New Book an Example of Umbra’s Contribution to Perugia
A newly-published anthology about Perugia seen through foreigners’ eyes has submissions from a number of Umbra students and professors.
With a trip to any local bookstore here in Perugia one can find quotes from famous travellers 
about Perugia and Umbria. Most of the citations are from seventeenth and eighteenth century luminaries, writers and philosophers who were all enchanted with the “green heart of Italy” and its capital city. Ironically, however, despite the existence of the University for Foreigners since 1921, there is no recent testimony about Perugia from its many “temporary citizens.”
Last year Umbra staff member Zach Nowak decided to remedy this gap in Perugia’s collective memory. Nowak’s publishing company, Green Door, set up a contest for an anthology that would show the city through the eyes of the city’s many “temporary citizens.” The resulting anthology, entitled “Within These Walls” and edited by Australian Alan Whykes (himself a former student in Perugia), has twenty-one pieces: short stories, essays, cabaret sketches, poems, and even watercolors. Among the submissions chosen for the anthology are short stories by two Umbra professors (Prof.s Cynthia Clough and Naoimh O’Connor) and former students Macy Weiser, Emily Stouffer, and Megan Sangster.
Within These Walls will be an ongoing project of Green Door Publishing, one which we hope will grow over the next several editions. The anthology demonstrates the contribution made not only by foreigners in general, but by the Umbra Institute in particular, to the cultural life of the city. The book is already in local bookstores but the official presentations will be next week on Tuesday, March 16th at 6pm at the Feltrinelli of Perugia, and on Wednesday at 9pm at Caffè Morlacchi. Two copies of the book are available in the Umbra Institute library, as well.