Latest Publication
GRLSquash, Issue 05: Ceremony
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“Daily Bread” will appear in the fifth issue of the biannual food and culture journal, GRLSquash. The theme of the issue is ceremony— the rites and rituals that inform how we cook and eat. Anyone who knows me knows that I love to eat good food, so this acceptance is a fun one. There is so much dynamic work in GRLSquash—you can purchase a copy (or subscribe) here or look for it in bookstores and fine kitchen supply stores. Many thanks to the editors.
Due to nationwide lockdowns, the publication may be pushed from Summer to Fall 2020.
Daily Bread
Our house had a phrase
Said at dinnertime grace
My mom's idea—salted with power—
"We're girls of the canyon.
We make our own magic!
Sit up straight and
Repeat after me:"
A-women. Amen.
Each night with feeling —
We sang it, of course —
Over "I Can't Believe" margarine.
They laughed when I said it
At Catholic School
"Oh, the priests will love that!
How sweet."
New breasts rising like brioche
A young lady now
Stand up straight for the Hemline Police.
How much watered-down grape juice
Has slid down my throat?
Save this girl grown too ripe
While she sleeps.
With my secret amendment
To class rosary
High on incense, I almost believed
You must be the good Hausfrau,
A lawyer, size two
Gave up bread, but where
Did that get me?
Now call me devout
To my mix-n-match faith
No structures of shame in my book
But I tasted some truth
In those dry-wafer years
I know my God;
She has better food.
A-women. Amen.
GRLSquash is a biannual food, culture, and art journal created to showcase the voices of womxn. Each issue is curated around a theme and can include poetry, photography, essays, recipes, illustrations, and more. Their fifth issue will be focused on “ceremony”.
From GRLSquash:
“Food and ceremony are inextricably linked. You could even say that food is ceremony: a glass of champagne after a big promotion, a birthday dinner at your favorite restaurant, a sweet treat to celebrate the end of the week. The sanctity of your morning coffee and toast may hold as much power as your upcoming nuptials.
Ceremonies can signify transition — from one life stage to the next, an old last name to a new one (or not), or even the changing of seasons. If you stop and think for a moment — really think — how many ceremonies have you participated in? How has food been involved? Has it been central to the plot? Or instead, a bystander?
Maybe for you it’s the little things: the solace found in kneading bread, watching it rise, then baking it into crusty oblivion; the comfort in a well-organized grocery list; the joyful chaos in Sunday night supper cooked for friends in your tiny apartment.”
Visit https://www.grlsquash.com/ to learn more and find a stockist near you.
