Snax On Line | Books, art, food, film, and travel

BEST OF FEAST 2010 - NONFICTION

2010-12-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

GIFT WRAP AN EXPERIENCE! Give a book this year at the holidays. Books inform, educate, entertain, encourage, and open doors to new ways of thinking, fresh ideas, and an expanded view of the world and its people. It is truly a gift that can continue to give long after the first reading of the last page. All year long, FEAST suggests books you might enjoy, share, pass along; books you might otherwise miss. This time of year we like to bring you the BEST of FEAST to consider for your gift list. Here, in our five categories, are some of this year’s favorite features!

Wishing you happy holidays and a new year filled with good reads! Watch for a new and exciting format in our next full issue—

Rosemary Carstens, Editor

# # #

IN THE PLACES OF THE SPIRITS, David Grant Noble with a foreword by N. Scott Momaday. SAR Press 2010. Noble has been a fine art photographer and writer for forty years. Beyond that he has been an explorer of history and a detective of the past. He has recorded and interpreted the finely honed messages portrayed by the land and the clues to be found there about the lives of its ancient peoples. The author has woven a magical tapestry of images and personal reflections interspersed with historical and anthropological detail. As he explains his fascination with this region: “The places we know can be infused with memory and spirit, and landscapes can have soul.” This beautiful book features 76 duotone plates and 5 additional photos focused on the Southwest’s most mysterious and compelling sites.

TEARS OF DARKNESS: The Story of the Bataan Death March and its Aftermath, Michael Norman and Elizabeth Norman. Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2009; paperback March 2010. What a story! This book is a very readable, astounding accomplishment based on ten years of research, thousands and thousands of travel miles, hundreds of interviews, and the support of numerous scholars and ordinary people to bring it to fruition. Most of us have heard about the Bataan Death March, of course, but the details set out here, often using quotes from among the 76,000 US and Filipino captive soldiers that were on the march, tear at the soul.

Don’t think for a moment that this is a one-sided presentation dolled up to make the US look good and Japan look savage. The Normans spent countless hours digging among Japanese archives and interviewing Japanese military survivors so they could include accounts both sides perhaps comprehend the enemy’s mindset. This book grips like a novel, probably because the authors used the story of one young Montana cowboy, Ben Steele, who survived the march and is one of the few from those days still living, as a vehicle for telling the story of thousands of others. As readers, we connect with Ben—the story becomes so much more than just facts and figures, a bunch of history dates, or military battle reports. Weaving personal recollections of specific people on each side of the conflict helps us to see these historic events through the lenses of individuals. As in all wars there were botched plans and ill-conceived communications, chaos, and personal egos and agendas influencing outcomes. This is the kind of quality journalism we should see more of in the publishing world and this book should be required reading in Washington.

STRENGTH IN WHAT REMAINS: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness, Tracy Kidder. Random House 2009. Tracy Kidder, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Award, and many other literary prizes, is a thorough professional and an engaging writer of nonfiction. He picks the hard topics and struggles to portray his subjects without bias, to tell their story instead of his—an exceptional quality in times when personal spin has gained greater acceptance in society. This is an astounding story of one survivor of genocide in the small African country of Berundia—against all odds and through providential events—who manages to escape the violence and come to the United States. The story of Deogratias (Thanks to God) puts an individual human face on events so massive, so brutal, as to be nearly incomprehensible. It is, indeed, a story of a people’s terror and loss, but it is also a story of regeneration and of hope that such stories can one day end.

EAARTH, Bill McKibben. Times 2010. McKibben packs a powerful punch. He discusses with considerable clarity how we have fatally transformed our planet’s environment through unsustainable practices deeply rooted in our dependency on oil, through an emphasis on corporate farming aimed at profit-right-now at all costs, and, particularly in the developed world, through an unceasing focus on bigger, more acquisitive lifestyles. His view, simplified, is that we are living on a fundamentally altered planet and we had better get ready to hunker down to a different way of thinking about and using our resources in order to survive both now and in the future. The first part of the book focuses on what might seem to some a “doomsday” discussion, but McKibben fills the second half of the book with examples of successful, hope-filled, viable means for holding back the tide of environmental changes that can only lead to our planet’s demise. Essential reading for anyone who wants a realistic picture of the effects of climate change and some proposals for what we, as individuals, can do to make a difference in our own spheres of influence.

STILL LIFE WITH OYSTERS AND LEMON, Mark Doty. Beacon Press 2001. This small book (only 70 pages) is a literary gem I plan to read and reread often. Doty weaves his experience of falling in love with a still life painting throughout a book that reveals his life and human loves, and he does it with truly lovely, elegant use of language, description, and imagery. I highly recommend this as a read to savor, rather like a perfect meal accompanied by just the right wine and companion. Perfect for the art lovers on your list!

RESILIENCE, by Elizabeth Edwards. Broadway Books 2010. I usually avoid “celebrity” books like I do cow paddies in a pasture—for all the symbolic reasons that simile evokes. But this book is deeply sincere and human as Edwards places herself right there in the mess of life along with the rest of us. She speaks candidly for the most part about her son’s tragic death, her terminal diagnosis, and even about her husband’s shocking infidelity. Nevertheless, addressing those issues is just one small part of this book that is aptly subtitled: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life’s Adversities. I think there’s something here for anyone to consider and I came away with an even deeper respect for this woman whose challenges would overwhelm most of us and would, as of this month, take her on her final journey way too soon.

A PEARL IN THE STORM: How I found my heart in the middle of the ocean, Tori Murden McClure. Collins 2009. Sometimes life is more exciting, more compelling, than anything a fiction writer could imagine. McClure’s story about how she became the first woman to row alone across an ocean grips like super glue and doesn’t let go until the last page. Adventurous physical challenges are not new to this woman—she was also one of the two first women to ski to the south pole. She is fit, athletic, smart as a whip, and was as prepared as any human could be when she set out in her 23-foot plywood boat with no motor or sail to row from the US northeaster coast to France in the worst hurricane season on record in the North Atlantic. Within days she lost all communications. Reading about her physical and emotional challenges is harrowing, her survival miraculous—you are in the boat with her every step of the way, struggling to breathe. An astounding adventure!

TRAVELING WITH POMEGRANATES: A Mother-Daughter Story, Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor. Viking 2009. This book about the power of travel to birth spiritual connections and inspire creativity is jointly written by this mother-daughter team, giving us a generational perspective on a series of events they experienced during travel to France and Greece over a period of years. Sue’s journey begins as she approaches her fiftieth birthday and begins to realize she is ending an era as a younger woman and entering a period of transition that will move her toward her eldest years. She finds herself seeking spiritual guidance through feminine symbols and icons, hoping for new directions in her work, greater understanding and closeness to her daughter, and a graceful entry into the next stage of her life. Ann’s journey is also a period of transition, one from loss and rejection that culminates in a search for the work she is meant to do. It’s an inspiring book, thoughtfully written. It provides a framework for seeking transitions and destinations for any woman who wants to enhance the meaningfulness of her years.

KOOK: What Surfing Taught Me About Love, Life, and Catching the Perfect Wave, Peter Heller. Free Press 2010. I love a book that is part travel adventure, part learning about someone taking on physical challenges in unexpected ways. At an age when most people are settling for quieter sports, acclaimed author Peter Heller gets sucked up into the undertow of learning to surf, coming face-to-face with the ocean’s seductive beauty and endangered existence. Some men buy red sports cars and sport twenty-somethings on their arms when they enter their middle years, but Heller resolves to throw himself whole heartedly into a six-month effort to go from beginner—“kook”—to mastering a big-hollow wave as he and his girlfriend explore the surfer’s life from southern California and down along the coasts of Baja and mainland Mexico. Along the way he finds, often to his surprise, that not everything in his relationships with surf, sea, and girlfriend is controllable, that at times he must simply hope to survive until he can breathe freely again. A great adventure that made me wish I wasn’t far past the age to take up surfing!

THE BREAD OF ANGELS: A Journey to Love and Faith, Stephanie Saldaña. Doubleday 2010. Stephanie Saldaña, who now lives and teaches in Jerusalem, spent years traveling the world, partly to escape what she thought of as a “cursed” family history and partly because she was inevitably drawn to see new landscapes and immerse herself in alternative cultures, especially those of the Middle East. As a poet, Saldaña found herself attracted to the language and poetry of the Arab-speaking world. In 2004, a Fulbright fellowship took her to Damascus for a year to study the prophet Jesus. She arrived as the United States was solidly boots on the ground in Iraq and the streets of Damascus were filled with Iraqi refugees, while anti-American rhetoric abounded.

Saldaña truly seeks to understand how Islam and Christianity intersect and the source of faith; she questions the purpose of her own life and religious beliefs’ place in it. As her friend Frédéric expresses it, “I think that the thirst for something greater than us is human, not Christian . . . I searched for the meaning of my life for many years, but eventually I always hit a wall. But then I felt something on the other side of that wall . . . I guess I call that space God.”

One of the most interesting aspects of this book is its discussion about language. To some, Arabic is the language of romance and poetry, to others it evokes fear of violence. Although I’ve never heard English described as a romantic or poetic language, for some in the world it certainly does evoke fear of violence and domination. In this volume, Saldaña struggles to not only learn the words and grammar of Arabic, but also the nuance, the emotional content. I particularly enjoyed her description of translation: “. . . there is a certain tragedy in translation: the sense of diluting what was once a powerful drink, of tearing a small plant from its roots and trying to place it in a soil and climate where it does not belong.”

In many ways, The Bread of Angels is about words, about stories. As Saldaña says, “We each meet the text— and who we are and the text together create a unique event. We change for it and it changes for us, the act of reading becoming an essential way of transforming ourselves. We can only bring to the text what is inside ourselves—even if the story is a story of death, if we contain life, we will find life.”

BEST OF FEAST 2010 - FICTION

2010-12-05T14:00:00.001-07:00

GIFT WRAP AN EXPERIENCE! Give a book this year at the holidays. Books inform, educate, entertain, encourage, and open doors to new ways of thinking, fresh ideas, and an expanded view of the world and its people. It is truly a gift that can continue to give long after the first reading of the last page. All year long, FEAST suggests books you might enjoy, share, pass along; books you might otherwise miss. This time of year we like to bring you the BEST of FEAST to consider for your gift list. Here are some of this year’s favorite features!

Wishing you happy holidays and a new year filled with good reads! Watch for a new and exciting format in our next full issue—

Rosemary Carstens, Editor

# # #

GIRL IN A BLUE DRESS, Gaynor Arnold. Crown Publishers 2008. Longlisted for the Orange Prize and the Man Booker Prize, this engaging historical novel was inspired by the life and marriage of Charles Dickens and presents a very believable and thought-provoking view of the most celebrated author in the Victorian world. This is his wife’s side of the story, an examination of what it is like to be the mate of someone famous, beloved, and absolutely captivating in public—a man who is much more complicated in private and much more fallible.

THE WILLOW FIELD, William Kittredge. Knopf 2006. William Kittredge’s epic first novel spans the twentieth century and uses the personal story of one cowboy and his family to discuss everything from settlers’ experiences and the plight of Native Americans and cowboys to gamblers, whores, and ordinary men and women. It’s the story of the old West told with grit, in plain language. Kittredge knows this Montana land he writes about—its dust has settled deep into his own skin and soul and he brings it to life for his readers.

ITALIAN SHOES, Henning Mankell. Translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson. The New Press, in English 2009. There is some fine writing coming out of Sweden, some fresh yet often universal perspectives. In this book, Frederik Welin, a man well past middle age, lives on a tiny Swedish island surrounded by ice three feet thick, alone except for his equally aged cat and dog. Each day, just to prove to himself that he is still alive, Frederik hacks through the ice to the sea and jumps naked into the frigid water. Haunted by memories of a terrible mistake in his past, one day a woman he abandoned forty years earlier appears suddenly on his island and the protection from the outside world he has so carefully assembled begins to crumble. Beautifully written and translated.

BENNY AND SHRIMP, Katarina Mazetti. Translated from Swedish by Sarah Death. Penguin 2009. A delightful small book with some big wisdom packed into it. Two lonely people meet in a cemetery and find themselves deeply attracted to one another. The author moves back and forth between the two points of view and deftly reveals the miscommunications and confusion of two good people from two different worlds, struggling to bridge them because of love and chemistry.

THE ELEVENTH MAN, Ivan Doig. Harcourt 2008. Doig, best known for This House of Sky and The Whistling Season, turns once again to his Montana homeground in this story about a group of boys who played football together at State University and became small-town heroes in an undefeated season. Then comes WWII and each joins up and is scattered across the globe to his own piece of the war, sees action, sees more death than anyone ought to, and struggles to make sense of it all. The backdrop of major battles in both Europe and the Pacific Basin makes for interesting reading about history, especially as contrasted with present-day fighting in the Middle East. It’s a powerful story about men, their women, their moral fiber, and their friendships with one another.

BAKING CAKES IN KIGALI, Gaile Parkin. Delacourt Press 2009. In Parkin’s debut novel she creates a unique voice in Angel Tungaraza—mother, cake baker, keeper of secrets, matchmaker. Readers are lured into the heart of modern-day Rwanda with the amazing sweets Angel bakes daily and they are soon hooked by the lives of a people who have endured unimaginable heartbreak in their history yet found ways to survive, to thrive, to love again. Angel moves through her days as a “professional somebody,” weaving together her customers’ stories in magical ways as she searches to heal her own broken heart. Parkin tell this story lightly and entertainingly, filled with details that bring Kigali to life—yet it floats like crème fraîche on the darker depth that lies below.

MATTERHORN, Karl Marlantes. El León Literary Arts and Atlantic Monthly Press 2010. Marlantes' 600-page literary tour de force about the Vietnam War absolutely blew me away. I think it’s the best book I’ve read this year. It took Marlantes, a Vietnam vet, thirty years to complete and it's sure to become a classic. It is being referred to as the Great American Vietnam War Novel, up there with Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms and Norman Mailer's The Naked and the Dead. It has important pertinence today as we consider what is asked of our armed forces when our country goes to war, how war takes our beautiful young men and women into its maw and then spits them out, the course of their lives forever changed. This is a powerful, gripping tale that reveals so much of the boots-on-the-ground reality of the Vietnam War—its strange savage mixture of love and friendships formed under fire, the obscene waste of lives and potential, the heart-searing irresponsibility of politically motivated "leaders." This is tough stuff, but as someone of the generation whose men went to that war, it filled in blanks that support my view of war as a tool of ambitious, driven politicians and brass, who are either indifferent to or have insufficient understanding of the effects of their decisions. I can’t recommend this book highly enough.

THE SPACE BETWEEN US, Thrity Umrigar. HarperCollins 2005. This finely written book is about the gap between reality and the preconceived ideas or unthinking reactions we all share about race and class. Focusing on two women who live dramatically different lives in modern-day India, Umrigar casts them in sharp, telling detail. The two are close friends in spite of their differences: Sera Dubash, an upper-middle-class Parsi housewife whose opulent surroundings hide the quiet terror of her abusive marriage, and Bhima, her stoic illiterate maid hardened by a life of despair and loss. Bhima has worked in Sera’s household for more than 20 years. Each character reveals prejudices at various times based on nothing more than feelings. A beautiful, poignant, and compelling story brought to us by one of the finest writers of our time.

BREAKFAST WITH BUDDHA, Roland Merullo. Algonquin 2007. What a gem of a book! Sort of an EAT, PRAY, LAUGH Till You Cry. A middle-aged man with a successful career in publishing, Otto Ringling’s parents have died suddenly in a car crash and now he must head from his urban, east coast life out to settle things at the remote North Dakota farmhouse where he grew up. He decides to drive so that his sister—who he thinks of as “flaky” and lives an alternative lifestyle—will travel with him since she won’t fly. When he arrives at his sister’s home, he finds she is not going to accompany him but convinces him to give a ride to her guru, a crimson-robed Skovorodinian monk to whom she plans to give her half of their inherited 2,000-acre farm. As the two very different men strive to find common ground as they wind their way in anything but a direct route across the country, there are snorts, giggles, and laugh-out-loud sections and some thoughtful insight into living our lives with meaning.

THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY, Heidi W. Durrow. Algonquin 2010. Winner of the 2008 Bellwether Prize for best fiction manuscript addressing issues of social justice. One of the key things about this novel is the author’s striking mastery of what is called “voice.” Durrow writes from several points of view in this story of a girl of mixed ethnic heritage—“white” and “black”—whose mother steps off a high-rise roof holding her baby and taking the girl and her brother with her. The girl is the miraculous survivor. Her voice as she tries to leave her painful past behind and become what she calls “the new girl,” is unique and clear and the perfect vehicle for exploring how race plays out in American society. Having been raised the first ten years of her life in Europe where her heritage was not an issue, she goes to live with her grandmother in an impoverished, all-black area of Portland, OR, and is forced to absorb differences in language and culture that are at once painful and torturous. The story addresses very real issues of what it is to be perceived as nonwhite in the United States, of poverty, drugs, alcoholism, and the enduring ties of blood and love. A small book with a giant story to tell.

http://www.FEASTofBooks.com

Champagne at the holidays—nostalgia, history, mythology

2010-11-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

Nothing like war to make a fellow crave a good drink. Gervais Raoul Lufbery (1885–1918) was a French-American flying ace in WWI. He served in both French aviation and, later, the US Army Air Service, but all but one of his more than 17 combat victories came while flying for the French. He was famous for his pet lion cub named, appropriately for the topic of this post, Whiskey. Lufbery is often credited with having created a most delightful drink called the French 75, purportedly named after WWI’s powerful French 75mm howitzer artillery piece because the drink blew you away like you'd been shelled by one.

Lufbery - 94th Aero Squadron

Other sources claim the drink was created earlier in 1915 by Harry MacElhone, owner of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. The original version contained a potent combo of champagne, gin, lemon juice and sugar. It was popularized in America at New York City’s famous Stork Club. For another note of nostalgia, in the classic movie Casablanca, Yvette is drinking French 75s at the bar.

Now I can’t drink gin—can’t even stand the smell of it—but a variation arose at some point in its evolving history that replaced the gin in a French 75 with cognac, and that’s the drink I remember drinking back in the days when holding a cocktail in one’s hand seemed the height of sophistication. Now it just seems like a good beginning to a celebration or a well-deserved ending to a tough day. I love a glass of very dry champagne at any time, but there is something very party-ish about making it a French 75 or a Kir Royale (adding crème de cassis)—sort of like adding red stilettos to that traditional little black dress!

Cheri Loughlin, who writes the Intoxicologist blog, wrote a nice piece about French 75s, including her personal favorite recipe for the drink, at http://intoxicologist.wordpress.com/2008/05/04/tweaking-the-french-75/. That could be a place to start if you want to try this holiday drink at home or instruct a young bartender on how you’d like one made.

What are your favorite holiday drinks—alcoholic or not—that you traditionally serve or imbibe this time of year? The holidays can be stressful and/or joyful—I say, whatever the character of yours, PARTY ON!

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.FEASTofBooks.com

Roux Memories: A Cajun-Creole Love Story with Recipes

2010-11-08T11:57:00.001-07:00

This delightful book from Louisiana native Belinda Hulin opens a window on Cajun and Creole cooking and the family memories that surrounded the author’s life as the gumbo pots bubbled, women sat with big bowls in their laps shelling peas, and crawfish, shrimp, jambalaya, pork cracklins, dirty rice, and an array of other foods were prepared in the kitchen. Not to mention those melt-in-your-mouth pecan pralines that cause us to sigh with sweet-lovers’ satisfaction!

Roux Memories (Lyons Press 2010) offers up more than 250 home-tested recipes along with her family’s tales of four decades rooted in New Orleans’ food and culture. Her mother and father, Audrey and A. J. Hulin, were married for 46 years, raised five children, welcomed grandchildren, experienced life’s ups and downs and, through all those years enjoyed what Hulin calls “some of the best food on earth.” Generations of relatives contributed recipes and stories to this cookbook and we are the lucky recipients!

There are so many things that are lost in a devastating crisis that you never think of until you need them. When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed homes and neighborhoods and displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, bonds were stretched, and many recipes lost. Imagine the consternation on any holiday if you couldn’t lay your hands on that time-worn, stained recipe for the special traditional foods your family has enjoyed as long as you can remember!

Hulin tells the story about being at her mother’s house in suburban New Orleans about a month after Hurricane Katrina, shoveling wet, moldy bits of unrecognizable belongings out on the lawn. It was a sad time, seeing all that had been destroyed and lost forever. Checking back through the house, imagine her joy when she found, just above the high water mark, her mother’s dry, undisturbed recipe box! The thought of all those recipes not written down, not surviving, throughout the region, set the author on the path to writing this book. It’d make a great gift for any cook--

For more details and a sample recipe: http://www.rouxmemories.com/
For more about author Belinda Hulin: http://www.belindahulin.com/bio.htm

Rosemary Carstens, Editor

http://www.FEASTofBooks.com

SPOTLIGHT ON BOOKS: Two Novels of Interest

2010-09-30T14:42:00.000-06:00

READ, READ, READ! That’s my motto and I enjoy every syllable of it. My whole life it has been such a special pleasure to open a book with anticipation and to find myself drawn into the story, the characters, the writingm from the very first page.
Some books take a little longer to capture my attention. For example, I’ve noticed that books by US authors often try to reach out with maximum impact from the first sentence, as if our short American attention span must be grabbed by the throat and yanked into the story immediately or all will be lost. Of course, I am excited when that opening sentence is something so cool that I just know I’m going to love the book, but I’ve found that novels written in other countries often take a slower approach, building interest more gradually with greater emphasis on character development, setting, or backstory. For me, either approach can be appealing as long as the writing itself is good. It’s similar to how I love Hollywood films and independent foreign films with subtitles equally, though differently, if the stories are exciting, thought-provoking, and engaging. Recently, though, I found myself setting aside a book I had anticipated enjoying because there were so many typos and other editing errors that they constantly distracted me. I couldn’t immerse myself in the tale. I felt, “Why should I care about this story when the author and publishers clearly did not care enough about me, the reader, to present the very best product they could?”

What have you noticed about approaches to fiction in other countries as compared to here in the US? How do you feel about poorly edited books? I’d love to hear your comments—

Here are a couple of my recent finds since the last issue of FEAST was published, both are written by European writers. I hope you enjoy them:

Girl in a Blue Dress, Gaynor Arnold. Crown Publishers 2008. Longlisted for both the Orange Prize and the Man Booker Prize, this engaging first novel by British social-worker-turned-author Arnold was inspired by the life and marriage of Charles Dickens and presents a very believable and thought-provoking view of the most celebrated author in the Victorian world. This is the wife’s side of the story, an examination of what it is like to be the mate of someone famous, beloved, and absolutely captivating in public—a man who is much more complicated in private and much more fallible. It’s a familiar story in its way (we’ve seen it recently in our own press)—a man becomes powerful, rich, and a celebrity and succumbs to the tantalizing pitfalls of such a position. What’s most interesting here is how true the story rings when examined from the viewpoint of those most intimately acquainted with the person. It’s a cautionary tale in a way—all one sees in a person in public is not necessarily, maybe never, what it seems.

The Solitude of Prime Numbers, Paolo Giordano. Viking translated edition 2009. An international best seller, this book won the Premio Strega. Its author is the youngest-ever winner of Italy’s prestigious literary award, and his debut novel has been translated into more than 30 languages worldwide. Giordano’s use of prime numbers as a metaphor for two lonely young misfits—Alice and Mattia—who each suffered traumatic childhood events that forever changed their lives, is brilliant. One of my favorite parts is the author’s discussion of the rare occurrence of two prime numbers, so-called twin primes, which occur “close to each other, almost neighbors, but between them there is always an even number that prevents them from truly touching . . . .” This is the story of two such lonely figures who long to be close, who tremble at the possibility, but who do not know how to span the distance. A beautifully conceived meditation on the weight we all carry forward from our childhoods, the efforts of even the most solitary to seek connection and love. This book transcends borders.

Happy reading!

Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

The Beauty, Craftsmanship, and Unique Character of Wayne Henderson

2010-08-16T10:50:00.002-06:00

CLAPTON'S GUITAR: Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument, Allen St. John. Free Press 2006. I could not put this down! I’ve often thought certain, well-used inanimate objects, like musical instruments, could tell us some amazing stories if they only had a voice: Van Cliburn’s or Ray Charles’s piano, Miles Davis’s trumpet, Eric Clapton’s guitar. Imagine the tales! Musicians form intimate relationships with their instruments; they pour their souls into them and, with the best, their souls are reincarnated and rise into the air as music that makes our hearts soar. Bestselling author Allen St. John takes us on a personal journey to watch retired rural mail carrier Wayne Henderson, one of the world’s greatest guitar builders, make such an instrument. Henderson employs experience, creativity, and more than a little down-home ingenuity—and there’s a 10-year waiting list for his heirloom acoustic guitars. St. John writes with poetry and passion, but also with a clear eye about the process—part magic, part music, huge helping of craftsmanship in a world where friendship, laughter, old-time music, and homemade lemon pies and barbeque count for more than who has the big bucks. This book is special if you care about music and craftsmanship. A great gift idea.

Wayne Henderson

Read more about WAYNE HENDERSON, his music and his craftsmanship, plus all about the Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition held each year in Grayson Highlands State Park, Wilson, VA.: http://www.waynehenderson.org .

For more about the author ALLEN ST. JOHN: http://www.allenstjohn.com/

May the last days of August be filled with good music, good friends, and great art!

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.FEASTofBooks.com

Preserving the taste, color, and memory of summer . . .

2010-07-04T11:07:00.000-06:00

Lipstick-red tomatoes plump with juice; green slices ready to crisp up in oil for a tart, crunchy hors d’oeuvre; pear-shaped yellow ones to delight the eye; and cool salads dotted with cherry tomatoes as sweet as honey on the tongue. Chilled green, gold, and red melons, refreshing as shade on a blistering day. Raspberries, strawberries, light-as-air whipped cream on a slice of angel food cake. Fresh greens, a half-dozen varieties of garlic, spicy red and white radishes, more tomatoes, a toss of fresh basil, a dash of balsamic, a quick grate of hard cheese. These are only a few of the luscious, sensuous pleasures of summer here in Colorado. The season came in with a roar this year, going from spring to ninety-degree weather in a matter of days. I try not to think about how quickly it’ll all pass and sprigs of yellow will begin to show themselves on our trees. How to preserve at least a smidge of all that glory from the garden or your local farmer’s market? Canning is one answer.

Each June of my childhood, daddy carried my sister and brother and me outside in our jammies in the middle of the night, to return to sleep in the back of our fifties Plymouth station wagon. He and Mom would sip coffee from a thermos as we headed east from Southern California to try to cross the Arizona desert before worst of the blistering heat, then north to Moab, Utah, where daddy’s mother lived. My paternal grandmother and my aunt and uncle, plus a passel of cousins, were all Mormons. They were also farmers and both life-shaping pursuits meant that summers were spent churning butter, whipping cream, picking fruits and vegetables, canning and preserving all that could be processed as each season peaked. While it was never much of a vacation for my mother, who was expected to pitch in with the work while the men sat at ease at the end of their days, for me it was glorious. I loved the wonderful, heavily laden table we sat down to for every meal, the seemingly unlimited quantities of whipped cream, the homemade ice cream, the fruit right at hand in the fields if I wanted a snack when I hid in a haystack reading hot afternoons away. We always took home boxes of canned tomatoes, carrots, venison, okra (which I still hate to this day), pearly baby onions, and an assortment of pickles and relishes. Those gleaming, filled Mason jars seemed like art to me and their memory still shines so many decades later. They were a symbol of rootedness, of the land, of bounty, and even of love as those were happy times for me.

Today people don’t can so much, but it’s all there to be done and not as hard as one might fear. Sterling Publishing has a new book out in their Homemade Living Series that is filled with simple step-by-step directions, tips, and cautions—from tools of the trade to ingredients and resources, plus how to create a range of pickles and preserves, jams and jellies—and recipes, of course. CANNING & PRESERVING: All you need to know to make jams, jellies, pickles, chutneys & more by Ashley English is the ideal roadmap to keeping summer’s vibrancy alive long into the cold, stark months.

Take the challenge—you’ll love the results!

--Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

Schooner: Boating Dreams on Martha’ s Vineyard

2010-06-14T16:27:00.001-06:00

Love boating? Always dreamed of building your own by hand? The careful, skilled craftsmanship required for the task are beautifully documented in this new book from Vineyard Stories : SCHOONER: Building a wooden boat on Martha’s Vineyard written by Tom Dunlop with photographs by Alison Shaw.

Rebecca of Vineyard Haven, a 60-foot wooden schooner designed and built by the Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway was, at the time of her construction, the largest sailing vessel built on the island of Martha’s Vineyard since the election of Abraham Lincoln.

Ross Gannon, left, and Nat Benjamin, the boat builders

While you might expect a book about building a boat to be a calm, step-by-step story, proceeding logically from drawings to launch, this is no ordinary tale. Drama abounds as Rebecca navigates her way through bankruptcy court, a two-year work stoppage, a change of owners due to a court-ordered auction, and many an other “high sea” on her voyage to completion.

Beyond the telling of the difficulties of taking this schooner from dream to the sea, this is a celebration of the artistry of boat builders Nat Benjamin and Ross Gannon who have thirty years of experience behind them. Theirs is one of the very few full-time boatyards in the United States devoted exclusively to the design, construction, repair, and maintenance of classic, plank-on-frame wooden boats. Nearly every part of Rebecca is built or cast or fashioned by hand.

SCHOONER goes beyond just relating how a dream of a wooden boat came true, it is a love story—about boats’ magical appeal through the ages, men and women’s longing for the sea, and, perhaps most of all, about a deep appreciation of creating things the “slow” way, hands on, in a world gone mad with its desire for instant gratification.

For more on Gannon and Benjamin Marine Railway:
http://www.gannonandbenjamin.com/index.php

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

BOOKS TO BLOW YOUR HAIR BACK: Thrity Umrigar’s The Space Between Us

2010-05-10T09:56:00.000-06:00

Don’t you just love it when you discover a fine book in some “accidental” way? Not through media hype or bookstore in-your-face placement, but through the recommendation of a friend who wants to share something special, because you are roaming around the library dipping into books here and there and one grabs you, or, perhaps, even because you have nothing else to read and find one left behind on the bus or subway? I think these are magical finds and somehow all the more special because of it. One such discovery for me was The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar (HarperCollins 2005).

Umrigar is an Indian-American writer, born in Mumbai, who immigrated to the United States when she was 21 and now lives in Cleveland, OH. She is a journalist, author, and assistant professor of English at Case Western Reserve University where she teaches creative writing and literature. She has written for the Washington Post and the Cleveland Plain Dealer, among other newspapers, and regularly writes about books for The Boston Globe. Since her first novel, Bombay Time, Umrigar has received critical acclaim for her ability to vividly immerse us in India, its people, its customs, and its geography—both of the land and the mind. Because I had just read The Space Between Us and The Weight of Heaven, I made a point of attending a panel she sat on at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in Denver last month. She is impressive in person, too.

The Space Between Us dives into the chasm between our lived relationships with people from different classes or ethnic groups and the preconceived ideas or unthinking reactions we all carry forward from our childhoods about race, class, and difference.

Focusing on two women who live dramatically different lives in modern-day India, Umrigar casts them in sharp, telling detail. She is a master of showing rather than “telling” her readers what to pay attention to and she knows the landscape of Indian culture like the back of her hand. The two women in the story are close friends in spite of their differences: Sera Dubash is an upper-middle-class Parsi housewife whose comparatively privileged surroundings camouflage the reality of her abusive marriage, and Bhima is her stoic illiterate maid, worn into compliance by a life of despair, loss, and poverty. Bhima has worked in Sera’s household for more than 20 years. For each woman the other is her closest friend; each is isolated within her particular circumstances from other intimate relationships, but each also knows the other’s secrets and deepest trials. Despite their closeness, throughout the book we see flashes of class barriers, ingrained prejudices each is not comfortable crossing—Sera, for example, cannot accept Bhima sitting on a chair at her table or drinking from a household cup.

When Bhima’s granddaughter, her last living relative, who she prayed would complete an education and escape the slums, returns home pregnant, Bhima’s feelings fluctuate between rage and despair. Sera is there for her, as Bhima was for her when she suffered at the hand of her cruel husband and devious mother-in-law, but, again, the hand of fate cranks the wheel and Thrity Umrigar exposes the complexity and flawed nature of human beings. A poignant and compelling story brought to us by one of the finest writers of our time.

For more about this book:
Book Club Girl interviews Thrity Umrigar online: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/book-club-girl/2008/05/22/book-club-girl-talks-to-thrity-umrigar-author-of-the-space-between-us

For more about the author: http://www.umrigar.com

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com
Follow me on Twitter: @tweets2go

Bill Varney’s imaginative pairings provide a taste adventure . . .

2010-04-21T11:14:00.002-06:00

Strolling down Main Street in Fredericksburg, TX, you might stop in at FROMAGE DU MONDE, known for its fine cheese and gourmet market—and the creative cookery of general manager BILL VARNEY! Varney doesn’t just walk into a room, he fairly bounces—he exudes enthusiasm and good will and meeting him just brightens any day. He is enormously knowledgeable about herbs and is the former owner of Fredericksburg Herb Farm where he honed his skills in raising herbs and learning how to use their delightful array of flavors in surprising ways to enhance any meal.

The day I lunched at Fromage du Monde, we topped off a meal of quiche and fruit with an unusual but delicious summer dessert. If you’d like to serve something different that your guests will love and ask you to repeat again and again, try this:

Lemon Verbena Peach Cobbler with Habanero Cheddar*

4 to 6 cups sliced peaches
1 cup sugar
½ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon verbena leaves
Zest of 1 lemon
A cup flour
¾ cup sugar
1 cup milk
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
Cinnamon to taste
1 cup grated habañero cheddar cheese

Mix peaches with 1 cup sugar in bowl and set aside. Melt butter in 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Mince ¼ cup sugar, lemon verbena leaves, and lemon zest in food processor. Combine flour, remaining ¾ cup of sugar, milk, salt and baking powder in a large bowl and mix well. Stir in the lemon verbena mixture. Pour over the melted butter in the prepared baking dish. Spoon the peaches over the batter. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Then sprinkle with the grated habañero cheddar cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Yields 10-12 servings
*© 2010 by William Varney

Fromage du Monde is located at 226 W. Main Street, Fredericksburg, TX – (830) 992-3134

Bill Varney’s latest venture is UrbanHerbal, an online source for information about herb gardening and their use in food, home, health, and beauty: http://www.urbanherbal.com

--Rosemary Carstens
http://www.FEASTofBooks.com

BLISS: Breathtaking Landscapes and Cultural Conflict

2010-04-07T10:16:00.000-06:00

BLISS (Turkish w/English subtitles, 105 minutes, released by First Run Features Feb. 2010). Based on the acclaimed novel by Zülfü Livaneli and filmed in some of Turkey’s most awe-inspiring natural settings, Bliss is a riveting tale about love, honor, freedom, and redemption. When 17-year-old Meryem’s virtue is called into question after she is found unconscious and disheveled by the side of a lake, the village’s elders gather and demand that the family uphold an ancient moral imperative to kill her. A distant cousin is ordered to carry out the sentence, but, instead, Meryem and Cemal embark on a surprising journey.

Cemal is a deeply troubled young man, just returned from war and experiencing flashbacks of the violence he encountered. Meryem, too, is experiencing flashbacks to the violence she endured. Both are stoic in their attempts to deal with their emotional trauma and to meet their cultural obligations. When they encounter a professor who is also seeking peace and clarity in his life, Cemal and Meryem begin to see each other and their traditional lives in ways that provoke deep inner conflict and force them to reexamine their futures.

The landscapes chosen to serve as backdrop for Bliss are incredibly beautiful and provide glimpses of Turkey I’d not seen before. The stark contrast between nature’s grandeur and the vast dichotomy between traditional and modern Turkey heighten the emotional impact of this poignant, deeply affecting film.

See a trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnEMhcaLTuM

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.FEASTofBooks.com

Lessons on War: Bataan Death March Not Old News

2010-03-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and its Aftermath, Michael Norman and Elizabeth Norman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2009) (out in paperback March 2010). What a story! This book is a very readable, astounding accomplishment based on ten years of research, thousands and thousands of travel miles, hundreds of interviews, and the support of numerous scholars and ordinary people to bring it to fruition.

I had always heard about the Bataan Death March, of course, but the details set out here, often using quotes from among the 76,000 US and Filipino captive soldiers that were on the march, tear at the soul. That our US servicemen were treated so brutally, starved, tortured, and murdered for the least imaginable “offense” is so unacceptable that it can never be forgiven.

Don’t think for a moment that this is a one-sided presentation dolled up to make the US look good and Japan look savage. The Normans spent countless hours digging among Japanese archives and interviewing Japanese military survivors so that they could include accounts from that side of the war as well and perhaps comprehend the enemy’s mindset. An impossible task, in my view. The Japanese treatment of prisoners of war was savage and there is something to think about in this book about the nature of war as it is being conducted today and who it is that truly bears the suffering in all wars.

This book grips like a novel and I think one key reason is that the authors used the story of one young Montana cowboy, Ben Steele, who survived the march and is one of the few from those days still living, as a vehicle for telling the story of thousands of others. As readers, we connect with Ben—the story becomes so much more than just facts and figures, a bunch of history dates, or military battle reports. The Normans wove personal recollections of specific people on each side of the conflict and help us to see these historic events through the lens of individuals. The book details and investigates a figure we’ve all read about in the history books—Douglas MacArthur—and reveals him as a man more concerned with saving his own ass than with performing his duties as a leader. MacArthur was no hero, but a deeply flawed, narcissistic coward and liar. As in all wars there were botched plans and ill-conceived communications; chaos; and personal egos and agendas influencing outcomes.

One of this book’s strengths is that it widens the focus from just the circumstances of the march to include events that led up to it, the post-march conditions for the captives, and an account of the US trial of two war criminals when the war was over. Ben Steele, who upon his return to Montana after the war became a professor of art, contributed the poignant illustrations throughout the volume. This is the kind of quality journalism we should see more of in the publishing world and this book should be required reading in Washington.

To read more about the book: http://www.tearsinthedarkness.com

Go here to see a 5-part video series of Ben Steele telling his story: http://www.tearsinthedarkness.com/video-book

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

IMPACT: Doug Preston’s latest science-based, action-packed thriller . . .

2010-02-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Doug Preston takes “what ifs” to a whole new level. In his latest exciting thriller IMPACT, the author strikes gold once again. Preston, who achieved worldwide recognition for his and Lincoln Child’s Pendergast series of novels (including such best-selling titles as The Book of the Dead, The Wheel of Darkness, and The Relic), deftly mixes controversial real science with characters and storylines that keep you breathless to the last page.

What do an amateur astronomer in a small fishing community on the Maine coast, a slave-labor mine hidden deep within the Cambodian rain forest, and a determined young scientist at the National Propulsion Facility have in common? The connections are, literally, out of this world. Former monk-turned-CIA-operative Wyman Ford, previously seen kicking ass in Blasphemy, signs on to pull the pieces together in his stylish and highly imaginative, action-packed way. It’s fun, it’s inventive—it takes real events, extrapolates their possibilities, and has you looking up into the night sky wondering what’s really out there, watching.

The inspiration for this story came from an edgy experience in the author’s own life. In 1996 NASA flew a special reconnaissance mission over the largely unexplored region of northwestern Cambodia. The data it gathered was fed into a T3D Cray supercomputer at the Jet Propulsion Lab in California and a startling discovery was made. Buried deep in the jungle was a previously unknown12th century temple covering almost a square mile of land!

When an expedition prepared to go to the temple, Doug Preston was working for National Geographic magazine and maneuvered a spot on the trip led by Elizabeth Moore, head of the Department of Art and Archaeology at the University of London and an authority on the ancient Angkor civilization. It proved to be a rugged endeavor. There were no roads to the temple and the trails were flooded from the monsoons and still heavily mined from the war—not to mention that it was located in heavily armed Khmer Rouge territory, with kidnappings and violent killings occurring regularly. It was, as Preston says, “one hell of a journey,” and he always knew that one day he’d weave the details of his thrilling personal adventure into one of his novels. That day is now and the result, with more twists and turns than a gold medal snowboarder—and just as nerve wracking—will keep you entertained from start to explosive climax.

Visit Doug Preston’s website and read the first two chapters: http://www.prestonchild.com/solonovels/preston/impact/

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://FEASTofBooks.com

Divakaruni brings us One Amazing Thing . . .

2010-01-31T10:04:00.000-07:00

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni knows how to weave a story out of disparate threads, bringing them together in an intelligent and compassionate human tapestry. In her latest book, ONE AMAZING THING (Hyperion 2009), the well-regarded author of Sister of my Heart, The Palace of Illusions, and The Mistress of Spices, brings together a cast of nine characters spending a long, tiring afternoon in a passport and visa office. Each has their reason for going to India, and each holds him or herself privately away from the others, focusing inward as they wait. When a violent earthquake rips through their building and traps them, the nine must struggle together for survival. As hopes for rescue seem to dim, each shares the story of a most compelling moment, a turning point, in their lives—something that shaped and molded them into who they are today.

The literary device of stranding a group of very different and unassociated people together in a situation like this, forcing an intimacy that would never happen under ordinary circumstances, has often been employed by writers to create a stage upon which human frailties can be revealed. Divakaruni has taken this device and made it her own—primarily with her ability to portray characters with such clarity that readers can identify compassionately and quickly care about the outcome of their imagined lives. As in our own lives, each has their secret grief and loss, joys and pleasures; each has experienced the indifferent cruelty unintentionally visited upon those around us; and each, when life is squeezed down to survival mode, often realizes what they value most.

Author’s website: http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/
Her blog: http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/blog/

See a video interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi_-ZYmt28U

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.FEASTofBooks.com

Stuff You Never Knew About Slow Cooking . . .

2010-01-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

I recently sat down to look over a copy of MAKE IT FAST, COOK IT SLOW: The Big Book of Everyday Slow Cooking by Stephanie O’Dea (Hyperion 2009). This is not a book about gourmet cooking with tiny, cleverly arranged dabs of food on a big plate, often sprayed or drizzled with swirls of some sort of exotic liquid for artful effect. This is a great book for us regular cooks who want quality meals with less fuss that can be eaten and enjoyed by all, from kids to the fussiest of palates.

In 2008 Stephanie O’Dea vowed to use her slow cooker every single day for a year, reporting highlights and disasters on her blog at http://crockpot365.blogspot.com. Amidst her spectacular discoveries: crème brûlée! Have you ever imagined you create anything beyond a good stew or roast, or maybe a soup, in a slow cooker? This success led to a guest spot on The Rachael Ray show. Stephanie was inspired to expand her efforts even more imaginatively and, with the input of a growing following and many experiments (both duds and delights), this cookbook was born. Visit her blog for a sneak preview of what’s in store.

I’m amazed at the range of offerings, from beverages, breakfast, baked goods, casseroles, seafood, and meatless mains to snacks and fondue, desserts, and nonfood fun stuff. All recipes are gluten free and have been tested on her own family and friends.

If you constantly wake each morning wondering, “What am I going to fix for dinner,” this cookbook may be the answer. It’s timesaving without resorting to fast food takeout; you just throw a bunch of ingredients in the pot, then walk away to tend to your day’s bigger challenges, sitting down at meal time to something guaranteed to appeal. I can’t wait to try it!

Happy eating and cooking in 2010!

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.FEASTofBooks.com

2010—Balancing Body, Brain, and Spirit

2009-12-29T17:01:00.001-07:00

This is my last post of 2009. I’ve been lucky in that my work has gone well this year. With this economy and the seemingly chaotic state of the world today, I feel grateful that I still have a home, creative work that I love, and that those who matter most to me are doing well. It’s also been a year of personal challenges, with family members fighting illnesses, dealing with my own not-as-reliable body, trying not to be overwhelmed with anxiety about the future. It’s time to reflect on the past 12 months and plan for the months to come. I hope when you’ve read this, you’ll take a moment to comment and let me know at least one thing you plan to strive for this coming year. Put it out there and make it happen!

Many people tell me they don’t like to make New Year’s resolutions because they just feel they’ve failed when they don’t carry through. I’ve always made resolutions, but see them more as an attempt to shape my life’s direction, not as an imperative. And I’m flexible about them—if I start ambitiously down a path and see it’s not for me, I turn back and take another route. Agility not rigidity is the way to go.

The key word for me in 2010 is “BALANCE.” Some years I have burned out completely from too many hours at the computer, too many projects with pressured deadlines, too much “monkey brain” thinking about things I cannot control. In those times, I let my physical fitness slide, don’t paint or draw, scan books instead of absorbing them thoughtfully, drink and eat too much, and leave my spiritual life sitting on the roadside waiting for a long-overdue ride.

It’s said that speaking or writing about your goals helps to solidify them, so here are mine in the three areas I want to balance:

1. BODY: I used to work out five days a week. Now I can’t or the body protests and I end up with injuries. But I’ve worked out a pretty good, doable plan that I’ll try to hold to in 2010. Beginning the week with an active-style yoga, which keeps me pretty much pain free, rest a day, work out in my home gym for an hour, including 30 minutes of aerobics, free weights, abs and pushups, plus stretches at the end. Rest a day, then wind up the work week with either a long walk, a Latin Aerobics class, or some other keepin’-a-move-on activity. And, oh yes, I want to do more motorcycle riding in 2010. Right alongside this admittedly moderate program is its important twin, diet. More fruits and vegetables, less red meat, avoidance of processed foods.

2. BRAIN: Even though I’m blonde, I still want a high level of brain action to go with a functioning body! I get a pretty strong mental workout with my writing and editing and all the books I read to review in FEAST. I edit a lot of scholarly topics, so I’m always learning from experts about topics I’d otherwise know nothing about. But I’d like to take another class, maybe something like Photoshop that requires both brain and hand and eye coordination, something fun but challenging!

3. SPIRIT: This is the one that always seems to slip to the side when I’m busy—and yet it’s probably the most important one. For me, this is not about religion, but it IS about finding ways to find beauty in ordinary things, being inspired to be more content with living more simply, taking in the wonder of the outdoors, listening better, supporting those I love, coming closer to the bar when it comes to living up to my beliefs. I try to feed this part of my life through reading inspirational books, hanging out with people I admire and can learn from, avoiding negative people and activities, looking beyond myself to see if I can make a difference in small ways.

Oh, I know, this looks like a ton of stuff to try to do, but it’s pretty much the same things I put on the list every year. I never get it all just right, but just like with motorcycling, the journey’s the thing, not the destination. I love this journey and hope it continues to shape me, show me the ropes, excite me, and carry me forward for all the years to come!

Now, tell me your dreams for 2010!

Happy New Year!
Rosemary Carstens

http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

Movie Time: 2009's Best DVDs featured in FEAST

2009-12-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

Winter and the quieter time following the holidays--what better time to curl up with a bowl of popcorn and your favorite person and spend an afternoon or evening watching movies. Here are six of my favorite DVDs, featured in FEAST this year, to give you ideas. These are not meant to be "movie of the year" selections, but films that might have had a smaller distribution, been relatively unknown, or perhaps you missed them because they were not surrounded by Hollywood hype. I hope you find something to entertain you--

Iron-Jawed Angels (2004). For 8 years in the early 1920s, a group of determined suffragettes led by Alice Paul (played beautifully by Hilary Swank) and Lucy Burns (Frances O’Connor) organized to pressure the US government to adopt a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. The abuse and mental and physical challenges they faced are heartbreaking and an important part of our history that should not be overlooked or forgotten. Entering WWI under the guise of bringing democracy to other countries when so many in the US were still disenfranchised is hypocrisy that continues today. The brutality against these women who only wanted some say in their own destiny and that of their children is shocking. But this is no boring, dry documentary, as some are, but instead a beautifully crafted and dramatic film with strong acting that makes the story real for a greater number of people. Not to be missed! An HBO original drama directed by Katja von Garnier. Available on DVD.

Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005). Frank Gehry’s friend and director Sydney Pollack made what could have been a dull tale of history and buildings into a more intimate portrait of a man and his creations. I found it fascinating! Gehry’s story about his life and how he came to create imaginative, magnificent buildings that gleam against their landscape is one of hardship, anti-Semitism, and determination to follow his own dream. Since Pollack was neither knowledgeable about architecture nor a documentarian at the time, he brings a very personal sensibility to the film that I, as a layperson, found totally appealing. Pollack’s recent passing makes this ode to his friend even more poignant.

The Painted Veil (2006). Based on the classic novel by Somerset Maugham, the title of this film is taken from Percy Bysshe Shelley's sonnet that begins “Lift not the painted veil which those who live/call life.” The Painted Veil is a love story set in the 1920s that tells the story of a young English couple, Walter (Edward Norton), a middle class doctor, and Kitty (Naomi Watts), an upper-class woman, who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else. When he uncovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China ravaged by a deadly epidemic, and forces her to come along. Their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them purpose in a remote and wildly beautiful region. This film is not only visually breathtaking, it is a touching story well acted.

Herb & Dorothy (2009). Directed by first-time filmmaker Megumi Sasaki. To see Herb and Dorothy Vogel today, you’d never guess they have built one of the most important contemporary art collections in the United States. Oh, you say, well, those who have it can do it. But that’s not the case here, which is part of what makes their collection and the two of them so very unique. This is a love story. Herb spent his working years as a postal clerk and Dorothy as a librarian. By living on her paycheck alone, they were able to indulge their interest in Minimalist and Conceptual art by spending his salary on works of unknown artists that they liked. They had two rules: the piece had to be affordable and it had to be small enough to fit into their one-bedroom Manhattan apartment. As time went on, the second of the rules became a challenge as by the time this film was made there was little furniture and only “paths” winding among the more than 2,000 pieces they had accumulated—and they shared the space with 19 turtles, a school of fish, and at least one cat. What they “liked” proved to be prophetic as the chosen artists became better and better known, now sought after at significantly higher prices by other collectors. Today their collection’s value runs into the millions. It’s an uplifting, amazing story and the film has won award after award at the festivals!

Trailer: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2910339/herb_and_dorothy_movie_trailer/

Swimmers (2005). An indie film set in coastal Maryland. Eleven-year-old Emma needs an expensive operation, which puts mounting pressure on a family barely making ends meet. When underlying tensions start pulling her parents and brothers apart, Emma turns to an emotionally haunted young woman for friendship. This is a fine story about good people who make some bad decisions, and the healing that irreversible family feeling can bring about.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XD-qhHDGuCs

The Secret Life of Words (2005). Directed by Isabel Coixet, starring Sarah Polley and Tim Robbins, with a small part by Julie Christie. A hearing-impaired factory worker, a refugee from former Yogoslavia, gives up her first holiday in years when she volunteers to nurse an accident victim on an oil rig off the coast. Josef (Robbins), who was temporarily blinded during a fire on board, tries to get to know his taciturn nurse. Slowly a strange sort of intimacy develops and they share secrets, lies, truths, humor, and pain, from which neither will emerge unscathed.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dAJUEngedA

Detailed introduction by director Isabel Coixet: http://www.irct.org/news---media/latest-irct-news/the-irct-in-the-media/the-secret-life-of-words/video-isabel-coixet-introducing-the-film.aspx

-- Rosemary Carstens

Editor, FEAST

NONFICTION for the holidays . . .

2009-12-13T10:55:00.003-07:00

Here are six nonfiction books that are among the best featured in FEAST in 2009. Any one of them would make a welcome gift for those that love this genre!

Central Park in the Dark: More Mysteries of Urban Wildlife, Marie Winn. Picador 2009. Remember the story of the Pale Male, the Red-Tailed Hawk in New York City that drew the attention of so many? Marie Winn wrote the book Red-Tails in Love. Now she explores further details of a natural world that flourishes in the midst of a massive city, a world of nocturnal beasts, insects, and slugs, a dark teeming ecosphere hidden twixt and tween the bright lights and traffic of Fifth Avenue and Central Park West. As Elizabeth Royte of the New York Times, says, “I’d follow Winn into the park at any hour.”

Power in the Blood: A Family Narrative, Linda Tate (Ohio University Press 2009). This fascinating new book traces the author’s journey to rediscover the Cherokee-Appalachian branch of her family and provides an unflinching examination of the poverty, discrimination, and family violence that marked their lives. Although it is a memoir, Tate had to “imagine” some of the details of her search for her family’s story. She did it beautifully. With all the facts and memories woven in, her research over many years in Appalachia made the imagined parts more informed than not. She also used pseudonyms for some family members who may not have wanted their stories shared. But, in essence, this is Linda’s story, her life, and her family through generations. The writing is lively and compelling and at times she is painfully honest about childhood events. But it is the spare beauty of that honesty that makes this book extraordinary.

Finding Beauty in a Broken World, Terry Tempest Williams. Pantheon 2008. Terry Tempest Williams has written an artful book, fashioned like the mosaics she uses throughout as analogies. At first it may seem that she is writing of disparate topics, yet as the volume continues, the reader begins to see they are all related, all are essential pieces of the whole. She writes openly and honestly about some very difficult personal and global issues—from environmental challenges and prairie dogs at risk of extinction in the United States to repeated genocides in Rwanda, from life-risking efforts to save lives to global indifference at human suffering—and she frames it in terms of the healing that can come from art, love, and compassion. A truly lovely book that provides insight and much to contemplate. For more information on this author: http://www.coyoteclan.com/

The Secret of the Great Pyramid: How One Man’s Obsession led to the Solution of Ancient Egypt’s Greatest Mystery, Bob Brier and Jean-Pierre Houdin. HarperCollins 2008. This is an absolutely fascinating story about how French Architect Jean-Pierre Houdin and his wife became obsessed by the mystery of how the Great Pyramid was built. Using advanced 3-D modeling, Houdin worked ten hours a day for five years to finally discover evidence that the pyramid, contrary to all previous theories, had been built from the inside via a mile-long, corkscrewing ramp, unseen for 4,500 years! I could not set this story down. Through forensic architecture, Houdin and a team of others (who joined the journey as his ideas became known) made discoveries that supported the mounting evidence. The technology alone that is used is amazing and what it will continue to reveal next makes the imagination fly. Easily readable, not at all dry, if you get into this book, don’t skip the appendices OR the end notes—both just add to the experience. A case of truth being stranger (and more absorbing) than fiction.

Strength in What Remains: A Journey of Remembrance and Forgiveness, Tracy Kidder. Random House 2009. Tracy Kidder, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Robert F. Kennedy Award, and many other literary prizes, is a thorough professional and engaging writer of nonfiction. He picks the hard topics and struggles to portray his subjects without bias, to tell their story instead of his—an exceptional quality in times when personal spin has gained greater acceptance in society. This is an astounding story of one survivor of genocide in the small African country of Berundia—against all odds and through providential events—who manages to escape the violence and come to the United States. Kidder writes a deep exploration of what horror can do to the human psyche, the fight to remain human and to achieve a measure of success in spite of one’s past. The story of Deogratias (Thanks to God) puts an individual human face on events so massive, so brutal, as to be nearly incomprehensible. It is, indeed, a story of a people’s terror and loss, but it is also a story of regeneration and of hope that such stories can one day end.

Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story, Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor. Viking 2009. This book about the power of travel to birth spiritual connections and inspire creativity is jointly written by a mother-daughter team, giving us a generational perspective on a series of events they experienced during travel to France and Greece over a period of years. Sue’s journey begins as she approaches her fiftieth birthday and begins to realize she is ending an era as a younger woman and entering a period of transition that will move her toward her eldest years. She finds herself seeking spiritual guidance from feminine symbols and icons, hoping for new directions in her work, greater understanding and closeness to her daughter, and a graceful entry into the next stage of her life. Ann’s journey is also a period of transition, one from loss and rejection that culminates in a search for the work she is meant to do. The icons and symbols that guide her are different from her mother’s but in their mutual search they discover each other anew as adult women. It’s an inspiring book, thoughtfully written, and one I very much enjoyed. It provides a framework for seeking transitions and destinations for any woman who wants to enhance the meaningfulness of her years.

Happy Holidays to all and happy reading in 2010!

-- Rosemary Carstens
Editor, FEAST

Come Bearing Books at the holidays . . . FICTION

2009-12-04T11:39:00.008-07:00

Low-tech gifts may not be in fashion, but the gift of a book opens the gate to another world and allows the most amazing interactive computer of all history—our brains—to enter other worlds, live other lives, and enrich our knowledge of the universe. Through books we can fly far beyond our daily concerns, solve crimes, fall in love, be an adventurer, gain greater understanding of ourselves and others. Books are gifts that require no batteries, have no plastic parts to break off or malfunction, and they remain ever-ready to tell us stories again and again.

Throughout each year, FEAST online magazine suggests books for your enjoyment and we strive to remind you of gems that have fallen from the headlines in a rapidly moving publishing world. We hope you’ll buy books for family, friends, AND yourself this holiday season.

Here are a few of our favorites in FICTION for 2009. Check back next week for our recommendations in nonfiction. If you have others to recommend, please leave us a comment!

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, David Wroblewski. HarperCollins 2008. A unique book by an incredible writer, it’s monumental in length at 561 pages and is not a book you race through for story only—it’s stories within stories, each to be savored, if for no other reason than the writing, the descriptive prose, the deft handling of words. Edgar Sawtelle is mute from birth and grows up on a remote farm, an only child, using a personal sign language to communicate with his parents. The Sawtelle’s raise dogs and over generations have created a breed of superior intelligence, temperament, and training. What happens when Edgar’s father dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances and a domino fall of events, including a disliked uncle offering his mother comfort as she grieves, leads Edgar to run away from home with three of his pups trailing behind. The depth of discussion about the dogs, their training, the North Country landscape, and the exploration of love, grief, and loneliness will stay with you long after the last page.

Goldengrove, Francine Prose. HarperCollins 2008. Goldengrove is a finely written literary tale about a young girl who loses her closest and dearest friend—her sister—and what the unthinkable does to her and her family. It’s a story of becoming unmoored, of drifting rudderless through unfamiliar and unimaginable events, of learning to go on when there is a hole in your heart, in your family, that can never be entirely stitched back together again. Told from the viewpoint of Niko, a thirteen-year-old girl, Prose writes brilliantly and deeply about loss, love, and the mysteries of death.

Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese. Knopf 2009. An engaging family saga. Even at more than 500 pages from its opening prologue to the very last word of his attributions, this author will capture your attention. He framed his story of this family in two unique ways: through the history and culture of Ethiopia and through the history and development of certain aspects of medicine. Not only is this the story of two boys born to a nun, fathered by a surgeon, and left behind to grow up in a warm adoptive family as part of a medical community in a country at war with itself, but it is the story of becoming a stranger in your own land. These are well-developed characters you care deeply about, yet at times despise their weaknesses. It is a story of compassion, betrayal, family love, and, above all, the flawed but magnificent qualities of being human. Author’s website: http://www.abrahamverghese.com

Home, Marilynne Robinson. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux 2008. If you love to linger over excellent writing and character development, I promise you a thought-provoking book you’ll long remember. This is a story about the conflicts of love when children are not who we think they should be, when a child feels alien in a family even though it’s a loving one. Robinson explores the struggles of a minister to love all of his children equally, even his prodigal son. And her key character, the man’s youngest daughter, finds herself a bridge between father and son even as she fears she may have to let go of her own long-held dreams to give them hope.

The Madonnas of Leningrad, Debra Dean. William Morrow 2006. A delightful discovery! While this is ostensibly a story about one young woman’s dire circumstances during the Siege of Leningrad, it is more deeply a story about the power of the mind, the richness that can still be present when all else fades away. Carefully researched, it provides remarkable detail about the lives of a small group of workers who stayed on throughout the siege at the Hermitage Museum, the deprivations they suffered, the efforts of some to retain “memory palaces” of all the magnificent art that once hung on its walls, and the effects on all of a once vibrant city brought to its knees by the Germans during the harshest winter on record.

Little Bee, Chris Cleave. Simon & Schuster 2008. An unusual story of life and payback, sacrifice and self-interest, woven around a violent chance meeting between two women on a beach in Nigeria. Chance can test your mettle, polish it or tarnish it—the tale of how these two women’s lives intermingled and the complexities of survival will give you plenty to think about long after the outcome is known. Cleave leads readers to reach a specific conclusion about events and then, drop by drop, bit by bit, provides detail that forces a reevaluation. Deep and provocative, a complete page turner. Author’s website: http://www.chriscleave.com

The Spare Room, Helen Garner. Henry Holt 2008. This small book is a rare jewel. Although fiction, it is written so directly, and so honestly that it rings with truth. Naming the main character “Helen,” the author makes us believe this is her story, and maybe it is. Maybe it is potentially the story of all of us. Helen’s friend Nicole comes to Melbourne to stay for two weeks and seek alternative therapy for serious illness. Becoming nurse, advisor, perhaps protector of Nicole are not roles Helen relishes and she finds her emotional and physical energy depleted as her reactions swing from outright rage to unbearable grief. Here a caretaker speaks openly about feelings we seldom hear discussed, using fiction as a vehicle for discussing our universal difficulties in dealing with death. Very moving, very compelling—a story beautifully told.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford. Ballentine 2009. Story, story, story—combined with skillful writing, it is story that draws people in and makes them care about a book’s characters. Beyond that, a new spin on a topic long discussed can make us think freshly about historical events and their impacts. Jamie Ford does all of this in his debut novel about a young Chinese boy, whose father is vehemently against all things Japanese because of brutal Japanese attacks on his homeland, and a young Japanese girl whose family becomes caught up in WWII internment raids in Seattle. In the opening scene, Henry (the boy, now in his fifties and a widower) is sharply reminded of an earlier era when a basement full of Japanese belongings is discovered during a construction project at the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle’s Japantown. Following Henry’s story as Ford moves agilely back and forth between present and forty years earlier, we gather insight into the difficulties for all families of Asian descent in a country at war and the extreme tactics employed to “defend the US against attack.” A marvelous story—warm, insightful, and filled with hope that love can survive against all odds. Author’s website: http://www.jamieford.com

Secret Son, Laila Lalami. Algonquin 2009. Raised in the slums of Casablanca, Youssef El Mekki has been told all his life his father died when he was very young. Youssef longs for a father’s love and influence in his life and dreams of a future when, with an education, he can escape the stench and poverty of his neighborhood. One day, by chance, he discovers that his father is not dead, but instead a wealthy, married businessman who abandoned his mother when she became pregnant. Youssef, too, abandons her as he moves toward what he thinks will be a brighter future under the guidance of a suave and sophisticated father. But events and vested interests beyond his control or knowledge reverse his circumstances and he is once more back hanging around on the street corner with his unemployed childhood friends. What happens to a young man who has seen the careless extravagance of wealth and privilege in a society with deep class divisions, where the poor bear the burdens of indifference? Lalami explores this highly pertinent issue in a story that will answer questions about the seemingly siren call of extremism at the same time that it breaks your heart. Author’s website: http://www.lailalalami.com

HAPPY READING!!

-- Rosemary Carstens
Editor, FEAST

Cooking Up Holiday Gifts . . .

2009-11-21T09:34:00.013-07:00

COOKBOOKS MAKE GREAT HOLIDAY GIFTS for those who love to entertain or are simply interested in the joy of preparing fine, interesting food for their families. Often, a cookbook tells stories (my favorite kind) about the author and the recipes, the countries and people the recipes originated with, or the experiment that yielded a favorite meal. Others are guides to ingredient sources along with creative recipes. Available through any independent bookstore, here are five that I especially enjoyed this year and will include among the gifts I give:

A PLATTER OF FIGS and Other Recipes, David Tanis (Artisan Books 2009). Six months of each year, David Tanis is head chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA, where he’s worked since the 1980s for legendary Alice Waters. The other half of the year he’s in Paris preparing meals in a 6x10-foot galley kitchen in his 17th-century apartment. This book was conceived from his belief that the best meals are simple, easily prepared, and served without too much fuss. I blogged about this book earlier this year at http://carstensfeast.blogspot.com/2009/07/platter-of-figs-joy-of-eating.html. Check out his recipe for festive, juicy Scallops a la plancha.

CLEAN FOOD: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source, Terry Walters (Sterling Epicure 2009). Thinking it’s time to break away from processed foods loaded with preservatives and other chemicals? Walters has written an easy-to-follow guide to eating closer to food sources, cooking and preparing meals based on the best and freshest locally grown ingredients. Includes an introduction about various foods to help you understand why choosing organic over conventionally produced foods is more healthful and how even small changes, over time, can make a difference in how you feel. The recipes are the frosting on the cake! To learn more about Walters: http://www.terryskitchen.net and click HERE for a delicious recipe for Roasted Squash with Fennel & Asparagus.

A HOMEMADE LIFE: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg (Simon & Schuster 2009). This entertaining narrative cookbook comes to you from the enormously successful, award-winning blog Orangette (http://orangette.blogspot.com) and is a heartwarming tale of Wizenberg’s family, her search for the right career, and a new romance. It comes laced with mouth-watering recipes, clearly set forth and easy to prepare for even the beginning cook. This book was featured in FEAST; you can access a scrumptious deep chocolate cake recipe HERE

RAW ENERGY: 125 Food Recipes for Energy Bars, Smoothies, and Other Snacks to Supercharge Your Body, Stephanie Tourles (Storey Publishing 2010). This book is due out in January, so may not be available yet, but can be pre-ordered. Eating raw has been shown to be a positive addition to a healthy lifestyle, and even if you don’t want to completely leave cooking and meats behind, this book provides a roadmap for combining ingredients to create “enzyme-rich and irresistible organic foods of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables, sprouted seeds, nuts, and legumes.” Tourles is a licensed holistic esthetician who has been practicing and teaching healthy living for more than 20 years. Her website: http://www.stephanietourles.com/

Another book, about that Queen of Cooks, Julia Child, has risen to the top of a lot of reading lists this year as a result of the resounding success of the film Julia/Julie with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. I think anyone who loves food and books would enjoy finding this one under their tree:

MY LIFE IN FRANCE, Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme (Reissued by Knopf 2009). The totally fascinating story of Julia Child’s years in France, where she fell in love with a country and discovered her professional destiny. It’s a tender story in many ways about a woman who finds her way, sometimes humorously, sometimes against great odds, always with the support of her loving husband Paul, to become one of the best known celebrity cooks of all time. This book is now available in various editions plus audio.

HAPPY HOLIDAY COOKING, readers! I’d love to know what cookbooks are on YOUR gift list this year—??

-- Rosemary Carstens

The Artistry of Painter Kevin Red Star & Earth Magic Media . . .

2009-11-02T14:15:00.005-07:00

The 34th Annual American Indian Film Festival will take place in San Francisco, November 6-14, 2009. National American Indian Heritage Month is celebrated every year in the month of November to honor and recognize the original peoples of this land, and, since 1975, the American Indian Film Festival has displayed over 2000 films providing inspiration and support for Native film projects.

The festival encourages filmmakers to present Native voices, viewpoints, and stories that have been historically excluded from mainstream media; to develop Indian and non-Indian audiences for this work; and to advocate tirelessly for authentic representations of Indians in the media. This year the festival will premiere over 80 new feature films, shorts, public service announcements, music videos, and documentaries from US American Indian and Canada First Nation communities.

A highlight of this year's events will be a 24-minute documentary short on American Indian artist KEVIN RED STAR created by Earth Magic Media, a Canadian film company. It is one of seven half-hour documentaries produced for the From the Spirit series III.

The Kevin Red Star film is the first about a US Native American and the team is thrilled it was selected for festival screening. Earth Magic’s team consists of Raymond Yakeleya, an award-winning Dene television producer, director, and writer originally from Tulita (formally Fort Norman) in the central Northwest Territories; Bill Stewart, a producer, writer, and director based in Edmonton with over 35 years experience in the film and television industry; and Carol Chapelski, production coordinator, with over 12 years of experience in the television industry.

Kevin Red Star, a member of the Crow tribe, was born and lives and paints today in Lodge Grass, Montana. This film traces his journey as an artist from Montana to Santa Fe's American Indian Art Institute, to the San Francisco Art Institute and 1969's Woodstock, and back home to Montana. He works primarily in acrylic, ink, and collage, and, as can be seen by the photo above, creates bold, evocative images (with a contemporary twist) of his ancestral Crow tribe, culture, and history. His work is available in galleries across the western United States (a listing of representatives and many original works and prints can be seen by visiting his website.

The Kevin Red Star film will screen Wednesday, Nov. 11, 7:00 p.m. at the Landmark Embarcadero Center Cinema. Prices are $8 general / $7 students and seniors. For a full schedule of events, go to http://www.aifisf.com/

-- Rosemary Carstens
Carstens Communications

Warm Winter Dreams . . . Mexico says “Hola!”

2009-10-20T16:04:00.005-06:00

I don’t know about you, but as I sit here at my computer today, the skies outside are darkening and a winter snow storm is moving into the Rocky Mountain foothills. Brrrrr—I’m not ready! As every year, I begin to dream of warm, turquoise waters, powdery white sand beaches, icy margaritas served in a pool-side cabana, and hot, tropical nights under a vast panorama of star-studded sky. For me, this means it’s MEXICO time!

Among the ideal choices for a resort vacation in the Yucatan region of Mexico are the all-inclusive REAL RESORTS. They have two resorts in Cancun and three in Playa del Carmen, each with its own special vacation options—from family fun to a romantic escape for two, or a well-earned, quiet retreat just for you. What they all have in common is great service, attention to detail, and staff with a genuine desire to please.

In Cancun there is the GRAN CARIBE REAL, a deluxe 5-star beachfront property catering to families and offering a plethora of activities for all ages—all served up in a luxurious atmosphere. The ROYAL offers casual elegance for adults only and romance is on the menu 24/7. Indulge you and your significant other in their outstanding facilities and exceptional amenities—relax, dream, renew.

In Playa del Carmen, there are three resorts to choose from: the 4-star REAL PLAYA DEL CARMEN, a traditional Mexican-style hotel in a village setting; the 5-star GRAN PORTO REAL RESORT & SPA, architecturally reminiscent of a fine hacienda and located steps from elegant shops and restaurants; and the ROYAL PLAYA DEL CARMEN, with all the warm hospitality offered by all of the Real properties plus the spectacular SPAzul.

These five destination resorts shimmer in the sun; each has its own unique character and beckons those who love luxury and fine service. All offer all-inclusive programs and those exceptional qualities that bring visitors back again and again.

Ah, yes—dream on. Sorry, old man winter—guess I’m on the next flight south!

For full information, rates and programs: http://www.realresorts.com/

--Rosemary Carstens
Carstens Communications

Pomegranates and Greek Goddesses . . .

2009-10-06T13:58:00.009-06:00

There are times in our lives when we feel restless, without purpose or direction. Often these occur at decade-birthday milestones—most of us remember how OLD it felt to turn THIRTY! We find we are reevaluating how we spend our time, wondering what we should be doing to extend our achievements beyond ourselves to include a spiritual dimension. We question how quickly the years are passing.

In her new book, TRAVELING WITH POMEGRANATES: A MOTHER-DAUGHTER STORY (Viking 2009), Sue Monk Kidd, author of best-selling The Secret Lives of Bees and The Mermaid Chair, has collaborated with her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor, to write a fascinating memoir and travel journal. Their story explores the power of travel to birth spiritual connections and inspire creativity, and it gives us a generational perspective on a series of events the two experienced during travel to France and Greece over a period of years.

Sue’s journey begins as she approaches her fiftieth birthday and begins to realize she is ending an era as a younger woman and entering a transition period that will move her toward her eldest years. She finds herself seeking spiritual guidance from feminine symbols and icons, hoping for new directions in her work, greater understanding and closeness to her daughter, and a graceful entry into the next stage of her life. She writes about how she came to write The Secret Lives of Bees after years of writing nonfiction.

Ann’s journey is also a period of transition,
one from loss and rejection that culminates in a search for the work she is meant to do, to finding her path amidst many. The icons and symbols that guide Ann are different from her mother’s but in their mutual search they discover each other as adult women and find surprising fresh means of communication and friendship.

Traveling with Pomegranates is an inspiring book, thoughtfully written, and one I very much enjoyed. It provides a framework for seeking transitions and destinations for any woman who wants to enhance the meaningfulness of her years.

For more on the two authors:
http://www.suemonkkidd.com/
http://www.annkiddtaylor.com/

--Rosemary Carstens
Carstens Communications

Horses Reign: From conquistadors to cowboys, to Western culture

2009-09-13T16:52:00.004-06:00

Horses are synonymous with most of the world’s perceptions about the American West. When Spanish explorers reintroduced them in North America in the 1500s, horses had not been on the continent for thousands of years. But once reintroduced, they quickly became highly prized and admired for their strength, speed, and innate intelligence, not to mention their natural beauty. They changed Native American cultures, played an important role in the opening of the West to immigrant settlers, and, since those days, they have often served as iconic images in film and fiction. The presence of horses that still run wild and free in some pockets of the West fires imaginations and animal rights advocates even today.

Celebrated equine photographer JOHN S. HOCKENSMITH’s new book, Spanish Mustangs in the Great American West: Return of the Horse to America (University of Oklahoma Press 2009) features stunning, full-color photographs of modern horses that “carry the distinctive traits of their Spanish, Arab, and Barb forebears.” Hockensmith captures these moving, dramatic images in the Rocky Mountain region and on the rolling grassy plains of the West, and focuses a spotlight on their magnificence and continued presence even as many oppose the wild horse herds and others fight to maintain them.

Not only is Kentuckian John Hockensmith an inspiring photographer, but he paints and sculpts, writes both prose and poetry. He’s garnered significant recognition in all categories. His co-writer, Michele MacDonald is a professional journalist and media relations consultant who has been devoted to horses all her life and international racing is her best known venue. This is her second collaboration with Hockensmith. I have to say, they are a winning team!

This is a must-have holiday gift for any horse lover, or for anyone who feels strongly about preserving wild life.

For more on John S. Hockensmith

-- Rosemary Carstens
Carstens Communications

The Little Book and Farm That Could . . .

2009-08-26T14:54:00.007-06:00

JAN POGUE and her husband, John Walter, now deceased, had more than seventy years combined experience in editing and publishing when they founded their small publishing company, VINEYARD STORIES, in 2005. Well suited for the task and highly familiar with the importance of excellence in books, they had held high-level editing jobs at such well-regarded newspapers as USA Today, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. In addition, Ms. Pogue had fifteen years in book publishing. As she expresses it:

Vineyard Stories is a full-service publisher, creating high-quality books for and about Martha’s Vineyard. . . . We are focused primarily on telling Island stories. To do this, we pursue outstanding writing, editing, photography and illustration, design and manufacture. Then, to make sure your book is seen and read, we offer distribution and promotional services.

Recently MORNING GLORY FARM and the family that feeds an island, text by Tom Dunlop and photos by Alison Shaw, one of Vineyard Stories very special books, went global—or at least national—in a surprising series of events that included the attention of Michelle Obama and coverage in the New York Times. The book is about the Athearn family’s Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown, MA, and features 70 recipes organized by season. As Pogue says, “They were sustainable before there was sustainable.”

This wonderful story opens when a young husband and wife, from very different backgrounds and disparate world views, begin battling the woodlands near Martha’s Vineyard to plant and harvest what turned out to be a crop of wormy corn. Thirty years later their farmstand is the source of a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, prepared dishes and baked goods and people come from all around to stand on line waiting to stock up.

This book is an homage to eating sustainably and nutritiously and to the glory of beautifully prepared food consumed surrounded by family and friends.

For more information and images:

http://www.vineyardstories.com
http://www.morninggloryfarm.com/

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

Playing with Fire is HOT!

2009-08-13T09:48:00.002-06:00

Stieg Larsson’s second book in his Millennium Trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire (Knopf 2009, translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland) has been on my “books to watch for” list since I turned the last page of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He has developed a unique and absolutely fascinating character in Lisbeth Salander, a brilliant antisocial and unconventional woman who has a heightened and personal sense of fairness that requires her to carry out her own brand of justice. And she is extremely innovative when doling out pay back.

Larsson not only brings back Salander and journalist, publisher, and crusader Mikael Blomkvist, plus assorted other members of Dragon Tattoo’s cast, but he delves more deeply into the psyche of each, and most particularly of Salander. The book is laced with absorbing detail about high level mathematics and new adventures in the world of Internet security, hacking, and the manipulation of data to create new “truths.” As we learn Salander’s tragic backstory and her efforts to overcome it, we are carried away once again by the plots, subplots, and mystery and suspense for which Larsson is known. If you like a down and gritty action book that pulls you along breathlessly, filled out with engaging tech drama, this is a book you won’t want to miss!

Now, when is the next one due out? Ah, yes, January 2010: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. Can’t wait!

Author’s website: http://www.stieglarsson.com

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

A Platter of Figs . . . the JOY of eating!

2009-07-24T10:29:00.006-06:00

A Platter of Figs and other recipes, DAVID TANIS. Artisan 2009. Six months of each year, David Tanis is head chef at Chez Panisse in Berkely, California, where he’s worked since the 1980s for legendary Alice Waters. The other half of the year he’s in Paris preparing meals in a 6x10 foot galley kitchen in his 17th century apartment.

This book was conceived from Tanis's belief that the best meals are simple, easily prepared, and served without too much fuss. A meal should not take all day to make. The “platter of figs” symbolizes the idea of eating with the seasons and is a metaphor for the food Tanis enjoys most: fresh, abundant, luxurious, fleeting, and innately beautiful.

Twenty-four seasonal menus designed for 8-10, easily halved or increased, includes such enticements as “Salmon on My Mind,” “Yellow Hunger,” “A Simple Morrocan Supper,” and “Slow Beef.” For each section, Tanis writes as much about eating as about cooking, about his inspirations, techniques, and infinite joy in the kitchen.

This is my favorite cookbook so far this year! Here’s a selection from the book that is simple yet superb. Bon appétit!

Sea Scallops a la Plancha

One of the delights of the winter season is the availability of good shellfish, especially sea scallops. Ask your fishmonger for freshly shucked scallops, often called “diver” scallops. A good way to cook them is a la plancha, on a hot griddle or cast-iron pan, which caramelizes the exterior and keeps them juicy inside.

1 pound large sea scallops, about 16
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Green Sauce (recipe follows)
Lime wedges

Remove the “feet”—the tough muscle that attaches scallops to their shell—and discard (or add them to a fish stock). Season the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

Heat a large griddle or cast-iron skillet to nearly smoking. Add the scallops in one layer, being careful not to crowd them. Brown the scallops well, letting them cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the scallops over and cook for another 2 minutes. Put the scallops on a platter and spoon a little green sauce onto each one. Surround with lime wedges.

Green Sauce: Put 1 small bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems roughly chopped, 2 chopped garlic cloves, 1 sliced serrano chile, and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground, in a blender. Season lightly with salt and add 1 cup olive oil. Blend to a smooth puree. Makes about 1 cup. (Excerpted from A PLATTER OF FIGS by David Tanis [Artisan Books]. Copyright 2008. Christopher Hirsheimer, photographer)

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

At the Edge of the Spotlight: Canadian artist Emily Carr

2009-07-17T15:37:00.003-06:00

The Forest Lover (Viking 2004) by Susan Vreeland, is a page-turner if you love art history and always long to know more about the painter behind the image. This is the captivating story of legendary painter, Canadian artist Emily Carr, who was passionate about recording the totems and lives of the native peoples of British Columbia in the early part of the 20th century. Carr has been compared to Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe (see Carr, O’Keefe, Kahlo: Places of Their Own [Yale University Press 2001]) and her work is exceptional and surrealistic in both content and style. She garnered little recognition in her lifetime because of her unusual subject matter and unorthodox lifestyle, and because she brought sophisticated techniques of surrealism learned during a stay in Paris to what was essentially an artistic backwater.

The author, Susan Vreeland, has written several “imagined” biographies either about famous artists or people in their closest circle. Her best known may be Girl in Hyacinth Blue, the imagined story of the girl in Vermeer’s painting by the same name. Perhaps the author’s greatest strength is found in her ability to turn well-grounded and thorough research into a compelling story—in this case, a story about a woman artist struggling to follow her passion, relieve her personal sense of isolation, and gain recognition for her talent.

Vreeland tells us in her own words what her research into her topics has taught her:

“Entering the mind and heart of painters has taught me to see, and to be more appreciative of the beauties of the visible world. . . . people are hungry for [the] real lives behind . . . paintings. . . . . And [I’ve especially learned] this: Thanks to art, instead of seeing only one world and time period, our own, we see it multiplied and can peer into other times, other worlds which offer windows to other lives. Each time we enter imaginatively into the life of another, it's a small step upwards in the elevation of the human race. . . . Where there is no imagination of others' lives, there is no human connection. Where there is no human connection, there is no chance for compassion to govern. Without compassion, then loving kindness, human understanding, peace all shrivel. Individuals become isolated, and the isolated can turn resentful, narrow, cruel; they can become blinded, and that's where prejudice, holocausts, terrorism, and tragedy hover. Art—and literature—are antidotes to that.”

It’s an insightful philosophy and one I have certainly connected with in my own writing and reading experiences. Watch for Vreeland's next enticing book, titled In Tiffany’s Shadow (due out 2010), about Louis Comfort Tiffany the glass artist whose windows, lamps, and mosaics blended Art Nouveau and the Aesthetics Movement to produce a unique style all his own.

For more information: http://www.svreeland.com/

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

1/500th of a second . . . An Unlikely Weapon

2009-07-06T08:55:00.011-06:00

AN UNLIKELY WEAPON: The Eddie Adams Story (2009). This exceptional documentary about the life of an award-winning photographer premieres this week in Denver at the Starz FilmCenter, July 3-9. Go to http://www.anunlikelyweapon.com for times and directions. Opening nationwide throughout the summer.

Legendary photographer Eddie Adams, famously seen lurking in war zones, at celebrity shoots, and on the streets of New York, photographed 13 wars, six US presidents and every major film star in the last 50 years. His career and reputation exploded into world renown when, in Vietnam in 1968, Eddie shot what is considered by many to be the definitive war photograph: General Loan, the Saigon police chief shooting a Vietcong prisoner point-blank in the head. “Saigon Execution” won Eddie a Pulitzer Prize and was credited with changing public opinion to help end the Vietnam War.

Eddie was a guy who lived hard and played harder. Enormously ambitious and driven, rough talking, notoriously dissatisfied with his achievements, he documented the plight of refugees around the world, jumped aboard a boat load of Vietnamese headed out to sea with only some rice and a few hundred dollars worth of gasoline, and faced off Fidel Castro until the two went on an unlikely duck hunting trip together, among other risky ventures. In this documentary, journalists such as Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, and Morley Safer speak about Eddie with a measure of awe and respect. As Safer says, “Eddie was not your typical sedate, thoughtful photographer . . . He looked for trouble both on and off the job.”

Later in life Eddie turned to photographing celebrities, resulting in stunning and unique shots, signatures of his skill and experienced eye for the money shot. There were many sides to this talented man: war photographer, human rights activist, teacher, competitive and aggressive artist; most of all, he was deeply human and fully engaged in life.

SUSAN MORGAN COOPER is the brilliant filmmaker who produced this exceptional documentary. The road to its completion was long and not always smooth—but she had promised Eddie, and she kept that promise, in spades. This is a DO NOT MISS film!

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.FEASTofBooks.com

View trailer:

Business Unusual . . . Farm Chicks in the Kitchen!

2009-06-25T08:34:00.006-06:00

Teri Edwards and Serena Thompson (see photo below) partnered up six years ago to turn their enthusiasm for cooking, junking, and crafting into what has become a thriving business. They now have an annual Farm Chicks show in Spokane, Washington, which offers a line of jewelry, clothing, and stationery items, and are contributing editors to Country Living magazine. This year they’ve added the title “authors” to their mounting list of accomplishments.

THE FARM CHICKS IN THE KITCHEN: Live Well, Laugh Often, Cook Much (Sterling 2009) offers a collection of recipes that epitomize their philosophy: tasty, simple to prepare, and friends and family will love them. These are not elaborate, oh-too-fussy foods such as those often found in haute cuisine cookbooks by famous names. These are foods to live with, to brighten up any family’s meals. They offer comfort and nutrition and stretch the usual daily foods that are your staples.

Pumpkin waffles, tangy cucumber cups, savory sweet potato soup, Asian quinoa salad, pies and shortbread, plus many, many more add up to 52 recipes in total accompanied by more than a dozen craft projects. With their usual Farm Chick style, Serena and Teri transform unexpected found objects into repurposed items to use and share. The book is laced with stories and recipes that include the many friends they’ve made on their business journey, and memories and anecdotes about childhood, cooking, and junking. A really fun, unique gift for the person who loves to cook for a family and can’t pass up a garage sale because it might hold hidden treasures!

The farm chicks’ website: http://www.thefarmchicks.com

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

Southwest Sizzle . . .

2009-06-15T15:19:00.005-06:00

New Mexican cooking is a style all its own, not to be confused with Tex Mex, Mexican, Native American, or other variations on the theme. It has its own unique flavors and the green chile itself can become an obsession (says one who knows!). So what to do if you DO crave New Mexican food and you live far from its source? Take advantage of your next visit to Santa Fe and sign up for a hands-on cooking experience at the SANTA FE SCHOOL OF COOKING on West San Francisco Street. They are educational, informative, and just plain fun—and the whole family can join in!

Just a sampling of classes include A Day in the Country of Northern New Mexico: Farms and Vineyard Tour, New World Tapas, Wine Maker’s Cooking series, , Simply Santa Fe, Chile Amor, Restaurant Walking Tours, Salsas, and the Contemporary Southwest series. There are also classes on Native American and Mexican foods. Students get involved in the process, learn about authentic ingredients, sit down together for a well earned, mouth-watering meal, and take home the recipes. Full descriptions of all of the classes and prices (with a calendar at the bottom) can be found at: http://santafeschoolofcooking.com/Cooking_Classes/Class_Descriptions.

There is also a market at the school where you can pick up ingredients not available in your community that you discover you just can’t live without. At the website you can order a range of products plus download recipes to try on your own. Happy eating!

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.carstenscommunications.com/

Think you know how to make decisions? Thinking once, twice . . .

2009-06-09T14:47:00.004-06:00

HOW WE DECIDE, Jonah Lehrer. Houghton Mifflin 2009. Think it’s the rational mind that makes the best decisions? The less emotional involvement the better? Think again says Jonah Lehrer in this fascinating new book about where decisions take place in the brain and the important interaction of experience-based emotion and pure “fact-based” analysis. Lehrer makes a topic that could be a yawn pertinent and gripping as he tells stories of real-life, critical decisions made by pilots, sports figures, and poker players, and he makes you think hard about how you form your own opinions and choose among options. If you want to make better decisions and utilize the strengths of various parts of your brain, this is a good place to begin.

This young writer is no slouch at making his own decisions and has put his brilliance to work as a contributing editor at Wired and as author of How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist. A Columbia U grad who studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, Lehrer has written for the New Yorker, Nature, Seed, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe. He’s also a contributing editor at Scientific American Mind and National Public Radio's Radio Lab. To learn more, check out his blog at http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/ or his website at http://www.jonahlehrer.com/

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.carstenscommunications.com/

Pigs, Poultry, and Perry

2009-06-03T09:14:00.003-06:00

COOP: A Year of Poultry, Pigs, and Parenting, MICHAEL PERRY. Harper 2009. I recommended Truck: A Love Story when it came out a couple of years ago, but I think Coop is even better.

We left Mike’s life adventures shortly after he married, sleeping off the excitement in the back of his pickup, and here we pick up as he, his wife, and his daughter Amy, plus a new little Perry on the way move into a Wisconsin farmhouse that has seen better days, sited on thirty-seven acres of overgrown farmland. The year ahead will hold chicken and pig escapades, a baby birthed at home by a midwife, reminiscences of his own farm childhood, with touches of sweet appreciation for his family life and keen observations about the unexpected hand of fate in each of our lives.

Perry is witty and writes well. He doesn’t go for the braying laughter we encounter in much of the fodder produced in Hollywood. He elicits belly-shaking snorts and blasts of laughter by speaking of the secret thoughts we all share, the everyday absurdities and joy life offers in abundance if you are paying attention.

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.feastofbooks.com/

Unraveling the Past . . . One Woman’s Search through Time

2009-05-18T08:30:00.004-06:00

POWER IN THE BLOOD: A Family Narrative, by LINDA TATE (Ohio University Press 2009). This fascinating new book traces Linda Tate’s journey to rediscover the Cherokee-Appalachian branch of her family and provides an unflinching examination of the poverty, discrimination, and family violence that marked their lives. Although it is a memoir, author Linda Tate had to “imagine” some of the details of her search for her family’s story. She did it beautifully. With all the facts and memories woven in, her research over many years in Appalachia made the imagined parts more informed than not. She also used pseudonyms for some family members who may not have wanted their stories shared. But, in essence, this is Linda’s story, her life, and her family through the ages. The writing is lively and compelling and at times she is painfully honest about childhood events. But it is the spare beauty of that honesty that makes this book extraordinary.

Linda Tate is a faculty member in the University of Denver’s Writing Program. She is the author of award-winning A Southern Weave of Women: Fiction of the Contemporary South (U of Georgia Press 1994), and the editor of Conversations with Lee Smith (U Press of Mississippi 2001). She taught at Shepherd University in West Virginia for fifteen years, where she was named West Virginia 2003 Professor of the Year for her deep commitment to teaching. Linda now lives in Boulder, Colorado. She is currently at work on a new book, Reading and Writing the Self to Wellness, written in collaboration with social work professor Jennifer Soule.

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.carstenscommunications.com/

@tweets2go

Fabrics create heirlooms . . . the fine art of Susan Cranshaw

2009-05-05T12:47:00.005-06:00

Texas ceramist and quilt designer SUSAN CRANSHAW started quilting in 2002 after an extended illness interrupted a 25 year career as a renowned ceramist in both the United States and Mexico. Applying her unerring sense of color and design to a new medium gave Susan a chance to create stunning, award-winning fabric mosaics that draw crowds wherever they are shown.

In her home studio, Susan surrounds herself with colorful textiles, baskets of thread, and line drawings for quilts still floating around in her imagination. She usually has several quilts in progress at once and works on each as inspiration strikes. Her signature stitching style uses tiny, intricate patterns sewn with contrasting threads over a variety of mix-and-match fabrics. She loves bold, high-impact color combinations and continuous lines of free-motion machine quilting.

Cranshaw also publishes quilt patterns and teaches others how to execute the techniques that distinguish her work at various arts organizations and shows. Among her award-winning designs is “Prickly Pear Cactus Blossoms” (above left) and “Road Runner and Horned Toads” (to the right). She is a spokesperson for Aurifil Thread Company, under the auspices of the Bigfork Bay Cotton Company, Ltd, as part of their Designer Endorsement Program. Aurifil displays her quilts at trade shows and promotes her “Desert Series” patterns. About her work, Susan says:

The reason I choose to work with textiles, as opposed to painting, is that there are so many different patterns and colors of fabrics to explore . . . If I were a painter, I would want to paint all of those wonderful spots, dots, and squiggles, into my pictures. The whole quilt is a kind of jigsaw puzzle. The fun of quilting is solving the puzzle—visualizing how each simple piece relates to one another in order to produce stimulating textile art.

For more about Susan Cranshaw and her quilts, classes, and patterns: http://www.susancranshaw.com/

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.carstenscommunications.com/

Good Cooking Begins at Home . . .

2009-04-22T15:32:00.008-06:00

Recently I blogged about Molly Wizenberg, author of A HOMEMADE LIFE, and the pleasure I got our of reading her family stories and trying her recipes. Now JENNIFER FRAZER, a science writer who also loves cooking--or a cook who also loves science--has a terrific blog at http://homecookingwell.wordpress.com/ that she says is "about how your kitchen can enrich your life, your wallet, and your sense of humor."

Jennifer believes "good, home-cooked meals can be much healthier and tastier than what you’ll find in the frozen food aisle, the takeout box, or even many expensive, sit-down restaurants. The very same meal can often be made at home from scratch in 15-30 extra minutes using simple, widely available recipes and ingredients." After eleven years of cooking and experimenting, she wants to share the pleasures of her kitchen: recipes, meal planning, techniques, money-saving shortcuts, and nutrition tips. Frazer sauces her tales with a delightful measure of humor and I wouldn't be at all surprised if, in time, we see a book by her out there titled, as is her blog, HOME COOKING WELL!

The photos alone will have you drooling over your computer, heading for your own kitchen, and ditching the last of the frozen pizza in the trash! Happy eating--

Rosemary Carstens

http://www.carstenscommunications.com/

Dragon Tattoos, Murder, and Unique Characters . . .

2009-04-10T13:07:00.002-06:00

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson. Knopf 2008. Translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland. A sensation across Europe with millions of copies sold! There are storytellers and then there are Master storytellers. Stieg Larsson clearly falls into the latter category in this first of the so-called Millennium Trilogy. It’s a thriller of depth and complexity sure to satisfy any fan of the genre, and Larsson, who died in 2004 of a heart attack after completing the last of the trilogy, has created a central character so unique in Lisbeth Salander that she will outshine other attempts at strong women protagonists far into the literary night.

When a young woman, Harriet Vanger, member of one of the wealthiest families in Sweden, disappears without a trace forty years ago, her uncle remains determined to discover what happened to her. Now in his eighties, he reaches an agreement with Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist down on his luck, to pursue new evidence under the guise of writing a family history. The Vanger family is a collection of particularly nasty characters with only a few redeemed ones thrown in, and as Blomkvist uncovers new answers to the decades-old mystery he becomes a target himself. Enter (not until page 259!) Ms. Salander, a 24-year-old, tattooed, antisocial research genius who can kick ass and take names when crossed. What a team! As plot and subplot unfold simultaneously, you will be carried along faster and faster until you cannot lay this book down—even at 645 pages, you’ll be sorry to see it end. And the good news is—there are two more to go in this fabulous series—The Girl Who Played with Fire in July 2009 and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest in fall 2009. Not to mention the film--

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.feastofbooks.com/

To view the trailer for this book and to read more about the author: http://www.stieglarsson.com/The-Girl-With-The-Dragon-Tattoo

Food & Wine Choices Made Easy . . . Drinks Matcher Widget

2009-04-01T10:26:00.007-06:00

“Which wine tastes best with pork chops in a maple glaze? Does rosemary-marinated grilled halibut invite red or white wine? Are there also great food pairings for beer, spirits, cocktails, coffee, and tea?” – Natalie MacLean, New York, March 2009

These days entertaining at home is on the rise and the question of how to choose food and drinks that enhance one another and make for a truly enjoyable dining experience is one many of us struggle with. Natalie MacLean has made it her mission to ease the choices.

MacLean, publisher of North America’s largest wine e-newsletter, is always on the lookout for new ways to assist her readers in pairing food and drink combinations that will delight. As she puts it, “Chicken isn’t just chicken anymore: Now we eat it stuffed with pancetta and fresh herbs, rubbed with curry spices or sautéed in an orange balsamic sauce. We’re looking for more interesting flavors, both on the plate and in the glass—and we want them to work together.”

Natalie has come up with a very cool downloadable DRINKS MATCHER WIDGET (check it out in the upper right-hand corner of this blog) that can be added to your computer desktop, website, blog, or social media page (such as Facebook, MySpace, or iGoogle). Of course, what goes best with what is a matter of personal taste, but many of us are always on the hunt for that memorable combination of food and drink that will make our guests ooh and ahh, that we’ll want to repeat time and time again.

Whether you are a professional foodie or a sometime dabbler like me, you will enjoy surfing around Natalie’s site and exploring the thousands of inspirational, mouthwatering possibilities to be found there: http://www.nataliemaclean.com

Rosemary Carstens

http://www.carstenscommunications.com/

Twitter: @tweets2go

Shining Light on a great new film . . .

2009-03-20T15:09:00.006-06:00

SUNSHINE CLEANING, written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeff, is an off-beat comic drama about an unlikely road to happiness. Starring academy-award nominee Amy Adams and Golden Globe winner Emily Blunt as sisters Rose and Norah, who have fallen on hard times, plus Alan Arkin as their dad Joe, this is a story for all who are suffering in this economy and need diversion to bring them hope. Rose persuades Norah to go into the crime scene cleanup business with her to make some quick cash. It’s a dirty job but someone has to do it, and the sisters find ways to make their way through a maze of murders, suicides, and other freaky situations to find new respect and love for one another.

The film opened last weekend in LA and NY and will be opening nationwide over the next two weeks.

Click here to see the TRAILER

Molly Wisenberg: From Blog to Table to Heart

2009-03-05T16:25:00.004-07:00

JUST OUT! A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg. (Simon & Schuster March 2009). Here’s a narrative cookbook coming directly from the hugely successful, award-winning blog Orangette (http://orangette.blogspot.com/) straight to your heart!

Overwhelmed by the death of her father, Molly Wizenberg feels unable to return to graduate school in Seattle after the funeral. She heads instead for Paris, the scene of so many wonderful memories of being there with her father. Instead of working on her dissertation, she finds herself mooning around chocolate shops, perusing and sampling cheeses in outdoor markets, reading cookbooks for hours. She soon realizes she is called NOT to the academic life, but to the kitchen. Food is her destiny. Returning home, she creates a blog named Orangette after the French treat, chocolate-dipped candied orange peels. What begins as a pastime develops a loyal following and a book deal soon follows.

In this delightful story/cookbook, Molly shares childhood adventures, a developing new romance, and a wedding—all interspersed by recipes guaranteed to find new fans! The lovely, red-headed chef has a down-to-earth way of sharing her cooking adventures and I've tried out a couple mouthwatering choices already-- a flourless deep-chocolate cake that I mean to share after only a small slice for myself--but, oh, what can I say! Gluttony got the best of me--

For more about Molly: http://simmertilldone.com/2008/06/23/tell-simmer-orangettes-molly-wizenberg/

-- Rosemary Carstens

http://www.carstenscommunications.com/

Rock On Geoffrey Holder . . . Celebrating Black History Month

2009-02-16T17:34:00.010-07:00

One of the unique pleasures of enjoying and treasuring books is the now and then discovery of a wonderful book you missed when it first came out. In today’s publishing world, books frequently enter with a bang and then disappear without a whimper. Recently I had the pleasure of stumbling upon GEOFFREY HOLDER: A Life in Theater, Dance, and Art, by Jennifer Dunning (Harry N. Abrams 2001). What better way to commemorate Black History Month that with this glorious book about the amazing creative life of Geoffrey Holder, a man who has imbibed life with lusty enthusiasm—fully, richly focused on cultural pursuits in a way that is quite unusual today. As he says about his growing up years in Trinidad, “If you played under this tree as I did as a child, you too would believe in fairytales.”

Holder is a larger-than-life figure in every way. His whole philosophy is that “you should do everything” regardless of age. Born in 1930 on the cusp of one of America’s most creative moments yet one of its most economically deprived times, Geoffrey grew up “dancing, singing, painting, and designing clothes . . . danced his way out of Trinidad and on to New York City.” A tall black man with a magnificent body and ready, joyful smile, Holder’s style in everything he does is bold and colorful, from his dancing to his design and choreography for such productions as The Wiz, to his dynamic, masterful portraits and imaginative art works. This book inspires us all to grab life, hold on tight, but let your feet fly out behind you as the ride begins!

CARMEN & GEOFFREY, a documentary directed by Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob about Geoffrey and his fabulous wife of more than fifty years opens March 13th at New York’s Quad Cinema, DVD release summer 2009. Now available for educational purchase at http://firstrunfeatures.com/ .

To see the man considered to be the new James Earl Jones perform, check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w45Hpocfw_I&feature=related

Rosemary Carstens

http://www.carstenscommunications.com/

Indianapolis Museum of Art provides a treat for the mind and eye . . .

2009-01-30T16:35:00.009-07:00

Recently, my friend and colleague Alyce Barry, Shadow Work facilitator and author, discovered some interesting art in the Midwest and agreed to share. – Rosemary Carstens -

"Though I lived in the Chicago area most of my life, I had never visited nearby Indianapolis until this past December. I was there to give a speech, owing to the efforts of a friend who lived in the area. The following morning, my friend drove me around the city and, learning of my love for art museums, took me to the Indianapolis Museum of Art .

We found the featured exhibit on Chinese art rather dull and went looking for something more provocative. We found it in the Contemporary Art gallery on the second floor.

Upon entering, we were confronted with a wall-sized scene of a riverside in the Old South cast upon the opposite wall from the entrance by a small projector. The scene, titled They Waz Nice White Folks While They Lasted (Sez One Gal to Another) and conceived by Kara Walker, consisted of a variety of silhouetted figures, cut from black paper and fixed to the wall over the projected image, watching a riverboat go by. Though the figures are clearly human, their shapes are not entirely normal (see image).

In the next room was Mobius Ship by Tim Hawkinson, an old-fashioned sailing ship existing, as if it could, as a Mobius strip, and constructed entirely from materials found around the artist's house (see image). For more about Hawkinson: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/hawkinson/index.html

In an adjoining space was The Floor, a sturdy glass floor built several inches above the gallery's floor. Sandwiched between the two surfaces are thousands of tiny plastic human figures with their arms in the air, palms up and faces looking up at you as you stand on the glass above them (image not shown). This installation is the work of Korean artist Do-Ho Suh. Korean artist Do-Ho Suh. To learn more about him, go to the Art 21 site on PBS: http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/suh/index.html

I was most captivated, however, by the large piece in the final room. The Donkey, the Jackass and the Mule by artist Allison Smith began as a parade/performance evoking the issues of slavery and the civil rights movement. The three animals stand on carts, though these are animals that usually pull the carts rather than being passengers. The thick ropes lying at their feet subtly suggest both the lynchings and the hard menial labor of slave and freed blacks in the South. The enigmatic expressions on the animals' faces could be interpreted in any number of ways. More of Smith's work can be seen at http://www.allisonsmithstudio.com/ ."

The Indianapolis Museum of Art was a great discovery—don’t miss it if you’re in the neighborhood!

ALYCE BARRY is a Shadow Work facilitator in Longmont, Colorado, and the author of Practically Shameless, more than 45 weeks on Amazon.com's bestseller list of books about Jungian psychology. Alyce writes three blogs, on shadow in the news, publishing, and her own issues, among other topics. To access her blogs and other websites, visit AlyceBarry.com.

Taking it all off . . . burlesque in the new millennium

2009-01-18T11:46:00.006-07:00

An upcoming documentary film release was brought to my attention this past week, and it’s a delight. A WINK AND A SMILE (Golden Echo Films), directed by Deirdre Timmons, follows the lives of ten “ordinary” women who do something extraordinary—enroll in Seattle's Academy of Burlesque to learn the art of striptease. This is a group of women of varied ages, shapes, and backgrounds and not a one seems a likely candidate to stand and deliver in elaborate costuming, portraying a capricious range of characters, in front of a raucous, rowdy crowd. But this interesting film doesn’t just titillate, it delves into private thoughts about such public behavior and spotlights issues of gender, power, sexuality, and social identity as well. There is more than shake, rattle, and roll going on here, and perhaps more art than not to the historic tradition of burlesque dancing. In any case, it’s good entertainment and more than a peep into an intriguing part of our culture. Opens in New York City May 1, 2009. Distributed by First Run Features, http://www.firstrunfeatures.com

For an interview of the director, go to: http://film.prostamerika.com/Deirdre.html

For a film teaser, check out the YouTube vido: http://snurl.com/aar64

Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

Outliers’ discussion about success is fascinating—but too narrow . . .

2009-01-05T09:14:00.003-07:00

As those of you who are regular readers of this blog and FEAST the eZine know, I generally write only about books I can enthusiastically recommend. OUTLIERS: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown 2008) breaks that rule to some degree. Yes, I liked it. In fact, I found it fascinating to read the data about interconnected and chance factors that have played into major success stories of our time. Gladwell has an entertaining style that uses stories to illustrate results of studies on his topics, and I applaud that approach because we all like stories better than numbers or dreary statistics. HOWEVER, sadly, Gladwell misses the boat in my view by completely ignoring the role of gender in his story of success. For the most part, this book is all about successful WHITE MEN, about studies that show the sometimes hidden keys to their achievements in arenas where many have the basic potential, but only a few hit the high notes.

BUT WHERE ARE THE WOMEN? That there is an extra layer of challenges for women to achieve the highest financial and career successes is without doubt. Have there been no studies about this that could have been included? Were all the studies done about men only? It would appear so in Gladwell’s book. The only nod to successful women in this volume is not really on a par with those offered for men. The last chapter of the book is the story of his own family’s women, his grandmother and his mother in particular. But it is an homage—and a well-deserved one from the sound of it—but their successes do not compare with the male geniuses and top earners of sports, science, and industry with which Gladwell makes his earlier points. He tries to tie it in, but it just doesn’t work. Where is the story of an Oprah, a Maya Angelou, a Sandra Day O’Connor, a Nancy Pelosi, a Coco Chanel? Perhaps that’s a whole other book since the key factors include challenges unique to their gender.

This is still a good read, with plenty of food for thought on the often perplexing questions about why this person becomes a phenomenal success and a seemingly similarly capable person does not. But, come on, Malcolm—look beyond your own box!

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.carstenscommunications.com/

Ride on, Rosie, ride on . . .Keeping the rubber side down

2008-12-20T17:00:00.003-07:00

The last couple of weeks in December each year are a time of looking back over the past year and figuring out what I’d like to happen in the new one. A lot of people tell me they don’t make new year’s resolutions, but I’ve always found it’s a way to keep on track with my personal, spiritual, and career goals, so I don’t mind it.

I think people often feel they are probably not going to be able to keep their resolutions, so why do it and then just feel like they’ve failed. I look at it more as a continuum—I’m headed in a certain direction, here’s what it’ll likely take to get there, if I don’t get the whole journey in this year, there will at least be some progress along the way. I try to feel good about the progress, the way points, and not worry about exactly when I’ll arrive at the destination. For me, in many ways, it’s like riding cross-country on my motorcycle. Each day I continue in my chosen direction, but each is a special adventure all its own. Maybe it’ll be a glorious one—sun blazing in a hot summer sky, a good breakfast under my belt as I saddle up, no wind, no rain, no crazed motorists, only the blue highway unwinding before me like a promise of good times. On the other hand, it may be one of those days plagued by heavy traffic, hail and lightning storms, switchback after switchback, mile after mile bulked up in rain gear, suffering waves of water in the face as semis roll past. You just never know—when you ride a motorcycle, weather is fate. It shapes your days.

Right now, fate seems to be taking the form of a bad economy, something we will have to try to ride out safely, to weather the storm. Thinking now about some strategies for doing that could help us feel more prepared and less worried. Among my resolutions for 2009 is to first figure out how I can diversify as much as possible, so that all my work efforts aren’t tied to one industry, then devise a plan and work it, day by day. An important part of that plan will be to reinforce my work relationships with present clients and look for opportunities with new ones, always asking myself the question: What do THEY need? What can I do to ease THEIR problems? I think that’ll yield some new contracts. If not now, then later.

But I’m not just thinking about career resolutions in the year ahead. Since I know it may be a stressful time, I’ll need to set and keep some physical fitness, general nutrition, and recreational/social goals. Those things will help me keep my life in balance. What kinds of goals would you like to accomplish in the months ahead? It has been said that telling someone else your goals and dreams is one way to keep on track. Here’s a place where you can do that—share what your plans are to deal with your finances, your relationships, your health needs, and to tell us what you plan to do for pure joy in 2009. FEAST is about books, art, food, film, and travel—do you have plans next year to feed your heart and soul with any of these?

-- Rosemary Carstens

“Ancestors whispering over my shoulder . . . “

2008-12-05T16:25:00.002-07:00

As readers, we often wonder—and ask at book readings—where authors get their ideas. For CARMEN TAFOLLA, the much celebrated Chicana writer, poet, speaker and performer, it is those who have come before that whisper into her ear. Carmen has published five books of poetry, eight children’s picture books, seven television screenplays, one nonfiction volume, and, her latest, a collection of short stories titled THE HOLY TORTILLA AND A POT OF BEANS (Wings Press 2008). Honored with the Art of Peace award for writing that furthers peace, justice, and human understanding, Carmen’s stories contain more than a touch of magic about the Mexican experience, the immigrant, “other culture” experience that is all too often pushed to the periphery of American writing. Channeling stories she’s heard all her life or merely glanced at from the corner of her eye and absorbed into her bones, her characters spring to life to celebrate the joy, tragedy, compassion, oppression, and liberation of a certain way of living.

I often suggest books here that focus on the myriad of cultures that make up the category “American” people, because I feel the more we learn, the more we know, the more we understand our common ground and also the uniqueness that each brings to the mix, the richer we are. Sometimes we feel left out in our own culture, or it’s simply not a fit for our personality, our psyche. When we know more about the ways of others, we have a source for something different—a new tradition, another style, another beat, that we can make our own. With a new year approaching, why not branch out in our reading, seek something new, try some salsa on that meatloaf? Perhaps start with reading Tafolla’s Holy Tortilla or some of her poetry, buy a child one of her bilingual picture books. For more about this talented woman: http://www.carmentafolla.com/

-- Rosemary Carstens

Dreaming of Escape: Settling in on the land . . .

2008-11-21T10:19:00.002-07:00

Each day as the economic news worsens, do you find yourself pulling inward, seeking a simpler life, more closely knit, safe from the whims of politics, economists, and the seemingly vengeful market? The desire to seek shelter from inclement weather of all types has always been a large part of what makes us dream of a “cabin” of our own, located in the midst of natural beauty and awesome vistas, a place where we can connect with those we love and seek spiritual respite. SEABRING DAVIS and BIG SKY JOURNAL have brought out a new book that connects us to those longings for home and hearth and safe harbors. The New Montana Cabin: Contemporary Approaches to the Traditional Western Retreat (Two Dot Books 2008) is a beautiful, photographic collection of secluded, rustic, romantic retreats all nestled in the midst of the Western landscape. It’s a great holiday gift for anyone who enjoys the outdoors, dreams of peaceful days and cozy nights, for anyone who just longs for a special, unique lifestyle away from the hustle and buzz.

The word “cabin” used to mean a structure that barely sheltered you from the wind and rain—I remember childhood visits to a family enclave outside Moab, Utah, where each of my cousin’s families had, basically, a shack—one room, bunks on either side, a big, black iron wood stove at one end. But they were smack dab in the middle of our very own glorious mountaintop and the memories are indelible and warm—and I have a photo taken years later that shows my initials more than six feet up the trunk of a tree, initials carved at chest height when I was about eight!

Seabring Davis brings us today’s cabins, getaways and full-time homes ranging from 120-square-feet of compact living snugged into a forest to a 7,000 s.f. log mountain-top mansion. As her chapter titles suggest, she covers everything from “Retro Cozy” to “Modern Homestead” and “Montana Micro Cabins” and every one of them reflects a reverence for the restorative wonders of a more natural environment far from citylife, a respect for sustainable living, and the beauty of creative interior design.

Throw a couple of logs on the fire, pour a couple of brandies or cups of hot chocolate, snuggle on the couch under a warm throw, and dream of better days ahead – Rosemary Carstens - http://carstenscommunications.com/

BLACK CHROME – Keeping the rubber side down . . .

2008-10-23T17:11:00.002-06:00

The CALIFORNIA AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM in Los Angeles continues to have a rotating spectrum of fascinating exhibitions. Beginning late September 2008 and continuing through April 12, 2009, visitors will have an amazing opportunity to learn about the contributions African Americans have made to motorcycle culture, mechanical technology, and aesthetics, since World War II.

Each month a special event focuses on some aspect of the innovation and creativity Black Americans have brought to American motorcycling, from Bessie Stringer’s cross-country travels in an era where there were few roads and practically no women bikers to many others who road the highways, designed stunning choppers, and raced high-powered drag bikes. This is a chance to glimpse a little-documented segment of our culture.

The image above is the East Bay Dragons at Miss Helen’s Bar-B-Que, September 1966. The image to the right is Lana “Mintu” Hines, Managing Editor of Black Biker magazine, Iron Horse Chopper, Sacramento, CA. Photos courtesy of Black Biker magazine.

For more on this exhibition, as well as a fabulous presentation of members of the BLACK PANTHERS photographed by Howard Bingham in the sixties, and Bay Area artist DEWEY CRUMPLER’s showing of bold paintings, sculptures, videos, and installation pieces, go to: http://www.caamuseum.org/. It’s a chance to veer off the usual museum paths and see something extraordinary, broaden your vision!

--Rosemary Carstens

Once again, Ron McLarty proves he's an entertainer . . .

2008-10-17T16:19:00.001-06:00

Remember how wonderful it was to discover The Memory of Running, the debut novel by RON MCLARTY? McLarty’s third novel—Art in America (Viking 2008)—is sure to charm you once again with McLarty’s keen observations on life, his skill as a storyteller, and his sardonic understanding about the oddities and flaws of human beings. As he expresses it, “Art in America is a funny and affectionate story about a down-on-his-luck writer who finally finds success and love.”

Middle-aged New York writer Steven Kearney is down on his luck. He has written thousands of pages of novels, plays, and poems--not a single one of which has ever been published. After being thrown out of his Manhattan apartment, Kearney takes shelter with his longtime pal Roarke, an actress and director. One day, out of the blue, he’s offered a position as playwright-in-residence for three months at the Creedemore Historical Society in rural southern Colorado; they want him to write and direct a historical play about the town. But when he arrives, all hell breaks loose with land disputes, a former big-city cop-turned-sheriff trying to keep the peace, activist groups roaming the hills, and a nosy national media all contributing to a rollicking climax.

Each of Ron McLarty’s books has been well received and the critics are raving about ART IN AMERICA. The Christian Science Monitor’s review rounds out the consensus when it says,

Art in America finds a charming groove with plenty of chuckles. Those turn into snorts of hysteria once the curtain opens on Kearney's Creedemore epic, which is of a scale and lunacy deserving an honorary Tony for funniest play never staged in real life. If you enjoy your antiheroes scruffy and your comedy topped with a dollop of Americana, buy a ticket for Art In America.

For more information about author and book: http://www.ronmclarty.com/

Telling Our Stories – The Intimacy of Memoir

2008-10-09T16:48:00.003-06:00

As first heard in the gritty black-and-white film The Naked City in 1948, “There are eight million stories in the naked city.” Everyone has a story and appearances can be deceiving when it comes to knowing who has led a remarkable adventure, survived a harrowing experience, or been celebrated at some point in his or her life. Three books recently crossed my desk about women who stepped out, survived, or were deeply affected by a brief star turn. Each is compelling and inspiring in its own way, and each reminds us of how seldom we know another’s secret heart.

THE LOVELIEST WOMAN IN AMERICA: A Tragic Actress, Her Lost Diaries, and Her Granddaughter’s Search for Home, Bibi Gaston. William Morrow 2008. I met Bibi a few years ago at a party and, as we sat together enjoying glasses of wine, she told me that recently, out of the blue, she had received 1,500 pages of her grandmother’s diaries from the 1920s and 1930s. Before that she had known nothing about her father’s mother except that she had been very beautiful and had killed herself in 1938. Her grandmother, Rosamond Pinchot, had been born into an illustrious political family, was dubbed “the loveliest woman in America” at the age of 23. She was a celebrated actress, an accomplished sportswoman, and a well-known socialite. By the age of 33 she was dead by her own hand. This candid book relates Bibi Gaston’s own journey as she explores her family’s secrets and the convoluted maze of subsequent events following Rosamond’s death. It’s a fascinating tale!

PACIFIC LADY: The First Woman to Sail Solo Across the World’s Largest Ocean, Sharon Sites Adams with Karen J. Cootes. University of Nebraska Press 2008. In June 1965, Sharon Adams sailed solo from the mainland United States to Hawaii. Just four years later, she completed a 74-day sail from Japan across the Pacific to the coast of California. No woman had ever done either before! This was an age when high-tech navigation equipment and communications were unknown. Imagine the challenges she faced and yet she is virtually unknown. Adams had always been athletic and a tomboy, but these were times when women adventurers were few and far between. Following the death of her husband, this intrepid sailor “discovered” the sport and had her first lesson, bought a boat, and within eight months set out to achieve her first world record. A truly inspiring story for anyone dreaming of taking on a challenge!

CANCER IS A BITCH (Or, I’d Rather Be Having a Midlife Crisis), Gail Konop Baker. Da Capo 2008. Life can really whack you upside the head sometimes. That’s what happened to Gail Konop Baker, an accomplished columnist and freelance writer, a runner, yoga practitioner, doctor’s wife, and mother of two. As she puts it, in her early forties, just as her life was cooking on all burners, “my right boob turned on me. Seven biopsies in five years, the last one ductal carcinoma in situ.” Gail’s valiant fight again this dreaded disease put her priorities quickly in order. At this point in her life, she had expected “to be feeling bad about my neck; instead I was feeling bad I wouldn’t live long enough to feel bad about it.” This story is as much about family, friends, and love as it is about cancer. The author pulls no punches, but she writes with humor as well as candor—it’s a real story with no bullshit in sight. Author's website: http://www.gailkonopbaker.com/

-- Rosemary Carstens

Fascinated by The Scream? Munch’s “Vampire” bites back –-

2008-09-26T11:32:00.002-06:00

Although I’ve long been familiar, as most art fans are, with Edvard Munch’s The Scream, I was not familiar with another masterpiece of his titled Love and Pain, more commonly known as “Vampire” (see image to left). Part of the Norwegian artist’s magnificently rendered 20-work series The Frieze of Life (which included The Scream), it is considered the most important of four Vampires he completed in 1893 and 1894. It was first exhibited in 1902, in Berlin, where it caused shock and consternation. Nazi Germany later condemned it as morally degenerate. Criticism ran the gamut from fears about women’s liberation (as you can see, the woman appears to be the aggressor here, “draining” the man’s life blood away—that old boy Munch had a great sense of irony in my view) to outrage at its portrayal of passion with sadomasochistic overtones.

For the past 70 years, this work has remained in the hands of a private collector, so has seldom been viewed by the public, although it was on loan to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art last year. Now it’s up for auction next week at Sotheby’s in New York; its estimated value? $35 mil. Not too shabby for a painting so reviled in earlier times—just confirms that maybe titillation does pay, not to mention being an incredibly fine painter and craftsman.

A more detailed article was published HERE in the UK Independent's art and architecture section.

-- Rosemary Carstens

What if you could only keep one memory?

2008-09-22T14:43:00.001-06:00

I’m on the last bus out of this life and I arrive at Camp Eternity. I can see over the fence surrounding the compound and everyone is dressed beautifully, radiates happiness, and most are dancing. It’s obviously a paradise. I pop out of the bus and lineup for admittance. I don’t know how I got this lucky, but I figure some of my files must have gotten trashed during a hard-drive crash. So be it—good times, I’m there! As I reach the gate, a handsome dude all dressed in white, flashes a baby-you’re-mine grin, and holds up his hand.

“Before you can pass through these gates to eternity, you must choose a single memory to retain—everything else will be erased forever. You have one hour to choose.”

WHOA. Tough assignment. What would YOU choose? What one memory would you cling to above all others? Other than the births of children or weddings days, which we'll say are givens.

This is the premise of 100 an imaginative, original play by Christopher Heimann, Neil Monaghan, and Diene Petterle, published by Nick Hern Books, a specialized UK company that publishes plays, screenplays, and theaterbooks. NHB is a great source for scripts of any number of fascinating productions should you be in the market.

100 and the company's subsequent presentation Food, about Frank Byrne, a top chef with only one ambition in life—to win the coveted third Michelin star for his restaurant, were performed by the imaginary body, an award-winning theater and film company. They “are interested in creating theatre and film with a focus on playful visual styles, often using magical realism to stretch the boundaries between reality and fiction.” Both of these plays have received special recognition and have been published by Nick Hern Books. You can learn more about the theater company and their interpretations at http://www.theimaginarybody.co.uk.

I’m fascinated by this premise and find it’s not easy to choose just one out of a lifetime of memories, but lots of fun to think about. I’d love to hear what YOUR response would be when you end up just this side of heaven??

--Rosemary Carstens

Mangos, Mali, and an Inspiring Midwife

2008-09-15T09:47:00.003-06:00

Once in awhile I come across a book that should be on everyone’s “must read” list. Kris Holloway’s Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Midwife in Mali is such a book. Unfortunately it was published by a small educational press—Waveland Press—and I couldn’t even find it on their website because everything is listed by academic discipline and there is no search function. I say “unfortunately” not because I have anything against Waveland Press—I don’t—and at least they had the wisdom to publish this book, but in today’s extremely competitive publishing industry it is essential to have some market-saavy promotional tools to draw attention to special books that might otherwise just fade away.

Author Kris Holloway spent two years as a Peace Corp volunteer in 1989-1991, in the small village of Nampossela in Mali, West Africa. Her hostess, 24-year-old Monique Dembele, ran the village medical clinic and served as midwife to the community. In a region where most women are married by the age of 18 and have 7 children on average, maternity mortality rates are among the highest in the world. In this world of mud huts, complicated cultural and religious customs, and little material resources, Holloway spent her days and nights at Monique’s side learning how to make do with little, the realities of childbirth when faced head on, the natural beauty of a night sky without electricity to dim its display, and the amazing bond that can build between two women from extremely different backgrounds. It is a unique and moving tale of friendship and love that you will long remember. If you enjoyed Three Cups of Tea, you will LOVE Monique!

The good news is that you CAN find Monique and the Mango Rains on major bookselling sites and, hopefully, on their shelves. Let’s lend our efforts to making this book the bestseller it deserves to be.

Happy reading! Rosemary Carstens

For more about the author, the book, and Mali: http://www.moniquemangorains.com/
To listen to NPR’s Robin Young interview with the author: http://www.here-now.org/shows/2007/01/20070122_17.asp

Painting a Life – Frida Lives On

2008-09-07T17:28:00.001-06:00

I just got back from a trip to the west coast to do some research. While there, I took advantage of the opportunity to visit museums and see some fantastic art. One highlight was an overnight in San Francisco during one of the nicest times of the year—the city was sparkling! I went first to see the Museum of Modern Art’s Frida Kahlo exhibit, organized by Kahlo biographer and art historian Hayden Herrera.

Frida has become a cult figure, a symbol of intimate personal expression in the arts. But during her lifetime, she was known mainly as the eccentric wife of the famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. She was known to “dabble” in painting, to dress in traditional Tehuana clothing, and to have suffered a dreadful accident early in life that eventually resulted in her early death at age 47. It is only in the last twenty-some years that her paintings began to develop a following and she and her life came into the spotlight. On the coat tails of the Herrera biography in 1983 (since reprinted numerous times), came more books, more research, about her art, her life, and her audacious lifestyle. A few years ago, Selma Hayek made a wildly popular movie about her. And, once again, with this exhibition of about fifty of her paintings plus many photographs with Diego, family, and friends, her fan base swells.

The MOMA exhibition is a celebration of the 100th anniversary of her birth in 1907 and it’s the last stop for this amazing collection of paintings and photographs. There is still time to catch it as it will be there until September 28th. I spent hours absorbing the breadth and quality of Frida’s work—many of the paintings have not previously been available for public view—and carefully examining each photograph. Many times, what we see in articles about Frida are her less-refined depictions of her physical trials and her marital troubles. What is apparent in this exhibition is how technically skilled she was, as evidenced in her beautifully and exotically rendered paintings. For me, it was a thrill I’ll not soon forget!

--Rosemary Carstens

Women on ice tell a vital story . . .

2008-08-14T10:11:00.001-06:00

FROZEN RIVER is an unexpected gem of a movie. I loved it as much as I've loved anything in a long, long time. I first heard about it after it won the best feature prize at Sundance and was intrigued and excited to see it. It tells the story of two poor, desperate women (one white and one Mohawk) who smuggle illegal immigrants across a frozen river from Canada to the US in order to help their families survive.

A couple of days before Christmas, Ray Eddy's (Melissa Leo) gambler of a husband has run off with the money she was saving for a new double-wide trailer. Her sense of defeat is palpable. What she wants is simple: to give her kids a safe place to live since the trailer they currently live in is falling apart. She is desperate to get cash and meets Lila Littlewolf (Misty Upham) who introduces her to smuggling, a dangerous way to make some fast cash. Each journey across the ice is harrowing, never knowing if the ice will hold them. Their last run goes bad and they are forced to rely on each other and this bizarre relationship they have formed.

Melissa Leo is an actress you have seen in many movies (21 Grams) and TV shows (Homicide: Life on the Streets), who just blends into the background—which is a good thing. She's been the perfect supporting character. Incredibly, this is the first time that she has carried a film, and her performance is outstanding and Oscar worthy. What I particularly love about her is that she uses her face and age fearlessly to relay Ray's emotions and desperation.

Melissa Silverstein
Women & Hollywood
melsil@earthlink.net
www.womenandhollywood.com
Twitter: melsil

FROZEN RIVER is written and directed by Courtney Hunt, and has won awards at the Nantucket Film Festival, the Provincetown and Seattle International film festivals, and the 2008 Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

Straw appliqué extends tradition through innovation --

2008-08-07T10:12:00.000-06:00

THE ART OF STRAW APPLIQUÉ arose in colonial New Mexico because the Spanish colonists wanted to replicate the old world marquetry of their homeland but could not get the rare woods or gold used by artisans in Spain. Precious metal was a rare commodity and the use of gold was strictly controlled. Marquetry is a term that applies to two different types of wood surface decoration—inlay and veneer. Modern straw appliqué combines the two, using humble, readily available materials—such as wheat straw, corn husks, and native woods—that when skillfully applied echo the delicate coloration and patterns of pieces created traditionally. The straw is cleaned and then cut into tiny pieces used to create intricate geometric or floral shapes and figures against a background of dark-stained wood formed into crosses, altars, boxes, and other pieces. The so-called poor man’s gilding has become an exquisite re-rendering of a classic style.

BERNADETTE MARQUEZ-LÓPEZ is a native of Santa Fe, New Mexico. She began working as a straw artist in 2003 after admiring the art for many years. She has quickly developed her own style and has risen to the top of this art form. She juried into the annual Traditional Spanish Market in 2004, which is held on the Santa Fe Plaza the last weekend of July each year. Bernadette is inspired by the subtle colors and beauty of New Mexico’s ever-changing landscape. She shares her life with her talented husband, bultos-carver Arthur López, and their two sons, Darean and Jeremiah. For more information and to see more of her work, Bernadette can be contacted at artplopez@aol.com.

Finding Gold in a wealth of cultures --

2008-07-17T17:19:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, DIVERSITY INTERESTS ME—I like to see a wide range of variations on a theme from artists, authors, chefs, filmmakers, and travelers, and I come away feeling completely enriched by the experience. Usually one of these discoveries has my synapses zapping through my brain like marbles in a pinball machine!

Recently, catching up on my reading for the next issue of FEAST the eZine, I came across FINDING NOUF, written by Zoë Ferraris and published by Houghton Mifflin this year. One of the first things I do when beginning a ne book about another culture is turn to the back inside leaf of the cover and read about the author. I want to know what gives this writer the creds to write authentically about a culture not his or her own. This is Ferraris’s first novel. She moved to Saudi Arabia right after the first Gulf War to live with her then husband and his extended family of Saudi-Palestinian Bedouins—there was shock and awe on both sides from what I gather. But it certainly gave Zoë an inside look at how at least one group of Saudi’s think, about their world and cultural viewpoint.

Finding Nouf is a mystery, but so much more! The search for a missing 16-year-old from a wealthy and privileged Saudi family is couched in a setting seldom seen by readers in the West and written beautifully, with depth and compassion.

We frequently hear and read about the complexity of a culture that goes to bizarre extremes to “protect and shelter” their women (and for whose benefit?). But have you ever considered what it is like for decent men who want to “go by the rules,” yet find no social outlets for meeting women to marry beyond their family’s choices? And how does a woman with less-than-traditional desires for her life find an acceptable path? This never discussed challenge for men in such a culture to marry and to interact with traditional men and women as well as an emerging female work force, and the challenges for a woman who wants more than the narrow path allowed most women in predominantly Muslim countries are all themes and subtext woven skillfully throughout this gripping story.

This kind of fiction allows us to better understand how others think about everyday events, help us to bridge the divide between cultures, and ultimately reveals that, despite different strokes for different folks, what is really at the heart of the human search for meaning is without borders.

– Rosemary Carstens

Leaving Home . . . Part Two

2008-06-17T10:11:00.006-06:00

If you think about the Hmong people at all, do you think that their persecution is all old news, nothing to do with today? Think again.

The personal tragedies of those forgotten soldiers left behind when America pulled out of Vietnam in 1975 lives on in the hearts and minds of many who, enduring incredible hardships, finally found their way to the United States as immigrants. And those stories, those hardships, are mirrored by those who struggle today to reach what they hope will be a land of opportunity. They don’t come because they want to leave family, home, culture, and country behind. They come because they must, to escape unbearable political conditions in their homelands, to provide for their families, to improve their chances for survival.

To quote just one experience from the many thousands experienced by Hmong refugees, taken from a story published on June 8, 2008, on appealdemocrat.com:

Grief visits Neng Xiong at Thanksgiving.

That's when the abundance of food and clean water—most basic of the many resources and opportunities available to him now—remind him of a sister who died for the lack of them. . . . He had been part of an early wave of Hmong tribespeople who fled pursuing communist mercenaries in Laos after US forces pulled out of the country.

Xiong says he left his village at about age 7 with his parents, three brothers, three sisters and various extended family members. They left their lives behind with little except clothes, blankets and 50 pounds of rice. "We struggled all the way," he says of the treacherous two-month trek.

Neither he nor his siblings had ever worn shoes or seen a house with running water, or a grocery store. They sought only safety. Opportunity and comfort were beyond their imaginations, Xiong says. "I never thought that I would make it here, I'm lucky to be here to tell this story."

To read the complete article, click HERE.

Because the Hmong were seen as collaborators by the communists who took over even as helicopters airlifted embassy employees and other Americans out, they were hunted down, driven out of ancestral lands and homes, and torn from everything they knew. Many of those who managed to survive years of ordeals and immigrated to the United States found themselves persecuted and unwelcome here, too, because they were different, because most did not yet speak English, because they were “too foreign.”

Coffee House Press has just published the work of a gifted Hmong writer, Kao Kalia Yang (http://www.kaokaliayang.com/home.html), titled The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir. This poignant, unforgettable story about her family’s frightening experiences as they fled Laos after the Vietnam War, their years spent in a desolate, harsh Thai refugee camp where the author was born, and their ultimate immigration to the United States is a fine example of why smaller presses, dedicated to beautiful writing and important nonfiction, stories of people that might otherwise slip through the cracks because they are not about celebrities, are essential to literature in this era.

The Hmong and their circumstances after our government pulled the plug in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, has been a previously untold story about an “invisible” people. This memoir reveals the heartbreak, the loss of home and family, the deplorable conditions in which families fought to survive in country, in Thailand, and upon arrival in the United States. Yang writes lyrically and well and weaves the folk lore of her ancestry and the love of one generation for another into a compelling tale.

As I read her story, I found myself wondering: Whatever happened to “Bring us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses”? Have we lost compassion for those not fortunate enough to be born here? Do we now just use people and discard them when they have nothing else we want, without regard for what being a US ally costs them? It’s happening again in Iraq. Those who help us are left to fend for themselves when no longer perceived as useful in reaching our military goals.

How do you feel about this behavior, this history, still in the making, of a government who abandons those in need, those not needed, and those unable to fend for themselves through circumstances not of their making? Is this America the Beautiful, land of the free? I’d love to hear your comments

-- Rosemary Carstens

Leaving Home . . . Part One

2008-06-02T15:42:00.008-06:00

I recently read Edwidge Danticat’s latest book, Brother, I’m Dying, the story about the treatment her Uncle Joseph (her “second father”) received at the hands of the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, resulting in his death, sick and alone, while in detention. Danticat is a gifted writer and this poignant, shocking story is even more so in her hands.

From the time as a very young girl when she was placed in her Uncle Joseph’s care, when her parents left troubled Haiti to try to establish a better life in the United States, she was gathered into his family with warmth and deep regard. Joseph was a man who “knew all the verses for love.”

Although Edwidge, her brothers, and her parents, would eventually be reunited in New York City, Uncle Joseph stayed on to minister to his family on the island and to his church congregation. As political conditions deteriorated even further, the Danticat’s fears for those remaining in Haiti grew. Late in 2004, after a life-threatening situation instigated by a violent gang, 81-year-old Joseph escaped to the United States. Traveling on an official visa, he no doubt felt when he boarded the plane that he would arrive in Miami, be met by family, and finally be safe for the first time in a long while. Instead, he was detained by the Department of Homeland Security, imprisoned and abused, refused his medications even though he repeatedly said to authorities, “Brother, I’m dying.” Within days, he was dead.

Because Danticat has a platform through her writing, and the skills and contacts to gain access others might not have, she has been able to bring the plight of her uncle to light. Not so for thousands of others who fall victim to the far-less-than-transparent immigration services procedures. Many are locked up for months or even years awaiting determinations about their fate. Racial profiling is rampant. There are no first-amendment rights, no rights to due process or proper representation, and no regard for the human suffering caused families. If anyone were to read one of these stories under the misapprehension that it was another country being discussed, it would seem horrifying that “they” treat human beings in this manner. But the “they” in this case is US, our government, with the full complicity of this administration.

As reported recently in the New York Times, “no government body in these cases is required to keep track of deaths and publicly report them. No independent inquiry is mandated. And often relatives who try to investigate the treatment of those who died say they are stymied by fear of immigration authorities, lack of access to lawyers, or sheer distance.”

Leaving home, wherever it may be, is an event prompted as much by hope as by necessity. It is a voyage into not only an unknown future, but it is also one that often depends upon the kindness and humanity of those met along the way, especially if money is tight and language a barrier. It is filled with emotional conflict and takes enormous courage to undertake. Even those able to re-establish themselves in a new land carry deep sadness in their hearts—because you can never again go back. Oh, you might visit if political conditions permit, but you are then a visitor there, too. Time does not stand still and you are no longer a part of that community, you are an observer. Your memories become the only land you can visit that remains, however bittersweet, as it was before you became a traveler, an immigrant, a voyager of new cultural seas.

This is the first of a several part series on immigration and the experience of leaving home. Please check back for future discussions and add your own stories to the mix.

-- Rosemary Carstens
http://www.CarstensCommunications.com

Click on the start arrow to watch Edwidge Danticat talk about her book --

Girl With No Shadow . . . .

2008-05-22T08:40:00.005-06:00

AT LAST! If you loved both the book by Joanne Harris and the film Chocolát, you will be as delighted as I am that the sequel has finally arrived on the bookshelves! And it is beautifully, lyrically written, filled with delightful new characters as well as the ones we grew to love—Vianne Rocher and her daughter Anouk, and (think Johnny Depp) that sexy gypsy, Roux! Vianne and Anouk have taken on a new identity on a small Montmartre street in Paris, along with her new baby, Rosette. She’s maintaining a low profile and insists her daughters do the same—she wants to stay put this time and not draw the dark winds’ or the attention of the “kindly ones,” those so sure they know what’s best for everyone else.

Vianne has given up magic, her tantalizing red dress hangs limply at the back of her closet along with the tattered delight of her earlier days. Anouk has been told there is no such thing as magic, only “accidents” with unforeseen consequences; however, Rosette, who is too young to heed such warnings, performs her own magic with the gleeful collaboration of her monkey totem. This time, the chocolate shop is dull and doing poorly—Vianne buys her products and has hidden away her equipment along with the shine of her former life.

Blown in on a gust of no good on a cold, rainy fall day, shapeshifter Zosie appears on the scene wearing high-heeled ruby slippers and carrying with her evil intent from the highlands of Aztecan Mexico. We now have a recipe for disaster and identity theft, with just a dash of chiles and a hint of magic mushrooms to spice things up!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it--if you like stories that carry with them more than a touch of imagination, a spark of light vs. dark and good vs. evil, all rolled into something that will melt in your mouth—

-- Rosemary

Outdoor Dreaming . . .

2008-04-27T16:59:00.003-06:00

Today’s special guest is PAGE LAMBERT, guide and mentor for women who want to connect or reconnect with nature in a deep, inner exploration of self. Lambert’s own tie to nature is profound and joyous. Welcome, Page!

-- Rosemary Carstens, Editor

Spring is the time of the year when I begin to panic. Last fall’s carelessly scattered optimism has taken root, breaking through the nitty-gritty soil of today’s reality. The lazy days of winter, which I expected to spend sequestered in my writing den, have vanished. Summer is just around the proverbial corner and I find myself wondering why I thought I could accomplish even half of what’s on the calendar. A horseback writing retreat in Wyoming? A writing salon in Taos? A canoe trip on the Green? A river writing and sculpting trip on the Colorado? Even a 3-day retreat perched on the edge of the Grand Canyon.

Someone clone me, PLEEEZE!

The chasm between last fall’s optimism and the reality of the summer schedule is deep, and steep. Panic sets in. Then I begin to read the letters from various retreat participants, sharing their dreams for their upcoming adventures.

A few responses are casual. “No specific goals—just want to relax.” But many agonize, sharing intimate details, lifelong dreams, age-old disappointments. “I used to pray for all the things I wished for, but most of my wishes didn't come true,” writes one woman. “Now my prayers are gentler, and my hope is that somehow my life story will make sense to me in the end. That's what writing does for us, isn't it? Helps us to process the mystery?”

Yes, that IS what writing does for us, especially when we embrace the mystery of both joy and pain. “Sometimes life takes you abruptly down a path you would never choose and grinds you up a bit,” writes another woman. “I want to heal.” Another shares a desire to simply be appreciative: “I want to find a way to save in my core the beauty I've seen and felt.” Another wants to face her fear of water. Another, her fear of horses.

Another kind of fear often surfaces. The honesty of what a well-known broadcast news journalist writes humbles me: “I’ve spent years buying beautiful leather journals, which are stacked away in various parts of my house, without a single word written in any of them. I’m intimidated by the thought that I have nothing worthwhile to say.”

Often, colorful stories emerge in these letters. “I didn't get a horse until one of my favorite uncles was killed in World War II,” one participant writes. “He left a beautiful sorrel quarter horse that he'd ridden to win goat-roping contests every Sunday.”

Some dreams are less ambitious, but just as vital to creativity. “I want to remember what the night sky looks like when the tent fly is off.” She may surprise herself, deciding by the second night to sleep outside the tent! One enthusiastic soul simply writes, “I’m on a mission!!” And then this wonderful confession: “I am giving this experience to myself as a 50th birthday present. I can’t believe it. I don’t feel 50!”

Each of these letters reminds me how lucky I am to share rivers and horses and canyons and deserts and mountains with such like-hearted souls. The best part, though, will be falling asleep (in a comfortable bed) this fall, thinking not only of the letters, but of all the smiles and tears that graced the summer, feeling eager to sow more seeds.

PAGE LAMBERT writes from Santa Fe, often about Wyoming, often about Colorado, often about rivers, but always about the land and the many ways in which it feeds us. She has been leading creative outdoor writing adventures for ten years, working in partnership with organizations such as The Women’s Wilderness Institute, the Grand Canyon Field Institute, and the Aspen Writers Foundation. In 2006, the River Writing Journeys she facilitates were featured in Oprah’s O magazine as “one of the top six great all-girl getaways of the year.” For more about her published books and editing and consulting work, or to get on the waiting list for next year’s “Literature and Landscape of the Horse” retreat in Wyoming: www.pagelambert.com.

New Issue of FEAST now available!

2008-04-16T17:59:00.002-06:00

For the latest delicious offerings of books, art, food, film, and unique travel--check out the new issue--you will not go away hungry-- http://www.CarstensCommunications.com/FEAST.html

The Rolling Stones -- Capturing the Wild Thing

2008-04-15T12:01:00.007-06:00

Yesterday I went to see SHINE A LIGHT, the Martin Scorsese documentary about the Stones. I loved it! Sure Keith Richards looks like a Shar Pei puppy these days, but with eyeliner and an irresistible sly, sideways twinkle in his eye. I’d love to know where he gets those sequined, dangly doo-rags he wears—now there’s a fashion statement! And Mick Jagger is a mouth on a stick, he’s so skinny. But both guys have plenty of muscles and charm and their music still grabs you in the gut and brings you to your feet.

It must have been like herding cats for Martin Scorsese, trying desperately to get his arms around the shape of the film, when he couldn’t even get a set list until the first number started! This is a group of guys who have done what they wanted for decades and they are not dancing to someone else’s tune now. Scorsese is a pro, though, and I’ve loved every one of his music docs. This time out, he captures the essence, the sound bites, the piss and vinegar of the band and whirls it by us like life from a merry-go-round.

The segments with the incomparable BUDDY GUY and steamy Christina Aguilera were HOTT, HOTT, HOTT, in very different ways. Buddy Guy’s guitar wails; his voice speaks of a thousand Jack Black and Lucky Strike nights. He and Mick together blend the best of black and white rock, blues, and soul. Aguilera has it all—looks, powerful voice and personal charisma, and able to play off Jagger belt for belt. These were brilliant ensembles.

I kept asking myself, what IS it that keeps these guys on top? How and why have they lasted so long and still draw sell-out crowds? It’s Mick’s energy partly—he’s like a rocket about to take off, fully loaded with fuel injection. The guitar wizards know how to make their instruments scream and sob, some of the best in the business. Most of the songs are powerful, hard pounding—the essential rock sound. But it’s much more than that. It’s ALL of that. It’s that these old rockers retell an era of music and living that resounds for many of us. They make us feel alive, sexy, ready to take on the world, the establishment, the Man. There were hopes and dreams for a better world back then, belief that you could capture the wild thing. The Stones reconnect us with all that--

All I can say, is “Gimme the Stones when I’m thirsty, gimme buddy Guy when I wanna get high…” – Yeah, baby! May old rockers never die!

-- Rosemary Carstens

Renowned Italian Photographer Teaches Boulder Workshop

2008-04-04T11:35:00.007-06:00

My friend, colleague, and artisan BARBARA HARDESTY, had a dream. For several years, as we each kept our noses to the grindstone with our “day” jobs, she spoke of her longing to create a business to help people experience the joys of her family’s native land of ITALY. Not just as a traveler/tourist, but in the manner of Leonardo Da Vinci—to immerse themselves in life’s creative pursuits as he did, with writing, art, food, nature, and photography, as well as the language and the people of one of the world’s most romantic destinations. That dream has come to pass and DA VINCI CAPERS is now in its fifth year. Italian dreams DO come true! Now, Barbara is bringing one of her Italian maestros to Boulder, Colorado, so that others can experience just a taste of what Da Vinci Capers has to offer. -- Rosemary

SHOOTING ON-SITE: GETTING UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL ~ Capturing your subject's story

Da Vinci Capers hosts “A Personal Renaissance Journey” with Massimo Bassano, a freelance international photojournalist, for a one-week photographic workshop, July 17–24, 2008, in Boulder, Colorado. There are 4-day and 8-day options.

In his first Colorado appearance, Massimo shares how photographers capture exceptional photos when they become part of the scene they are photographing and “touch” the lives of their subjects, rather than just watching them through a lens. You will learn that the location's “story”—becoming familiar with the history, the culture and the social context of the people—is the secret to taking great photos. You must follow where the story leads.

Each day of this workshop will be an adventure. Capturing the morning light and coolness of the day, you will shoot together and independently. In the afternoons you gather for discussions, return to do more shooting and download or develop film overnight. There will be discussions on all aspects of the shoot: issues of light, composition, technical points, preparing for a shoot, how to research an area, problems of approaching people or property, how and when to use a small strobe and other types of equipment. As with all Da Vinci Capers’ adventures, you will practice sfumato—the flexibility that allows for unexpected creative opportunities, varied photo skills, and the weather.

Massimo’s authentic approach of “getting up-close and personal” is a proven success. In Calabria, Italy, he was the first photographer to be granted permission to live for three months among the Carthusian monks. He was able to document the 900-year-old brotherhood, resulting in the award-winning book THE COLOR OF SILENCE. It was the first time that the Chartusians allowed a photographer to record their private lives.

Massimo’s words and pictures have graced such major magazines around the world as National Geographic, GEO, Ciclismo, and MAX France. Working as a freelance photojournalist since 1990, he has worked alongside many of photography’s greatest talents, including Bob Sacha, William Albert Allard, David Harvey, and George Steinmetz. Presently, Massimo is working in Rome with Bob Krist for National Geographic Traveler. In addition to working with Da Vinci Capers, he also teaches for National Geographic and Maine Media Workshops.

For more information about this rare, adventurous photography workshop, contact Barbara Hardesty at (303) 284-1383 or barb@davincicapers.com. For full details about Da Vinci Capers programs in Italy, go to http://www.davincicapers.com—don’t forget to look for LEONA, the DVC traveling chicken!

Living in Italy is MORE than it's cracked up to be . . .

2008-03-29T10:02:00.005-06:00

Our latest guest hails from ITALY part of each year. DEE MONTALBANO loves the lifestyle and friends she’s found there and, in addition to being an accomplished writer, she is a keen observer of unique details around her. Here is an excerpt from a recent letter, received just before Easter and shared with her permission— Rosemary

GREETING FROM LUCCA, ITALY

My time on the Web is limited to 25 hours a month in my apartment . . . I’m not sure what happens to me after 25 hours [since] I haven’t gotten that far in my language development with Stefano, my landlord. I have learned to tell Stefano, “Yes, I know there’s a dial tone on the kitchen phone, but I still can’t make or receive calls on that phone.” Also, I’ve learned how to say “band-aid” and “three way plug” in Italian, all things they didn’t teach me in my language classes.

My life here is simple. In a little while I will walk about four blocks to fill my empty water bottles at the public fountain. There’s a more interesting water fountain under a statue of a bare-breasted woman, but that’s another five blocks away and the filled bottles are heavy, especially when I have to carry them up the 44 stairs to my apartment.

Tomorrow I will take my shopping cart to Esselunga, the King Soopers of Lucca, and that’s about a two-mile walk outside the walls. The last time I did that I filled the shopping cart so much that I couldn’t carry it up the 44 stairs and had to make two runs. It keeps me in shape. Other than that, Lucca (probably any place in Italy) has the best take-out in the world: small shops that have their own freshly made eggplant parmigiana, lasagna, frittatas, amazingly prepared vegetables, ribollita, risottos—you name it. And then there is the foccaccia and the breads at Giusti, one of the best bakeries in town, where at least thirty people are lined up in front of the long counter and I finally gathered enough courage to push forward and speak my order with the best of them.

My first two weeks here I was house-sitting with Ugo, a split-personality border collie mix. It was great, except that the caldaia, the water heater, broke down three different days leaving me without hot water and heat on those days. Finding the language to get that fixed was another lesson they didn’t teach me.

Ugo was a demon out on the street; he lunged at male dogs while I shouted, “Questo cane e’ aggressivo. Meglia che girare.” This dog is aggressive. It’s better that you turn around. At home Ugo was a loving delight, so on balance, we had a great time.

Yesterday I went to Florence; today I took the local bus to visit a new friend who lives in a suburb; Sunday five women will be gathering at a friend’s house in a hill town for a vegetarian Easter feast. And I’m writing 4-5 days a week. In between I’m seeing what I can of the American elections on BBC World, and trying to stay calm while our country appears to be going down the drain economically and otherwise. It’s a little unnerving to have the decline of the dollar in your face each day, but I think it’s another lesson in giving up my fears. The latest poll that I saw showed McCain gaining, and if that’s the case, I may stay here indefinitely.

Buona Pasqua (Easter is very big here) and saluti affetuosi a tutti,

-- Dee

DEE MONTALBANO is a teacher, teacher of teachers, corporate consultant, grandma, quester, writer, and Tuscan housesitter. A resident of Boulder, Colorado, she has traveled annually to Lucca, Italy, since 2004, has found a community of friends there, and is now becoming part of the ‘hood where she rents an apartment and tries to write every day.

Where Have All the Readers Gone?

2008-03-22T17:34:00.018-06:00

We hear so often these days that people aren’t reading anymore, that many college graduates haven’t read an entire book since they graduated, that most Americans have not been in a bookstore in the past five years, and other—to me—shocking statistics. When I think of all I’ve gained from reading over my lifetime, and all I look forward to learning and enjoying through books, that’s pretty depressing. I feel sorry for those folks. Recently, though, I found a new source for book lovers. It’s “social networking for books” and it’s fun and fills the need to “talk books” when no one around you gives a rat’s.

It’s a partial answer to the question, “Where have all the readers gone?” Here are a few links for websites that focus on reading, what YOU are reading, what you have on your bookshelves, who else is reading what you have loved the most and who has it in their library. Book reviews and suggestions are posted and each is a good resource for checking out books by favorite authors or topics. There are special pages for author-members. Although some sites have upper levels of membership (as with many social media sites) with costs attached, basic memberships are free and probably all most of us want anyway. Check these out and let me know what you think:

http://www.deeplinking.net

http://www.librarything.com

http://goodreads.com

http://www.aNobii.com

http://www.BookJetty.com

I’m sure there are others. I especially like Library Thing. But, if you are not particularly looking for interactivity and social connections with other readers, don’t forget that FEAST offers a delicious assortment of reading suggestions in each issue. I promise that there will be a brand new issue very soon! In the meantime, you can always search the archived copies linked to the last issue and find fascinating and memorable fiction, nonfiction, art, food, film, and travel recommendations. These are selections that are not necessarily best sellers—which is often dictated by promotional budgets—but gems that may have faded from sight because there WASN’T promotional money available. Often “best selling” is code for those brought to our attention through advertising—some of those are wonderful, too—but there are many beautifully written, compelling books that drop below the horizon way too soon. FEAST tries to highlight those.

Happy spring! -- Rosemary