Cornbread Nation 6: The Best of Southern Food Writing (Cornbread Nation Ser.)

"The hungrily awaited sixth volume in the Cornbread Nation series tells the story of the American South--circa now--through the prism of its food and the people who grow, make, serve, and eat it. The modern South serves up a groaning board of international cuisines virtually unknown to previous generations of Southerners, notes Brett Anderson in his introduction. Southern food, like the increasingly globalized South, shows an open and cosmopolitan attitude toward ethnic diversity. But fully appreciating Southern food still requires fluency with the region's history, warts and all. The essays, memoirs, poetry, and profiles in this book are informed by that fluency, revealing topics and people traditional as well as avant garde, down home as well as urbane. The book is organized into six chapters: "Menu Items" shares ruminations on iconic dishes; "Messing with Mother Nature" looks at the relationship between food and the natural environment; "Southern Characters" profiles an eclectic mix of food notables; "Southern Drinkways" distills libations, hard and soft; "Identity in Motion" examines change in the Southern food world; and "The Global South" leaves readers with some final thoughts on the cross-cultural influences wafting from the Southern kitchen. Gathered here are enough prominent food writers to muster the liveliest of dinner parties: Molly O'Neill, Calvin Trillin, Michael Pollan, Kim Severson, Martha Foose, Jessica Harris, Bill Addison, Matt and Ted Lee, and Lolis Eric Elie, among others. Two classic pieces--Frederick Douglass's account of the sustenance of slaves and Edward Behr's 1995 profile of Cajun cook Eula Mae Dore--are included. A photo essay on the Collins Oyster Company family of Louisiana rounds out Cornbread Nation 6. Published in association with the Southern Foodways Alliance at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi. A Friends Fund Publication"--"Edited by Brett Anderson, the food critic at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Cornbread Nation 6 collects the best in southern food writing from the previous two years, with a few classic or rediscovered pieces included. The essays are organized in six chapters: "Menu Items," which is the first and longest section; "Messing with Mother Nature," which looks at the relationship between food and the environment; "Southern Characters," which includes personality pieces; "Southern Drinkways"; "Identity in Motion," which examines change in the southern food world; and "The Global South," which includes some essays that came out of last year's SFA symposium. Anderson collects a who's who of food writing--nationally prominent names like Molly O'Neill, Calvin Trillin, Michael Pollan, Kim Severson and Martha Foose to SFA perennials John T. Edge, Jessica Harris, Bill Addison, Matt & Ted Lee and Lolis Eric Elie. Two classic pieces include Frederic Douglass' "Blood-Bought Luxuries," written in the 1830s and reprinted last year in Lapham's Quarterly, and Edward Behr's profile of Eula Mae Dore, who died in 2008. Notable essays include Paul Greenberg's "Reconsidering the Oyster"; "Wendell Berry's Wisdom" by Michael Pollan; "Home Grown" (about Chef Sean Brock) by Jane Black; "I Was a Texas Rib Ranger" by Brett Martin; Besha Rodell's "An Open Letter to Kim Severson"; Calvin Trillin's "No Daily Specials"; and "Putting Food on the Family" by Jack Hitt. The book includes one photo essay by David Grunfeld documenting the Collins Oyster Family"--… (more)