing and singing… We have to advocate for our own survival, whether it be [by] study abroad or medicine,” said Lanzillotto.