Books That Cook: The Making of a Literary Meal (Hardback or Cased Book)

Goldthwaite, Melissa

ISBN 10: 1479830216 / ISBN 13: 9781479830213

Published by New York University Press 8/1/2014, 2014

About this Item

Books That Cook: The Making of a Literary Meal.

Seller Inventory # BBS-9781479830213

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Books That Cook: The Making of a Literary Meal (Hardback or Cased Book)
• Publisher: New York University Press 8/1/2014
• Publication Date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1479830216
• ISBN 13: 9781479830213
• Binding: Hardback or Cased Book
• Condition: New
• Weight: 1.38 pounds
• Book Type: Book

About this title

Synopsis

Whether a five-star chef or beginning home cook, any gourmand knows that recipes are far more than a set of instructions on how to make a dish. They are culture-keepers as well as culture-makers, both recording memories and fostering new ones.





Organized like a cookbook, Books That Cook: The Making of a Literary Meal is a collection of American literature written on the theme of food: from an invocation to a final toast, from starters to desserts. All food literatures are indebted to the form and purpose of cookbooks, and each section begins with an excerpt from an influential American cookbook, progressing chronologically from the late 1700s through the present day, including such favorites as American Cookery, the Joy of Cooking, and Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The literary works within each section are an extension of these cookbooks, while the cookbook excerpts in turn become pieces of literature—forms of storytelling and memory-making all their own.





Each section offers a delectable assortment of poetry, prose, and essays, and the selections all include at least one tempting recipe to entice readers to cook this book. Including writing from such notables as Maya Angelou, James Beard, Alice B. Toklas, Sherman Alexie, Nora Ephron, M.F.K. Fisher, and Alice Waters, among many others, Books That Cook reveals the range of ways authors incorporate recipes—whether the recipe flavors the story or the story serves to add spice to the recipe. Books That Cook is a collection to serve students and teachers of food studies as well as any epicure who enjoys a good meal alongside a good book.

About the Author

Jennifer Cognard-Black is Professor of English at St. Mary's College of Maryland. She is the author or co-editor of six books and has produced two lecture series with The Great Courses ("Becoming a Great Essayist" and "Great American Short Stories") as well as an Audible Original, "Books that Cook: Food and Fiction." A two-time Fulbright Scholar to Slovenia and the Netherlands, Cognard-Black is also the recipient of numerous writing and teaching awards, including the Cherry Award for Great Teaching at Baylor University, considered the "Nobel Prize for teachers."