R278. You Write What You Eat: Essayists on Their Food Obsessions

Room 301, Henry B. González Convention Center, Ballroom Level
Thursday, March 5, 2020
3:20 pm to 4:35 pm

 

Obsession is at the heart of nonfiction writing: it often requires a in-depth investigation into the subject in order to unearth some concept of truth. With the rise of forms such as food-based memoir, essayists have been turning to food writing as a way to celebrate and dissect our relationships with eating. In this event, panelists discuss their relationships with the cultural criticism surrounding dining, and how diving deeper into these obsessions can unlock our own palate for the world.


Participants

Moderator:

Brian Oliu is an instructor at the University of Alabama. He is the author of four books of nonfiction and two chapbooks, ranging from Craigslist Missed Connections, to computer viruses, to 8-bit video games, to NBA basketball. Works in progress deal with pro wrestling and long-distance running.

Bruce Owens Grimm is a queer nonfiction writer who examines how fatness, mental health, family, and/or the supernatural can impact life. He has attended residencies & workshops at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Vermont Studio Center, and VCCA. He holds an MFA in creative writing.

Karissa Chen is the editor-in-chief at Hyphen magazine, fiction editor at The Rumpus, and a contributing editor at Catapult. She has published prose in numerous publications including Longreads, Gulf Coast, PEN America, and Guernica. She was awarded a Fulbright research grant to Taiwan in 2015–16.

Noah Cho writes regularly for Catapult, and his writing has appeared also on NPR's CodeSwitch, Shondaland, the Atlantic, and the Toast. T@noahreservation; @noahreservations.

Natalie Lima

#AWP24

February 7–10, 2024
Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Convention Center