The Artists' and Writers' Cookbook is a collection of personal,
food-related stories with recipes from 76 contemporary artists and
writers.
Inspired by a book from 1961, The (original) Artists' & Writers'
Cookbook included recipes from the likes of Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray,
Marianne Moore, and Harper Lee. This new, vibrantly illustrated version
includes stories and recipes from Anthony Doerr, Leanne Shapton, Joyce
Carol Oates, John Currin and Rachel Feinstein, Ed Ruscha, Neil Gaiman,
Edwidge Danticat, Aimee Bender, Gregory Crewdson, James Franco,
Francesca Lia Block, Swoon, Nelson DeMille, Rick Moody and Laurel
Nakadate, Nikki Giovanni, T.C. Boyle, Lev Grossman, Roz Chast, Heidi
Julavits, Marina Abramovic, Curtis Sittenfeld, Julia Alvarez, and many
others.
In The Artists' and Writers' Cookbook, Anthony Doerr lures us out into
the wild to find huckleberries andhappiness. Neil Gaiman makes a
perfectly eerie cheese omelet while Ed Ruschaassociates his cactus
omelet with a time of doom. Yiyun Li eats rations inBeijing while
Edwidge Danticat prepares a soup to celebrate freedom. NelsonDeMille
reminisces about a meal he ate 40 years ago when serving in
Vietnam;Kamrooz Aram recalls childhood picnics in his basement in Tehran
during airraids. Sanford Biggers updates a soul food classic-something
tasty to lessenthe bitter taste of consistent, systematic oppression.
Paul Muldoon and AimeeBender conjure food-related apocalyptic visions.
Marina Abramovic shares adish best consumed on top of a volcano, Elissa
Schappell dreams of playing SergeGainsbourg records to snails, and
Padgett Powell tastes a dish that reverses timeand space. Daniel Wallace
woos with an eggplant sandwich. Francesca Lia Blocktells us how to fall
in love.
The essays are at turns comedic and heart-wrenching, personal and
apocalyptic, with recipes that are enchanting to read and recreate. One
part cookbook and one part intimate self-portrait, The Artists' and
Writers' Cookbook is a portal into the kitchens and personal lives of an
unmatched collection of contemporary artists and writers.
