About The Publisher
Big smiles for Maria (left) and Lou Ellyn (right)
at The Print Shop in Houghton, Michigan.
Polenta Publishing is a small independent publishing company located in the heart of San Francisco. We are within walking distance to North Beach, an area also known as Little Italy.
It is the mission of Polenta Publishing to preserve tales of Italian immigrants coming to America during the 20th century. We are not accepting unsolicited query letters, submissions or proposals at this time.
Our address:
Polenta Publishing
P.O. Box 954
Glen Ellen, CA 96442
Contact Us:
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Do you have a personal story regarding
Gelsomina or Caesar Lucchesi you would like to share with us?
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Lou Ellyn Helman is a busy housewife and grandmother who has always been interested in writing, reading and editing. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, with a B. S. in Education and a minor in English. Throughout the years, family members have encouraged her to write a book. Now, much to her surprise, she has! Maria Matson provided the research and information concerning the Lucchesi Family; Lou organized and transposed the facts into a story. She loved working with Maria. She also enjoyed the challenge of breathing life into Gelsomina and interjecting emotion and feeling into impersonal listings of dates and data. She and her husband, Ron, enjoy living on beautiful Portage Lake in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Maria Vezzetti Matson is Gelsomina’s granddaughter and grew up in South Range, Michigan. She recalls hearing her grandmother and family repeat stories of the Lucchesi history during the “olden days.” Maria wishes she had listened better and taken notes. However, it is with pride that she has completed the research and writing for Gelsomina’s Story. Maria is a graduate of Northland College, Ashland, Wisconsin and holds a master’s degree in education from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. She is a retired educator and resides with her husband, David, in San Francisco, CA.
This is Lou Ellyn and Maria's first book together;
a wonderful experience for both of them.