Alissandru Francesco "Alex" Caldiero (born 1949) is a poet, and

intermedia Intermedia is an art theory term coined in the mid-1960s by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the strategies of interdisciplinarity that occur within artworks existing between artistic genres. It was also used by John Brockman to refer to ...

Life

Caldiero was born in the ancient town of

Licodia Eubea Licodia Eubea () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, on the island of Sicily, southern Italy. It is bounded by the comuni of Caltagirone, Chiaramonte Gulfi, Giarratana, Grammichele, Mazzarrone, Mineo, Monterosso Alm ...

, near

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, in 1949. He immigrated to the United States at age nine and was raised in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York. He attended

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the New York City borough of Queens. Part of the City University of New York system, Queens College occupies an campus primarily located in Flushing. Queens College was established in 1937 and offe ...

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places Netherlands * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands United Kingdom * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, England ...

, New York, and was apprenticed to the sculptor Michael Lekakis and the poet-bard

Ignazio Buttitta Ignazio Buttitta (19 September 1899 – 5 April 1997) was an Italian poet who wrote predominantly in Sicilian. Biography Born in Bagheria, Italy into a merchant's family, after having taken part in World War I Buttitta joined the Italian Socia ...

. Caldiero has traveled through Sicily, Sardinia, Turkey, and Greece collecting proverbs, tales, and folk instruments. He is co-founder of

Arba Sicula Arba Sicula ( Sicilian: ''Sicilian Dawn'') is a not-for-profit international society whose main objective is the preservation and promotion of the Sicilian language and culture. Its administration is located in Mineola, New York. The majority of me ...

, the society for the preservation of the

Sicilian language Sicilian (, ; ) is a Romance languages, Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands. It belongs to the broader Extreme Southern Italian language group (in Italian ). ''Ethnologue'' (see #Ethnologue report ...

and traditions, and is the recipient of grants from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, Utah Performing Arts Tour, and the Best Poetry Award from the

Association for Mormon Letters Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

. Caldiero has lived in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

since 1980 with his wife and children - including

Isaac Caldiero Isaac Caldiero (born March 2, 1982) is an American athlete, former busboy, rock climber, and carpenter, who competed on ''American Ninja Warrior'' in seasons five, six, seven, and ten. He is best known for finishing all four stages of the Nationa ...

and Sara Caldiero - shortly after converting to

Mormonism Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationism, Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to va ...

, and is poet/

artist-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

Utah Valley University Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah, United States. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July ...

. His work has been reviewed by ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and he is included in ''A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes''.

Publications

Anthologies * ''Text-Sound Texts,''

Richard Kostelanetz Richard Cory Kostelanetz (born May 14, 1940) is an American artist, author, and critic. Birth and education Kostelanetz was born to Boris Kostelanetz and Ethel Cory and is the nephew of the conductor Andre Kostelanetz. He has a B.A. (1962) fr ...

, ed., Morrow, New York, 1980. pp. 412–417 Exhibitions * Performing the Book: Caldiero's "The Food that Fits the Hunger". Salt Lake Arts Center, Utah. 1995. * After the Tree Had Fallen: Recent works and collaborations. Alex Caldiero & Frank McIntyre. Limited edition catalog. Marshall Studios.2003.

Performances

Caldiero has performed at the Utah Arts Festival, several times on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

on the Poetry Bus Tour in 2006, at

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

for Social Research, the Pritchard Art Gallery, the Salt Lake Art Center,

, the Kiva Koffeehouse in the

Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument The Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument (GSENM) is a United States national monument protecting the Grand Staircase, the Kaiparowits Plateau, and the Canyons of the Escalante (Escalante River) in southern Utah. It was established in 19 ...

, and on Brazilian TV. His notable performance of

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

's "

Howl Howl most often refers to: * Howling, an animal vocalization in many canine species * "Howl" (poem), a 1956 poem by Allen Ginsberg Howl or The Howl may also refer to: Film * '' The Howl'', a 1970 Italian film * ''Howl'' (2010 film), a 2010 Am ...

" on the 50th anniversary its first reading drew a record poetry crowd at a local book store. Recently, Caldiero has performed together with various members of Theta Naught, an ensemble that describes their music as "psychodelicious music". Caldiero intones his poetry while the band plays.

Films and documentaries

* ''

Plan 10 from Outer Space ''Plan 10 from Outer Space'' is a 1994 low budget science fiction film starring Karen Black as Nehor and written and directed by Trent Harris. The film is a surreal satire of Mormon theology. The film has no connection to '' Plan 9 from Outer ...

'' (1994, directed by Trent Harris) * ''Chloes Blanket'' 1996, (directed by Lory Smith) * '' This Divided State'' 2005, (directed by Steven Greenstreet) * '' The Mormons Part I'' 2007 (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

documentary) * ''The Sonosopher: Alex Caldiero in Life...in Sound'' 2010, by

Torben Bernhard Torben Bernhard (born March 5, 1983) is an American documentary filmmaker and rap artist originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and currently residing in Orem, Utah. Bernhard has written and directed documentary films and has additionally worke ...

and Travis Low)

Audio/video

Videotapes

* ''Sandscycles'', meditation video (sound track/performance). With choreography and Earth Spirit Process by Maida Rust Withers. Produced by Verabel Cluff, 1992. * ''The Journey Two Steps Long'', language performance works. Produced by Brandon Kiggins, University of Utah, 1993. * ''Words: Exterior/Interior'', language acts. Produced by Steve W. Olpin. 1999.

Audio tapes / CDs

* ''Dream Tracts'', a transenvironmental performance. Audiotape. Produced by Scott Carrier, 1992. * ''Ensphered'', transenvironment1. Audiotape. Produced by Scott Carrier. 1993. * ''Illegible Tattoos'', words/voice/drum. CD. Produced and performed by Alex Caldiero. 1998. * ''Sphota Probe''. Sonosophical/text works. CD. Produced by Mike Collins. 1999. * ''Pieces in Places'': Transenvironmental performances. CD. 2002. * From ''Sound Mind'', acts of language. CD. 2003. * ''Sound Weave'', word-music album with music by Theta Nought. CD. Differential Records. 2006. * ''Na Lacrima'', audiofileNa Lacrima

References

External links

PRX

Poetry Month: 'Poetry is Wanted Here'

The Sonosopher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldiero, Alex 1949 births American male poets American poets Converts to Mormonism Italian emigrants to the United States Italian Latter Day Saints Latter Day Saint poets Living people Utah Valley University faculty Latter Day Saints from Utah