Delirious Naples

<p>This book is addressed to "lovers of paradoxes" and we have done our utmost to assemble a stellar cast of Neapolitan and American scholars intellectuals and artists/writers who are strong and open-minded enough to wrestle with and illuminate the paradoxes through which Naples presents itself. Naples is a mysterious metropolis. Difficult to understand it is an enigma to outsiders and also to the Neapolitans themselves. Its very impenetrableness is what makes it so deliriously and irresistibly attractive. The essays attempt to give some hints to the answer of the enigma without parsing it into neat scholastic formulas. In doing this the book will be an important means of opening Naples to students scholars and members of the community at large who are engaged in "identity-work." A primary goal has been to establish a dialogue with leading Neapolitan intellectuals and artists and ultimately ensure that the "deliriously Neapolitan" dance continues.</p>