Heather Hartley, writer and editor, is the author of two poetry collections, Adult Swim and Knock Knock. She has presented writers at Shakespeare and Company Bookshop in Paris, and has taught creative writing at the American University of Paris and at the University of Texas MFA online program. She lives in Naples, Italy.

I Long to Kiss You: Napoli in the Time of Coronavirus

An Essay

by Heather Hartley

I’m American but for the past eighteen years, I’ve lived in two continental cultures that take their kisses very seriously. Les bises in French and i baci in Italian are a vital part of the rituals of meeting and greeting people, a way not only to acknowledge the occasion but to honor both the moment and the person on the other side of the kiss.

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