Acknowledgments

ellisislandpoem.com was first published in 2009, temporarily disappeared after the passing of its author, Robert Viscusi, in 2020, and was recovered and redesigned in 2025 by Stefano Morello. This recovery was inspired by Martino Marazzi and supported by James J. Periconi.

The original design of ellisislandpoem.com, accessible here, was created by Wythe Marschall, with PHP coding by Scott Dexter.

Special thanks to Victoria Viscusi, Bordighera Press, Suklima Roy, and Scott Dexter for their contributions to this recovery project.

Publication Timeline

Ellis Island was first published in toto, in 52 books, accompanied by the four prefatory notes reproduced on this website, in a limited-edition typescript version in 2008 (perfect bound, 624 pages, 8 ½” by 11”). The first four books of Ellis Island were later published by Ad Plures (Brooklyn, NY) in 2009. A bilingual edition of books 1-12, translated into Italian by Sandro Sardella, was released in three volumes from 2010 to 2012 by abrigliasciolta (Varese, Italy).

The first widely distributed fifty-two-book printed edition was published by Bordighera Press (New York, NY) in 2013. This edition does not include the aforementioned prefatory notes but features supplemental materials: “afterwords,” “thirty extra hours make a year*” and “A Letter to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.”

Selected Critical Bibliography

Caravetta, Peter. 2021. "Robert Viscusi's Ellis Island and the Sense of History." This Hope Sustains the Scholar: Essays in Tribute to the Work of Robert Viscusi, edited by Siân Gibby, Joseph Sciorra, and Anthony Julian Tamburri. Bordighera Press, 43–60.
Marazzi, Martino. 2022. "Reading Robert Viscusi." Through the Periscope: Changing Culture, Italian America. SUNY Press, 129–140.
Verducci, Erica. 2020. "Ellis Island, Il 'libro dei mutamenti.'" Polisemie 1: 23–46.