Co-sponsored by the Center for European Studies, Department of French and Italian, Italian Club at University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Italian Cultural Institute and Italian Consulate in Chicago
With Prof. Grazia Menechella. Q&A to follow.
Free and open to all
Amir Issaa is an Egyptian-Italian Hip-hop Artist, Writer, and Educator. Issaa’s “Potere alle Parole-Vivo per Questo / Power to the Words-This is What I Live For” US Tour 2025 includes a visit to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During his visit to campus, Amir Issaa will give one public talk (in English), meet with students, and hold workshops “Potere alle parole / Power to the Words” (in Italian) in several Italian language classes, benefitting beginning, intermediate and advanced students of Italian language and culture at the UW-Madison.
Born and raised in Rome, Amir is the son of an Egyptian immigrant father and an Italian mother. In his music and in his writings, Amir focuses on the immigrant experience and issues of citizenship, racism, and identity. Amir is a hip-hop artist, a writer, and educator. He holds writing workshops in schools (from elementary to college level) in Italy and around the world. He is among the founders of the legendary Rome Zoo, a group made of Rome’s hip hop artists. His own experiences during a difficult childhood inspire Amir to help other kids improve their own situation. Alongside his activity as a hip-hop artist, Amir collaborates with several non-profit associations like Save the Children, Centro Astalli, the Community of Sant’Egidio, and UNAR. Amir has presented his work at institutions such as Georgetown University, Ohio State University, Dartmouth College, University of Vermont, University of Rhode Island, Mount Holyoke College, San Diego State University, Chapman University, and University of San Diego, Ritsumeikan University in Osaka, and the University of Liège. In June 2017, Amir published his autobiography Vivo per questo (Chiarelettere). The bilingual English-Italian edition of Amir Issaa’s book Vivo per questo, entitled This is What I Live For: An Afro-Italian Hip-Hop Memoir, edited by Clarissa Clò (San Diego University Press, 2023), is the winner of the MLA Lois Roth Award for a Translation, and the winner of the 51st International Flaiano Award for Italian Studies “Luca Attanasio” in 2024.
