Culinary Survivance: Maya Angelou’s Gastrographic Writing

Authors : Ezgi İLİMEN

Pages : 121-143

View : 15 | Download : 16

Publication Date : 2021-05-01

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This article examines Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(1969);, Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(2004); and Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(2010); by juxtaposing soul food recipes and memory in the context of black cultural survival, community building and historical circumstances. In her gastrographic writing, cooking, storing and sharing food within African American culinary and literary traditions insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(recipe books, cookbooks and food memoirs); signify a struggle for black survivance insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(survival and resistance); against white supremacy, discrimination and stereotypical grand narratives of slavery and Jim Crow years. In this regard, her soul food recipes and cookbooks reflect race, gender and class politics and empower black people with the linguistic power of communicating with their comrades/readers and writing their experiences from the nourishing and safe sphere of kitchens and dinner tables.
Keywords : Maya Angelou, food writing, memory, survival, community