Cornbread Nation 6: The Best of Southern Food Writing

ThehungrilyawaitedsixthvolumeintheCornbreadNationseriestellsthestoryoftheAmericanSouth—circanow—throughtheprismofitsfoodandthepeoplewhogrow,make,serve,andeatit.ThemodernSouthservesupagroaningboardofinternationalcuisinesvirtuallyunknowntopreviousgenerationsofSoutherners,notesBrettAndersoninhisintroduction.Southernfood,liketheincreasinglyglobalizedSouth,showsanopenandcosmopolitanattitudetowardethnicdiversity.ButfullyappreciatingSouthernfoodstillrequiresfluencywiththeregion’shistory,wartsandall.Theessays,memoirs,poetry,andprofilesinthisbookareinformedbythatfluency,revealingtopicsandpeopletraditionalaswellasavantgarde,downhomeaswellasurbane.Thebookisorganizedintosixchapters:“MenuItems”sharesruminationsoniconicdishes;“MessingwithMotherNature”looksattherelationshipbetweenfoodandthenaturalenvironment;“SouthernCharacters”profilesaneclecticmixoffoodnotables;“SouthernDrinkways”distillslibations,hardandsoft;“IdentityinMotion”examineschangeintheSouthernfoodworld;and“TheGlobalSouth”leavesreaderswithsomefinalthoughtsonthecross-culturalinfluenceswaftingfromtheSouthernkitchen.Gatheredhereareenoughprominentfoodwriterstomustertheliveliestofdinnerparties:MollyO’Neill,CalvinTrillin,MichaelPollan,KimSeverson,MarthaFoose,JessicaHarris,BillAddison,MattandTedLee,andLolisEricElie,amongothers.Twoclassicpieces—FrederickDouglass’saccountofthesustenanceofslavesandEdwardBehr’s1995profileofCajuncookEulaMaeDoré—areincluded.AphotoessayontheCollinsOysterCompanyfamilyofLouisianaroundsoutCornbreadNation6.PublishedinassociationwiththeSouthernFoodwaysAllianceattheCenterfortheStudyofSouthernCultureattheUniversityofMississippi.AFriendsFundPublication.