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Food Poem Fridays

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July 20, 2012
5 Comments

We ran a food poem once, for the explicit purpose of starting our days off with a different kind of food writing, to be read over our very first cup of coffee. After that first cup, the rest is almost always dedicated to food feature articles and recipes and headnotes, so we figured that a bit of food musing, spun into poetic form, was a welcome change of pace. 

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So, then: our official first poem of Food Poem Fridays is a manifesto of sorts on the ideals of life, written by Wendell Berry. Read slowly, sip your coffee, and then head off to work. 

Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry 

 

 

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • pierino
    pierino
  • amysarah
    amysarah
  • thirschfeld
    thirschfeld
  • Sophia Whitney
    Sophia Whitney
  • Kenzi Wilbur
    Kenzi Wilbur
Kenzi Wilbur

Written by: Kenzi Wilbur

I have a thing for most foods topped with a fried egg, a strange disdain for overly soupy tomato sauce, and I can never make it home without ripping off the end of a newly-bought baguette. I like spoons very much.

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5 Comments

pierino
pierino July 20, 2012
None better than Robert Burns' "Address to a Haggis".

But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed,
The trembling earth resounds his tread.
Clap in his walie nieve a blade,
He'll make it whissle;
An' legs, an' arms, an' heads will sned,
Like taps o' thrissle.

Okay, I actually like eating lambs' "lights" and such.
 
amysarah
amysarah July 20, 2012
I love the idea of Food Poem Friday. Have always loved 'This Is Just To Say' by William Carlos Williams: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15535

Probably pretty predictable (hey, that's alliterative, must be feeling poetic now) - but so beautiful and also the opposite end of the poetry spectrum from a manifesto. Just lovely plums.
 
thirschfeld
thirschfeld July 20, 2012
I couldn't be happier that you used my picture with that poem. It has been awhile since I read this poem and you don't know just how perfect it is this morning. Thanks for reminding me.
 
Kenzi W.
Kenzi W. July 20, 2012
It seems to fit perfectly, though, doesn't it?
 
Sophia W.
Sophia W. July 20, 2012
My favorite food poem (and one of my favorite poems in general):

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15306