Wayne County Reads Event Monday
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on February 11, 2007 8:44 AM
Food is a staple in many Southern novels, and "Walking Across Egypt," and Wayne County Reads' 2007 selection, is no different.
Author Clyde Edgerton included many such references in the pages of his book. And on Monday at 7 p.m., Dr. Mary Ellis Gibson will address that during a free event at Goldsboro High School.
In her presentation on "Still Cookin' -- Food and Memory in Southern Literature," Dr. Gibson will trace the history of southern "foodtalk" as depicted in cookbooks and fiction.
The director of women's and gender studies and an English professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Dr. Gibson said Southerners are not only obsessed with the art of eating together, but find it important to reminisce and talk about meals they have shared.
In addition to being able to digest the book, Wayne County residents will also have the opportunity to share their own recipes and the feelings they evoke.
Wayne County Reads is gathering a collection of recipes and memories for a commemorative cookbook that will be published after this year's project wraps up.
Submissions will be accepted in person, via mail or e-mail at Wayne Community College Library -- Wayne County Reads Recipes c/o WCC Library, P.O. Box 8002, Goldsboro, NC 27533-8002, or wcc-library@waynecc.ed. Each must be typed or printed and include name, address and phone number.
Several other Wayne County Reads activities are also being held around the area in the coming weeks. All are free and open to the public.
On Sunday, Feb. 18, the movie version of the book "Walking Across Egypt" will be shown at the Wayne County Public Library at 1:30 p.m.
Mount Olive College will play host to a book discussion on Monday evening, Feb. 19, at 7 in the Hennessee Room of the Lois Murphy Center. Dorothy Whitley, associate professor of English and the dean of the College of Professional Studies, will lead the program.
Storyteller and humorist Kelly Swanson will conduct two programs at the library.
On Friday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m., adults are invited to one program, entitled "Mamma and the Prom, Daddy's Talking Fish...and Other Reasons I Need Therapy."
A children's version, "You Can't Put Lipstick on a Chicken," will take place on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m.
Harry Watson, professor of U.S. and Southern history at UNC-Chapel Hill and director of the Center for the Study of the American South, will give a lecture on Southern culture on Monday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. in Courtroom 1 of the Wayne County courthouse.
The events will culminate with a reception on Monday evening, March 5, at 7 p.m. at the Arts Council building. Featured will be vocal and dance performances, a photo exhibit, a singalong with hymns from the book, winning essay contest readings and an array of Southern desserts for sampling.
For more information on any of the upcoming programs, call the library at 735-1824 or visit the Wayne County Reads link on the library's Web site at www.wcpl.org.