Biografia
Nat Scammacca nato a Brooklyn nel 1924, ha partecipato alla seconda guerra mondiale come ufficiale pilota in Cina, India e Birmania insieme al fratello gemello Saverio, volando sull’Himalaya. Alla fine della guerra, decise di scoprire le sue origini siciliane e dopo brevi soggiorni a Parigi e Barcellona, studiò l’Italiano presso l’Università per Stranieri di Perugia. Nel 1965 si stabilì in Sicilia per rimanerci. Vive a Trapani con la moglie Nina e le figlie sposate Glenn e Arleen e con i nipoti Elena e Nadir. È uno dei fondatori del Movimento Culturale di Poesia «L’Antigruppo», con Crescenzio Cane, Pietro Terminelli, Ignazio Apolloni, Gianni Diecidue, Franco Di Marco, Rolando Certa, Santo Cali,Carmelo Pirrera, Elvetio Petix, Ignazio Navarra, Nicola Di Maio, Ignazio Butera, Pietro Billeci, Enzo Bonventre, Giovanni Lombardo, Vincenzo Di Maria,Salvatore Salamone, Roberto Zito e altri.Dal 1967 cura la “Terza Pagina” del settimanale Trapani Nuova e insieme ad altri ha fondato le riviste: Anti, Antigrupppo Palermo, Impegno 70, tutte voci dell’ Antigruppo. È redattore della collana di poesie per la Coop. Editrice Antigruppo. Ha in atto diverse pubblicazioni (una completa bibliografia si trova nel volume di racconti Bye Bye America).Ha insegnato per lungo tempo inglese al British College di Palermo, ora è in pensione e riesce a tenersi felicemente occupato facendo niente.
BIOGRAPHY
Nat Scammacca was born in Brooklyn in 1924. He received his B.A. in literature and philosophy from Long Island University and his M.A. in education from New York University.
During World War II, he and his twin brother, Saverio, were commissioned officers in the United States Army Air Force, serving as pilots aver the Himalayas in the India-Burma-China theatre. Their many drop missions of vital supplies, troops, and intelligence personnel earned them a number of medals, including the Air Medal and the Bronze Star. Following the war, Nat traveled to Europe with brie fresidences in Paris and Barcellona and eventually decided to seek out his origins in Italy; there he studied Italian at the University of Perugia and was graduated. Afterwards, he returned to N ew York far a brief period, earning his living as a soci al worker far the Italian Board ofGuardians. He then went back to Sicily to stay.Deeply affected by the disparities of life in the land of his forefathers, Nat with other Sicilian poets conceived of the Antigruppo -a group against groups, against the fascisti, the mafia, the privileged establishment which in his view collaborates to suppress the common man and his essential creative force. Now, as editor of the voice of he Antigruppo, the “Third Page” of the regional weekly newspaper “Trapani Nuova”, he is the acknowledged leader of the movement, and has been responsible far generating a remarkable series of populist poetry events and publishing milestones, expressions of the literary-artistic magnificence that survives and is nurtured in the three-pointed isle aver which the Scirocco alone has maintained continuous sway. He lived in Trapani with his wife, and their two children, Glenn and Arleen, and grandchildren, Elena and Nadir. He is currently retired from his position as professar of English at the British College in Palermo and now enjoys doing nothing.
