by Devonne Tourre, Managing Editor of Design
Photo provided by Susquehanna University
Everyone faces distress in their lives, while everyone has their own way of coping. With Anthony Zitta, he only needs these three things: a new Red Letter Media video, an old Kanye West tune and to write about his life experiences—for better or for worse.
Anthony Zitta, named after his grandfather and great-grandfather of the same name, was born to Maureen and Randall in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. His older brother, Adam Zitta, was ecstatic to have a brother: “We grew up in a small neighborhood where there were not many children. This helped strengthen the bond between us, and we ended up developing many of the same interests and hobbies.”
Adam recalls not actually being able to call Tony “Tony” as kids—“Tony was our grandfather.” Nowadays, Tony appreciates being called by his shortened name, as he doesn’t like being called Anthony.
Nowadays, everyone calls him either Tony or by his last name, Zitta—the students in his Senior Seminar class, his fellow writers at the Writer’s Institute where he works as an Academic Assistant, and his wife, Sarah. A writer, Tony graduated from Susquehanna University with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing with a film minor in the fall of 2014.
In a camper in New Jersey, Adam remembers cowering with his brother when there was a severe weather warning. With heavy rains and heavy winds making them both nervous, Adam and Tony cowered together, as brothers. However, it was their dad, Randall, who swooped in to comfort them both—telling them both the storm would soon pass. However, neither knew that their father would soon be that storm in their lives.
“Middle school was my journey into medicine,” Tony said as he and Adam watched his father being carried out of their Allentown home one morning before school. This being a turning point for him, he described this point in his life as distracting. And as he stepped into high school, he realized: “oh f*ck, he’s dying.”
“Our mom went to hug my brother. I can’t remember her exact words, but she informed my brother (and all of us) that our father would be dying soon,” Adam said as he described them sitting in a parking garage that was connected to the hospital one morning. “This caused my brother to make a noise that I will never forget. It was a wail that echoed through that cave-like garage. I believe he was caught off guard by this development.” Their father would go on to die later that evening, the car ride back home filled with sadness. They would never find the cause of the father’s death exactly, as his underlying illness was unknown.
At age 19, no one could imagine what Tony was going through. None of his classmates around him had experienced such a dramatic change in their lives, so he felt very alone during this time. Tony loved when his father was around, and his brother agreed: “There are hundreds of these moments ending with our dad looking forward to reminiscing in the future.”
The storm would roll into Tony’s first week arriving to Susquehanna University, the death still being fresh on his mind. During his sophomore year was when Zitta found out his mom had cancer. Professor Silas Dent Zobal remembers this time since he had to drop one of his classes at the time.
“[The class] literally interfered with taking his mom to chemotherapy,” Silas mentioned. “And yet, he was always very mature and practical about the whole situation.” Silas had always admired the way that Tony treated the situation of his mother dying, calling the then boy “bright, hardworking, and thoughtful”—traits that he even sees being demonstrated in the present day as he works as an academic assistant, a job that he started back in Spring of 2021 and absolutely loves doing.
“I essentially help keep the Creative Writing program afloat,” Tony describes his job at the Writer’s Institute as he focuses on the behind-the-scenes work that the program needs. Zitta organizes events such as the Senior Reading and Creative Writing Day, as well as manages any communications made by the Institute.
“We love talking about the things we’re doing with our lives,” Sarah recounts how she and Tony spend time together. They had met at Southern Lehigh High School, and eventually journeyed to Susquehanna University together. They wed in 2020, living happily near Susquehanna University with their dog Yocco, who they both enjoy playing with their dog.
Sarah and Adam both recognize how much Tony loves to eat. Whenever he and Sarah go out to eat, she never feels like she can keep up with him. Adam and Tony loved their Baba’s cooking, with their favorite dish being pork and dumplings. When they decided to make their own version, they’d be gone in five minutes. His favorite dish now is anything potatoes, comparing himself to Bubba of potatoes: “French fried, mashed, roasted, boiled…”
If Tony isn’t spending time with his family or playing video games, he’s reflecting on his life and writing about it.
Tony describes his writing style as writing a “what-if” scenario. What if his life, or anyone’s life, went a little bit differently? Whether a story be about becoming a basketball player or going to the movies with a girl, Tony always kept one thing consistent about his writing—using his parents as a backdrop alongside the main plot of his stories. Tony compared them to ghosts, as they tend to creep into his stories often. Subconsciously, he cares about them deeply and doesn’t want to ever forget about them.
“Writing is a reflection on life experiences,” Tony ends on. He suggests for new writers to write with the voice that they have and to keep writing. As someone who doesn’t believe in writer’s block, he says to “trust the revision process, write through it, and let it happen.”