FEAST offers a main course of books I have especially enjoyed, art that made my heart beat faster, films that transported me, food I either have or would love to indulge in, and an occasional travel tip thrown into the mix. It will focus on the positive—what pleases. Why waste words or calories on what doesn’t? It will come to you quarterly. Please help it to circulate more widely by sharing it with others on your own mailing lists (with credit). If someone not on the present list would like to receive future issues, instructions to be added (or removed) are at the bottom of the page, as is my personal privacy pledge. Comments are always welcome!

-- Rosemary Carstens

ON ART:

Passions in Print: Private Press Artistry in New Mexico 1834–Present, Pamela S. Smith with Richard Polese (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2006, www.unmpress.com). New Mexico’s book artists have made extraordinary contributions to the literature of the region. This book moves through five historical periods and shows how the influences of time and place, unique skills and talents, and highly individual personalities all contributed to the shaping of the state’s literary treasures. Especially prescribed for those who are suffering from Barnes and Noble syndrome.

FICTION THAT BLEW MY HAIR BACK:

The Grace that Keeps this World, Tom Bailey. Random House 2005. I am so glad I didn’t miss this book. It’s beautifully written and provides a glimpse into a world I didn’t even know existed—the northern wilderness of the dense forests of Adirondack country in upstate New York. The setting is a small community where many manage only a subsistence living, depending on homegrown, seasonal foods from gardens, firewood to warm the winters, and hunting to provide their meat. It is the story of a couple working hard to keep things going and the inevitable conflict as their two sons rebel in varying ways against their father’s hard-won survival, his chosen way of life.

The Innocent, Harlan Coben. Dutton 2005. A mystery with more twists than a French braid. No one is who they appear; few, if any are innocent. And it all begins with the search for an adopted daughter—or maybe with an accidental homicide—or maybe with a nun with breast implants! Here’s a story to hold your attention if mystery is your game.

The Kindness of Strangers, Katrina Kittle. William Morrow 2005. A well-crafted story about secrets behind closed doors. A small boy, thought to be a bit strange by his classmates and their parents, tries to kill himself in a particularly desperate manner. As the authorities become involved, a shocking family tale emerges that has repercussions for an entire town, but most especially for Sarah Laden, a young widow with two sons. Sarah, whose son had been Jordan’s best friend until a few weeks earlier, was best friends with Jordan’s mother. In this powerful and poignant book, the vulnerability of children, the hidden depravity of people we think we know, and the dynamics of a town whose citizens cannot believe the proof before their eyes all play important roles as the author searches for answers to questions about when redemption is possible. The topic of this novel is difficult but compelling. It is not sensationalized but used as a vehicle to explore human dynamics in complex and challenging situations.

FOR THE KID IN ALL OF US:

The Pancake Potluck Sketchbook, written by Ann Hayes and illustrated by Karmen Thompson. A & K Press, Boulder, CO. Ann Hayes and Karmen Thompson blended their considerable talents in three children’s picture books about music and stagecraft for Harcourt in the late nineties. Throughout those collaborations this tale of a spring potluck floated in the back of their minds. When Karmen received a very serious diagnosis of illness, the two friends decided there was no time to waste. With Ann at the helm, they pushed the project to completion in this unique format. As stated in the introduction, “A sketchbook is a place where you take visual notes and try out ideas. It can be richer in its own way, certainly more spontaneous, than a finished work where you have culled much material and all the blips have been erased. People big and small, of all ages, will enjoy this whimsical Pancake Potluck.

Karmen passed away on May 31, 2006, but her art and her spirit live on in this delightful tale of food and community. It is available in limited edition only. If you love books and bookmaking, these two dedicated women have created something special! Available via email: annhayes@ionsky.com, or call 720-890-9648. $20.00.

BEEFING UP YOUR BRAIN - RECOMMENDED NONFICTION:

Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda, Rosamond Halsey Carr with Ann Howard Halsey. Viking 1999. A young woman goes to Africa in the 1940s with her restless husband, with no idea that she would spend the rest of her life there. This collaboration and memoir of a half decade plus of living in what was then the Belgian Congo and is now the country of Rwanda, is fascinating. It tells of history in the making, the demise of the luxurious lifestyle of colonial times, and the vicious bloodlettings of ethnic rivalries in more recent times. At publication, Rosamond Carr was 87 years old, the last of the foreign plantation owners in Rwanda, where she now runs a children’s orphanage.

A BIT MORE SERIOUS, BUT EYE OPENING:

Orange County Housecleaners, Frank Cancian (University of New Mexico Press, 2006, www.unmpress.com). Anthropologist Frank Cancian explores the world of industrious domestic workers of southern California, focusing on five women in particular: two from Mexico and three from Guatemala. In the voices of people who do the heavy lifting in more ways than one, we get a candid glimpse of what these lives are really about. The women share tales of immigration, spousal and familial turmoil, lack of higher education, and the economic and social marginality that accompanies working to live. A good choice for the person who wants to know what lies behind all the Washington hullabaloo about immigration, the reality at the grassroots level.

The New Southern Politics, J. David Woodard (Lynne Rienner Publishers 2006, www.rienner.com or call 303-444-6684). Woodard, Strom Thurmond Professor of Government at Clemson University, knows his stuff when it comes to both the big and small picture of politics in the southern states. He focuses state by state, often examining the influence of individual personalities, and includes the region’s social and economic life in the mix. At times humorous and at times alarming, his view seems more to the right of the aisle, but this is a comprehensive look at how the south has dominated US politics for many an era and will give you some insight into how things work you may not have had before.

Superpower on Crusade: The Bush Doctrine in US Foreign Policy, Mel Gurtov (Lynne Rienner Publishers 2006, www.rienner.com or call 303-444-6684). Peter Van Ness of the Australian National University says it well: “From his work in the 1960s on the Pentagon Papers to this new book, Mel Gurtov has proven to be one of the most thoughtful and profound critics of US foreign policy. Superpower on Crusade, a study of global scope solidly supported with logic and evidence, examines both the roots of the Bush Doctrine and its self-defeating implications.” Mel Gurtov is professor of political science and international studies at Portland State University. I found this book to contain clear evidence of the road to hell Bush has paved, and continues to pave, for the US. It will reveal much you have not seen in the news and give you increased perspective on what is really going on in Washington.

NOT TO BE MISSED:

Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, Charles J. Shields (Henry Holt & Company, May 2006). Finally, a biography of the somewhat mysterious and reclusive creator of To Kill a Mockingbird! From the publisher: “After years of research, six hundred interviews, and the discovery of some new information, Charles J. Shields has brought to life the warmhearted, high-spirited, and occasionally hardheaded woman who gave us two of American literature's most unforgettable characters—Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout—and who contributed to the success of her lifelong friend Truman Capote's masterpiece, In Cold Blood.” This fine book was agented by Jeff Kleinman at Folio Literary Management (www.foliolit.com).

Latin American Poster Art. On September 9th the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, NM, unveils a unique presentation of Latin American poster art. More than 100 striking images from 13 Latin American countries and the US will be on display, many for the first time. This inaugural exhibition runs through January 2007 and focuses on themes of solidarity, self-determination, human rights, revolution, and culture. As curator David Craven says: “This art is an invitation to dream, to imagine a new country.” It forges a new language of the people through the use of brash color, vivid, suggestive imagery, and understated text. These “voices of the people” influenced the democratization of a culture. A beautifully illustrated volume will accompany the exhibit. For more information: www.nhccnm.org or 505-246-2261. A detailed article about the posters will appear in Hispanic magazine in August 2006.

David Hockney Portraits. The first-ever exhibition of David Hockney’s images of friends, family, lovers, and self opened on June 11 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and will run through September 4, 2006. What can I say? It’s fabulous. The man’s talent and ability to capture both expression and personality are what makes him one of the most significant artists of our time. I particularly enjoyed seeing his sketchbooks as I feel they are where an artist reveals his or her most intimate thought processes in developing ideas, disclosing what interests or intrigues. A variety of media have been employed—painting, drawing, etching, watercolor, and photography—and it is a collection of half a century’s work. The exhibit opened in Boston earlier in the year and is now in Los Angeles (where the artist makes his home)—once it leaves LACMA, your opportunity to see all of these works in one beautiful space in the US will be lost, as its next and final stop is the National Portrait Gallery in London. For more information, check out the website at www.lacma.org

I am in the process of reviewing a half century of films with either enticing food scenes or where food takes on the role of a character (think Chocolát). Many suggestions here will be older films—fun to revisit or discover anew. Others will be films from this year I have fallen in love with.

THE LOST CITY (2006)
Andy Garcia’s poignant, hauntingly beautiful film about Cuba just prior to and immediately after Fidel comes to power is my favorite film so far this year. Try not to miss it! They loved it in Cannes and I loved it in Boulder. Garcia blended the heat of tropical topography and climate with archival Cuban film to create a Havana of the fifties that is vivid and alive. The compelling juxtaposition of Latin rhythms and upper class luxury alongside the revolution’s grit, violence, and bloodshed create a unique visual jazz ensemble. The unraveling of one family over a clash of ideals makes it human and personal, not just legendary history. This film is a FEAST.

SOYLENT GREEN (1973)
Starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, Chuck Connors, Joseph Cotton, Edward G. Robinson, and Dick Van Patten—to mention a few familiar and very young faces—this is Hollywood-style science fiction of the seventies. The year is 2022. Human beings are still the same old, self-involved model, but food has changed. And they’ll do anything to get it—Soylent Green. Heston, sporting a great looking body and an unwrinkled face, had a gun in his hand even then. He plays a New York police detective who stumbles onto a bizarre government secret and becomes the hunted in the process.

THE FRESHMAN (1990)
Arriving in New York to begin film school, Clark Kellogg (Matthew Broderick) gets conned out of all his belongings. His search for a way to pay his tuition and living expenses embroils him in the clandestine doings of Carmine “Jimmy the Toucan” Sabatini (Marlon Brando, once again as the Godfather) and his seductive daughter. Clark soon finds himself scheduled to dine on the last of an endangered species. This film has some hilarious moments, is a satirical handling of a serious topic, and will leave you humming “Mona Lisa.”

Julie and Julia, 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen: How One Girl Risked Her Marriage, Her Job, and Her Sanity to Master the Art of Living, Julie Powell. Little, Brown 2005. Julie Powell shares her experiences over a year’s period of time in which she challenges herself to cook every recipe in Julia Child’s The Joy of Cooking and shares her ups, downs, and all arounds with readers on a blog. In her late twenties, Julie is working in a dead end job for a government agency supposedly concerned with aspects of the aftermath of 9/11. She is depressed and discouraged about her life. She and her husband, Eric, have moved into a rat hole of a New York apartment, with an even rattier kitchen, and she is looking for a way to bring meaning and purpose into her life. She takes up what they dub “The Project”—to roast, broil, boil, sauté, sauce, and stuff her way through her cooking heroine’s famous book. And Julie is not a cook—not even close. This is a hilarious read; Powell is honest about her own shortcomings, her fears, and her doubts about life, marriage, and the corporate/government world. And we, her readers, can completely identify! Note: If obscene language offends you, you should not cook with Julie.

NEW MEXICO. White-hot sun, electric blue sky, fields of lavender stretched before you—south of France? No way. Albuquerque, NM, has a lavender harvest in July each year, centered at the historic Los Poblanos Inn, only minutes from Albuquerque’s central plaza, and within easy access to the road to Santa Fe. For a weekend getaway, Los Poblanos is an oasis, offering a respite from the hustle and flow of Santa Fe. You begin to unwind from the moment you turn into the entrance and cruise through a tunnel of towering, hundred-year-old cottonwoods. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and personal. Famed architect John Gaw Meem built two masterworks here in the 1930s: Los Poblanos where six guestrooms are located, and La Quinta, with its grand ballroom, art gallery, and Spanish Territorial details. Twenty-five acres of rambling flower gardens, tiled fountains, pathways, orchards, an organic garden, and ducks and geese gliding on a small, willow-encircled pond, all contribute to the serenity of the property. The Inn has rooms, suites, a guest casita, and meeting rooms available, all beautifully and comfortably appointed. Be sure to visit the National Hispanic Cultural Center while you are there, or arrive in time for the balloon festival in the fall. For more information, visit www.lospoblanos.com or call toll free 1-866-344-9197 or 505-344-9297.

MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC. Experience the flavor and ambiance of Europe without the long, crowded flight and the high-priced euro! Montréal is only 40 miles from the US border, and Air Canada (www.aircanada.com/en/us/home.html) offers daily nonstop flights from Denver, as well as many other cities nationwide. Although both French and English wrangle for dominance, this is a European melting pot with Italian, Greek, Indian, and a variety of dialects and other languages filling the air. It’s a city defined by its history, its elegance—and its reputation as a place to joyously get down to the business of having fun! To discover what’s happening before you go, visit the weekly entertainment guide the Montréal Mirror online at www.montrealmirror.com or check out www.festivals.qc.ca/accueil.aspx for an English language listing of its festivals, art happenings, and major sporting events—including the Just for Laughs comedy festival and the reportedly world’s largest jazz festival. Other information, travel tips, and special deals can be found at the Tourisme Montréal website: www.tourisme-montreal.org.

TUSCANY, ITALY. Feeling the urge to make the long journey and spend some time in Europe? Always secretly dreamed of a retreat to explore your creative side? Da Vince Capers (DVC), a Colorado company, has created a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in the passionalte and creative spirit of Italy--with the genius of Leonardo Da Vinci to guide you. Called "A Personal Renaissance Journey," participants make their home in a famous artists' hamlet near Lucca and spend a week steeping themselves in Italian food, language, and fine arts. It is a hands-on experience and a chance to discover, under the guidance of DVC's collaboration of creative maestros, some hidden talents. In between lessons and sipping wine on the terrace, there is time to relax, swim, write, and dream. Detailed information can be found at www.davincicapers.com or call 303-284-1383.

"Art is not a mirror held up to reality, but a hammer with which to shape it."
— Bertolt Brecht (German poet and playwright, 1898–1956)

"Without deviation from the norm, progress itself is impossible."
— Frank Zappa

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."
— Martin Luther King Jr.

"Out on the edge of darkness, there rides the peace train."
— Cat Stevens, "Peace Train" (1971)