Many of us have our favorite cookbooks, complete with dog-eared, sauce-stained pages. But cookbooks can be more than just a source of recipes; lavishly illustrated cookbooks transport us to faraway places. Classic cookbooks serve as cultural artifacts of their time and place, and cookbooks with stories may engross us as much as novels do. James Buzard takes us back to nineteenth-century England and a Victorian classic, _Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management_; Doris Witt talks about early African American cookbooks and Verta Mae Grosvenor's _Vibration Cooking_; and cookbook reviewer Sukey Howard talks about contemporary cookbooks and what they offer in addition to recipes.
Well-suited to Thanksgiving.
Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
More from Modern Language Association
What's the Word? Passing
(00:29:00)
From: Modern Language Association
An exploration of writers and characters of mixed race
What's the Word? Trujillo
(00:29:00)
From: Modern Language Association
Three novels that explore Trujillo's influence on life in the Dominican Republic and in the diaspora
What's the Word? The African Novel
(00:29:00)
From: Modern Language Association
An exploration of the African novel
What's the Word? Religion and the State
(00:29:00)
From: Modern Language Association
Three writers whose work explores the intersection of religion and the state
What's the Word? "Voices from the Ojibwe Nation"
(00:29:00)
From: Modern Language Association
Three members of Ojibwe communities, which reach from Michigan to Montana in the United States and from Quebec to Saskatchewan in Canada, share their rich literary history.
What's the Word? "American Indian and Alaska-Native Tribal Traditions"
(00:29:10)
From: Modern Language Association
A celebration of American Indian and Alaska-Native tribal traditions
What's the Word? Seeing 9/11
(00:28:58)
From: Modern Language Association
Three representations of the events of September 11th.
What's the Word? Shakespeare after 9/11
(00:28:58)
From: Modern Language Association
A look at how the events of September 11th changed the way we read Shakespeare's plays about politics and leadership.
What's the Word? Mystical Poets
(00:29:00)
From: Modern Language Association
How do those who have experienced the direct presence of God capture this heightened state in words?
What's the Word? Poetry for Children
(00:29:00)
From: Modern Language Association
The poetry we hear—and create—as children teaches us about the power of words.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Many of us have our favorite cookbooks, complete with dog-eared, sauce-stained pages. But cookbooks can be more than just a source of recipes; lavishly illustrated cookbooks transport us to faraway places. Classic cookbooks serve as cultural artifacts of their time and place, and cookbooks with stories may engross us as much as novels do. James Buzard takes us back to nineteenth-century England and a Victorian classic, _Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management_; Doris Witt talks about early African American cookbooks and Verta Mae Grosvenor's _Vibration Cooking_; and cookbook reviewer Sukey Howard talks about contemporary cookbooks and what they offer in addition to recipes. Well-suited to Thanksgiving. Fifteen- and thirty-second promos available.
2 Comments
|
Review of What's the Word? Cookbooks as LiteratureThis is a busy half-hour, and somehow, I wanted less someone trying to feed my ear and more just letting the material speak for itself. Not to say that what's here isn't good -- but it is proof that a little knowledge is, indeed, a dangerous thing. The leap to recherche without stopping along the way to acknowledge those who made the whole idea of food palatable -- Julia Child, for instance, or MFK Fisher -- is distressing. More to the point, what's with all this talk about food with nothing really being said about taste? This is a C2 program: half the carbs, half the syrup, half the stuff that makes the subject of food and cooking worthwhile. |
Related Website
Of 16 purchasers of this piece...
- 12 also bought:
What's the Word? Literary Feasts (00:30:01) - 7 also bought:
The Moth Radio Hour 303 (00:53:57) - 7 also bought:
- 6 also bought:
Moth Radio Hour 302 (00:54:01) - 6 also bought:
Moth Radio Hour 301 (00:54:01)
Geo Beach
Posted on November 28, 2004 at 01:20 PM | Permalink
Review of What's the Word? Cookbooks as Literature
"(With apologies to Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish), The two most important things in life are missing from public radio," I offered. "Food and love."
Two years later, food is finding its way into the public radio recipe. Stamberg's January 2004 food series and Davia Nelson & Nikki Silva's new "Hidden Kitchen" series, both on Morning Edition, have helped set the table.
Here's another ingredient to put into the mix. "Cookbooks as Literature" surveys cookbooks across time, culture, and style -- from Victorian England to African American cooking to the modern potpourri of recipe as story. The program is neither cook-by-numbers nor book review, but jumps from belly to brain and back again. And that's fine for public radio listeners, who are perfectly adept at eating your words.
I especially appreciated the insights into NPR cultural correspondent Verta Mae Grosvenor's transformational writing in Vibration Cooking. The production ably employs a variety of voices to convey straight text, so the presentation is more conversational than didactic and doesn't drag.
Unless you plan to hold your tongue until next November, don't put off this program as mere Thanksgiving fare. The tentpoles of public radio listening are planted firmly in the mess tent, and listeners are eating breakfast and dinner during much of the news. "Cookbooks as Literature" serves as a perfect dessert, digesting the places eyes, ears, and mouths connect.