{{Short description|American poet (1949–2026)}} {{More citations needed|biography|date=February 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}} thumb|Alex Caldiero performing '''Alissandru Francesco''' "'''Alex'''" '''Caldiero''' (1949 – 9 February 2026) was an Italian-born American poet,{{Clarify span|text=polyartist, sonosopher, and scholar of humanities|explain=What are those?|date=January 2023}} and intermedia.

==Life and career== Caldiero was born in the ancient town of Licodia Eubea, near Catania, Sicily, in 1949. He immigrated to the United States at age nine and was raised in Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York. He attended Queens College in Flushing, New York, and was apprenticed to the sculptor Michael Lekakis and the poet-bard Ignazio Buttitta. Caldiero has traveled through Sicily, Sardinia, Turkey, and Greece collecting proverbs, tales, and folk instruments. He was co-founder of Arba Sicula, the society for the preservation of the Sicilian language and traditions, and is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Utah Performing Arts Tour, and the Best Poetry Award from the Association for Mormon Letters.

Caldiero lived in Utah from 1980 with his wife and children, including Isaac Caldiero and Sara Caldiero, shortly after converting to Mormonism,<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/mormons/themes/whyiam.html#caldiero "Why I Am Mormon"] by Alex Caldiero, ''The Mormons'', PBS, 30 April 2007</ref> and was poet/artist-in-residence at Utah Valley University.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121021132318/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705268648/Poets-reading-elicits-laughs-and-scoffs-from-UVU-crowd.html "Poet's reading elicits laughs and scoffs from UVU crowd"], ''Deseret News'', 7 December 2008</ref> His work has been reviewed by ''The Village Voice'' and ''The New York Times'' and he is included in ''A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Richard Kostelanetz|author2=H. R. Brittain|title=A Dictionary of the Avant-gardes|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2001|page=104|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZX85xdr6boC|isbn=9780415937641}}</ref>

Caldiero died on 9 February 2026, at the age of 76.<ref>[https://www.slugmag.com/community/the-art-and-life-of-alex-caldiero/ The Art and Life of Alex Caldiero]</ref>

==Publications== '''Anthologies''' * ''Text-Sound Texts,'' Richard Kostelanetz, ed., Morrow, New York, 1980. {{ISBN|0-688-03616-3}} pp.&nbsp;412–417 '''Exhibitions''' * Performing the Book: Caldiero's "The Food that Fits the Hunger". Salt Lake Arts Center, Utah. 1995.<ref>[http://research.uvsc.edu/abbott/Publications/Performing%20the%20Book%20Alex%20Caldiero.htm Publications. Performing the Book] {{Dead link|date=October 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> * After the Tree Had Fallen: Recent works and collaborations. Alex Caldiero & Frank McIntyre. Limited edition catalog. Marshall Studios.2003.<ref>Dave Gagon. (21 September 2003). [https://web.archive.org/web/20040825003813/http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510055430,00.html Exhibit is delightfully intriguing] ''Deseret News'' </ref><ref>[http://research.uvsc.edu/abbott/Publications/Afterthetreehadfallen.htm Publications. After the Tree Had Fallen] {{Dead link|date=October 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Performances== Caldiero performed at the Utah Arts Festival, several times on National Public Radio<ref>[https://hearingvoices.com/stories.php?fID=45&fidType=producer "Stories: Alex Caldiero – Wordshakers"] ''Hearing Voices'', Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1 April 2006</ref><ref>[https://www.npr.org/2004/04/27/1853243/hearing-voices-poet-writer-performance-artist "Hearing Voices: Poet, Writer, Performance Artist"], ''Day to Day'', NPR, 27 April 2004</ref> on the Poetry Bus Tour in 2006, at The New School for Social Research, the Pritchard Art Gallery, the Salt Lake Art Center, Utah Valley University, the Kiva Koffeehouse in the Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument, and on Brazilian TV.

His notable performance of Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" on the 50th anniversary its first reading drew a record poetry crowd at a local book store.

Caldiero later performed together with various members of Theta Naught,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/wickenden/405129071/|title=Alex Caldiero with Theta Naught|date=26 February 2007|via=Flickr}}</ref> an ensemble that describes their music as "psychodelicious music". Caldiero intoned his poetry while the band played.

==Films and documentaries== * ''Plan 10 from Outer Space'' (1994, directed by Trent Harris) * ''Chloes Blanket'' 1996, (directed by Lory Smith) * ''This Divided State'' 2005, (directed by Steven Greenstreet) * ''The Mormons Part I'' 2007 (PBS documentary) * ''The Sonosopher: Alex Caldiero in Life...in Sound'' 2010, by Torben Bernhard and Travis Low)

==Audio/video== ===Videotapes=== * ''Sandscycles'', meditation video (soundtrack/performance). With choreography and Earth Spirit Process by Maida Rust Withers. Produced by Verabel Cluff, 1992. * ''The Journey Two Steps Long'', language performance works. Produced by Brandon Kiggins, University of Utah, 1993. * ''Words: Exterior/Interior'', language acts. Produced by Steve W. Olpin. 1999.

===Audio tapes / CDs=== * ''Dream Tracts'', a transenvironmental performance. Audiotape. Produced by Scott Carrier, 1992. * ''Ensphered'', transenvironment1. Audiotape. Produced by Scott Carrier. 1993. * ''Illegible Tattoos'', words/voice/drum. CD. Produced and performed by Alex Caldiero. 1998. * ''Sphota Probe''. Sonosophical/text works. CD. Produced by Mike Collins. 1999. * ''Pieces in Places'': Transenvironmental performances. CD. 2002. * From ''Sound Mind'', acts of language. CD. 2003. * ''Sound Weave'', word-music album with music by Theta Naught. CD. Differential Records. 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scenepointblank.com/reviews/985|title=Theta Naught & Alex Caldiero – Sound Weave &#124; Review &#124; Scene Point Blank}}</ref> * ''Na Lacrima'', audiofile<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111004070359/http://www.csssstrinakria.org/Nalacrima.mp3 Na Lacrima] </ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.prx.org/pieces/3845 PRX] * [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4579360 Poetry Month: 'Poetry is Wanted Here'] * [https://thesonosopher.blogspot.com/ The Sonosopher]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldiero, Alex}} Category:1949 births Category:2026 deaths Category:American male poets Category:20th-century American poets Category:Converts to Mormonism Category:Italian emigrants to the United States Category:Italian Latter Day Saints Category:Latter Day Saint poets Category:Utah Valley University faculty Category:Latter Day Saints from Utah Category:21st-century American poets