Writing and Food
So for one of my summer classes I was instructed to write about the connection between writing and food. A topic which I really wasn't too excited to investigate because on the surface it seemed like a pretty stretched comparison but after the first sentence I seemed to be unable to stop writing. A simple journal entry turned into some of the best writing I think I have ever produced. Never in my life did I think that I would become a foodie and yet here I am drawing connections between the two art forms.
The Writing is a little extensive and maybe even rant-esque but I really enjoyed the assignment and figured that I could share.
"Just as we were taught on the first day of class. Writing is not natural. just as we were told by Bazerman and Tindberg, we are forced to use our whole brain in order to extract our thoughts and put them on a piece of paper. To me it is reminiscent of the pensive from Harry Potter. The huge basin where the wizards store their memories in order to view them later. I remember when Dumbledore pulls a memory out of his wand and it comes out in this beautiful ethereal silver string. That is what writing is. incredibly difficult to start and impossible to master but, once you begin, it is always something beautiful. My uncle once told me that ALL famous writers, without exception, keep a journal. This spoke to me because even with their constant outpouring of words, which in itself is a form of catharsis, they still need their own personal writing to reflect on. Writing may not be natural but it certainly is necessary.
Something else that isn't natural. Cooking. Food can be eaten raw but in order to truly turn it into art, just like writing, preparation is needed. Pre-heating the oven is brain storming, drafting is the preparation: blending eggs, dicing vegetables, and greasing the pan. Then comes re-reading, the taste test if you will, followed by editing (adding salt) and finally the serving of the food, printing and turning in the paper, piping hot off of the printer.
Not only similar in execution, writing and food command cultural relevance. Authors like Shaw can bring the Irish culture together in writing just like their Shepherds Pie and Guinness bring them together in a pub. Writing is art. Food is art. Both are necessary.
The two art forms need each other. How can one describe the texture of a given dish they are enjoying without adjectives? How can one recall all of the ingredients and their ratios without a written recipe? How can the author stay alive without basic sustenance? How can the writer know the human experience without enjoying the basic pleasures of life? Like a cup of coffee at 8am or a hot dinner on a cold night. The point of all of this is that writing and food are similar in that all humans need them for their lives. They are necessary forms of art which we all crave, whether we know it or not."
The journal entry was obviously a very Pathos driven article, which I (and most of my old professors) consider one of the weakest forms of argument, but its how I truly feel. As an artist myself I am emotionally swayed by the infinite room for creative potential and I wanted to express just how profoundly it goes. I never saw the connection, or maybe I did and just didn't recognize it.
The point of all of this is that if food provides sustenance for our bodies, then writing provides it for our mind and soul. Furthermore, writing is highly regarded everywhere in the world but food, especially here in the US is not. We need to respect our bodies as well as our minds, not desecrate them with this fast food plagued culture that we seem to have stumbled into.
I know that most of my posts are pretty lighthearted and the last two have been pretty sappy or "pathos driven" so here are a few funny GIFS to make up for it. stay posted for more tasty food recipes.
-B
How I Wanna Eat:
How I Should Be Eating
How I feel about it:
How My Body Feels About It: