In this reflective essay, Vinny Cusenza explores how modern political upheaval, racial reckoning, and shifting national consciousness inevitably shaped the writing of Blood and Soil—a story set decades earlier. Drawing on personal truth, research, and evolving cultural awareness, he examines how contemporary influences can sharpen, not distort, historical fiction.

In this reflective piece, author Vinny Cusenza revisits his childhood summers in Appalachia—where a city boy’s adventures led to unexpected lessons about belonging, history, and the overlooked people who called those mountains home.

Tony: On Being Italian - A look at Italian American history in Vinny Cusenza’s novel Blood and Soil, tracing immigrant struggles, prejudice, and identity in 20th-century America.