Memoir prompts

To get the juices flowing (so to speak) on your memoir assignment, here are some possible entry points:

1. Use the scene you began in class about a kitchen from your childhood 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. After "A Cook's Tour," "[t]hink about the last time food transported you" (10) and write about it.

4. 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?

5. Write about a longing for food that speaks to a bigger, deeper longing.

6. Write about an experience of giving up food--a particular kind of food, a particular amount, food in general--of denying yourself food.

7. Write about a time when you felt different because of the food you ate.

8. 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 and travel.

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!

Up and running!

Looking forward to seeing you this afternoon, everyone, and discussing the Jane Kramer piece from Secret Ingredients.

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 (like this one in yesterday's paper about pesticide use threatening a giant ant-eating tradition in Brazil) and you can access all 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.

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Welcome to English 208 at K-College

If you're reading this, you're more than likely registered for the brand spanking new sophomore seminar Food and Travel Writing at Kalamazoo College. Congratulations. You've made an excellent choice!