I want to thank you for a productive and enjoyable first week of workshops. I am thrilled at what you've accomplished individually and collectively; and I haven't even seen revisions yet!
As promised I also want to lay out what is due Tuesday in class:
1. A hard copy, double spaced and stapled, preferably in 12-point Times New Roman font, of your thoroughly revised memoir assignment. (You also need to post this on your blog so everyone can see how you put the workshop feedback to good use.)
2. Take a look at Jordan's blog sometime after 5 p.m. Sunday for his CYOA which he will present in class on Tuesday.
3. From Secret Ingredients, please read:
*The Secret Ingredient, 103
*Nor Censure Nor Disdain, 115
*An Attempt to Compile a Short History of the Buffalo Chicken Wing, 277
*Good Cooking, 121
4. Write a reading response, if you choose, to any/all of the assigned Secret Ingredients pieces.
5. Don't forget to keep up with those comments on others' blogs. . . .
And just a heads up: Clare will provide our CYOA for Thursday and your reading assignment due Thursday will also be from Secret Ingredients:
*All You Can Hold for Five Bucks, 3
*A Good Appetite, 30
*Is There a Crisis in French Cooking, 65
*Don't Eat Before You Read This, 83
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Memoir prompts, as promised
To get the juices flowing (so to speak) on your memoir assignment, here are some possible entry points:
1. Use one of the writing exercises from class and expand it to explore food, memory and one of your places of origin.
2. After "Stealing Buddha's Dinner," write about a food obsession of yours.
3. Write about a memory of your first time with a new food, a time when you experienced a completely new flavor. What effect did it have on you?
4. Write about a longing for food that speaks to a bigger, deeper longing.
5. Write about an experience of giving up food--a particular kind of food, a particular amount, food in general--of denying yourself food.
6. Write about "site-specific" food or things you've cooked in conjunction with other activities, perhaps inspired by Jane Kramer. Or write about food you have--or would--travel for, like Bourdain and French Laundry. "I like the idea of having to travel to experience a French Laundry meal. The journey is part of the experience--or was for me--an expression of the seriousness of one's intent . . . " (251).
These are just starting points to get you going. Feel free to write from any other place in the universe as long as it speaks to food, travel, and memory.
Whatever you write, keep an eye toward crafting scene, developing character and voice, using dialogue, allowing yourself to meander and wander into the recesses of your mind as well as inform the reader about things s/he may not be familiar with. And have fun!
1. Use one of the writing exercises from class and expand it to explore food, memory and one of your places of origin.
2. After "Stealing Buddha's Dinner," write about a food obsession of yours.
3. Write about a memory of your first time with a new food, a time when you experienced a completely new flavor. What effect did it have on you?
4. Write about a longing for food that speaks to a bigger, deeper longing.
5. Write about an experience of giving up food--a particular kind of food, a particular amount, food in general--of denying yourself food.
6. Write about "site-specific" food or things you've cooked in conjunction with other activities, perhaps inspired by Jane Kramer. Or write about food you have--or would--travel for, like Bourdain and French Laundry. "I like the idea of having to travel to experience a French Laundry meal. The journey is part of the experience--or was for me--an expression of the seriousness of one's intent . . . " (251).
These are just starting points to get you going. Feel free to write from any other place in the universe as long as it speaks to food, travel, and memory.
Whatever you write, keep an eye toward crafting scene, developing character and voice, using dialogue, allowing yourself to meander and wander into the recesses of your mind as well as inform the reader about things s/he may not be familiar with. And have fun!
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Choose Your Own Assignment Begins Tuesday!
Here are sites to get you started in your CYOA assignment:*Gourmet's favorite food sites
*Bon Appetit magazine online
*Food and Travel magazine online
*The New Yorker online has a terrific search function in which you can find even more recent food pieces than the ones collected in Secret Ingredients
*Every Wednesday, the New York Times has a Dining Section; and every Sunday they put out a Travel Section. There are various food and travel articles throughout the paper everyday and you can access many of the articles and blogs anytime online. It's worth spending some time on the site.
*This is a delightful radio show devoted to food
*there are, of course, cable networks devoted entirely to food and travel. Take a look here, here and here.
That should at least get you started. Don't at all feel limited to these particular sites in your hunt for your CYOA; my hope is that by bringing what you love to class, you'll expand our knowledge and resources. Also, make sure to present something to us that sustains good discussion. Showing a cooking show clip or a recipe, for example, likely won't get us anywhere. Also, make sure to find something that speaks to the marriage of food and place.
The lineup for CYOA presentations is:
Week 2
Tuesday: Mallika
Thursday: Marie
Week 3
Tuesday: Jordan D.
Thursday: Emma
Week 5
Tuesday: Jordan M.
Thursday: Clare
Week 6
Tuesday: McKenna
Thursday: Katherine
Week 8
Tuesday: Suyeon
Thursday: Colleen
Week 9
Tuesday: Sophie
Welcome to Food and Travel Writing!
If you're reading this, you're more than likely registered for the shared passages sophomore seminar Food and Travel Writing at Kalamazoo College. Congratulations. You've made an excellent choice!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)