And we wondered how much longer this would continue, and how much more we were able to tolerate. Those two characters were never written in the scenes those two actors were never given roles on the stage. So, we talked about how both of our identities-Gay and Italian American-never appeared throughout our years of formal education. However, during his undergraduate years at Columbia University, Joseph's Italian American identity was very much present when his fellow classmates typically stereotyped him as an ignorant blue-collar, working class guido from Bensonhurst, with his family in the mafia, who did not deserve acceptance to an Ivy League institution. Joseph's response was filled with the same disappointment and anger because he, too, realized the absence of Gay Italian American identities and voices in the curriculum during his own studies in psychology and social work. That was the conversation that started the idea for this collection of personal essays from a diverse group of Gay Italian American men. Immediately, Michael found copies of those two books, and that evening, he explained to Joseph his frustration about the double marginalization of Gay Italian American literature. Then disappointment and anger erased the excitement when he realized that Gay Italian American identities and voices were not represented in literature, especially Italian American literature and Queer literature. The only two books! At first, Michael was excited with his discovery. While conducting his research, Michael stumbled upon two books of gay Italian American writings. The impetus for this book derived from Michael's thesis on the marginalization of Italian American literature for his master's degree in English.