Overview

Poems honoring the memory of meals shared with loved ones, imagined feasts, odes to vegetables... In her latest collection Food for Thought, Joyce Holmes McAllister pays homage to all things culinary, from the humble turnip to the dangers of garlic, from thoughtful cows to fed-up chickens, from reluctant little neck clams to the truth about caviar. This poet ranges widely in space and time, conjuring memories from the farm kitchen of her youth, meditating on the cooking of Alice B. Toklas, recalling a dear friend's penchant for Hebrew National hot dogs, remembering the tradition of cocktail hour, and mourning the loss of her husband and dining companion of 40 years. Whether playful and light hearted or haunted by absence, these poems reflect the wisdom of a life fully lived, meals fully savored. At times bittersweet, always creative, McAllister's work is permeated by her lifelong passion for gastronomy and poetry. Fellow poet and friend Mary Beth O'Connor has provided whimsical color illustrations for several of the poems. Joyce Holmes McAllister's first chapbook Before We Knewwas published by Foothills Press in 2016; the second, Return (Yellow Sofa Press), appeared about a year later. This is her first full-length collection.

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9781087816937

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"Smack at the center of every poem--or fairly near it--is food, food, (mostly) glorious food as Joyce McAllister unashamedly celebrates appetite, what whets it and then, more often than not, satisfies it. Whether alone, with a loved one, among friends, it does not matter: this poet extols the joy of cooking, serving, and eating, with verve and gusto, frequently with humor, but sometimes as well with poignant remembrance. Luxuriant with detail, these poems, whatever their varied moods and subjects, and those do vary widely, are a feast for the senses. The poet herself perhaps says it best in one of the final poems, Comfort Food: ""Your words bring flavors to my tongue."" --Bruce Bennett, Emeritus Professor of English, Wells College, author of Just Another Day in Just Our Town Food for Thought unites wit and intelligence with sweet and nostalgic poems on food and drink and the behavior of those who endure or indulge in them. McAllister's wry lines add heft to the term Light Verse, a rubric that deserves more respect than our often puritanical suspicion of laughter and pleasure allow. --Jack Hopper, former Poet Laureate of Tompkins County, NY When I read Joyce Holmes McAllister's poems, I see that there is a whole realm of existence I'm missing by being an ""eating for sustenance"" kind of person. McAllister's odes to ordinary fruits and vegetables, her memories of the most gourmet --or simply fresh and splendid--meals, and her attention to the simple and complex pleasures and meanings of food move me on a visceral level I hardly knew existed in me. Food for Thought made me laugh out loud, brought me to tears, and seriously tickled my dormant taste buds. Like those seductive potato chips, I just want MORE of these poems! --Margaret Wakeley, musician/cabaret singer/songwriter"

Smack at the center of every poem--or fairly near it--is food, food, (mostly) glorious food as Joyce McAllister unashamedly celebrates appetite, what whets it and then, more often than not, satisfies it. Whether alone, with a loved one, among friends, it does not matter: this poet extols the joy of cooking, serving, and eating, with verve and gusto, frequently with humor, but sometimes as well with poignant remembrance. Luxuriant with detail, these poems, whatever their varied moods and subjects, and those do vary widely, are a feast for the senses. The poet herself perhaps says it best in one of the final poems, Comfort Food: Your words bring flavors to my tongue. --Bruce Bennett, Emeritus Professor of English, Wells College, author of Just Another Day in Just Our Town Food for Thought unites wit and intelligence with sweet and nostalgic poems on food and drink and the behavior of those who endure or indulge in them. McAllister's wry lines add heft to the term Light Verse, a rubric that deserves more respect than our often puritanical suspicion of laughter and pleasure allow. --Jack Hopper, former Poet Laureate of Tompkins County, NY When I read Joyce Holmes McAllister's poems, I see that there is a whole realm of existence I'm missing by being an eating for sustenance kind of person. McAllister's odes to ordinary fruits and vegetables, her memories of the most gourmet --or simply fresh and splendid--meals, and her attention to the simple and complex pleasures and meanings of food move me on a visceral level I hardly knew existed in me. Food for Thought made me laugh out loud, brought me to tears, and seriously tickled my dormant taste buds. Like those seductive potato chips, I just want MORE of these poems! --Margaret Wakeley, musician/cabaret singer/songwriter

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