In an unexpected turn of events, I received a book this week that I had (I thought) never even heard of. This book has a poem I wrote published in it.
Most curious.
I think what happened is that about a year and a half ago, I saw a call-out for food-related artwork and poetry on a farmer blog somewhere, so I sent them a poem and then forgot about it until now.
The book itself is pretty cool. The title is Our Food, Our Right: Recipes for Food Justice, with a forward was written by Raj Patel, the author of Stuffed and Starved. Published by Community Alliance for Global Justice, a Seattle-based organization, it includes essays about a variety of food and community topics: food sovereignty, race and gender in farming, organizations in the Pacific Northwest that are creating "positive solutions," Seattle-area farmer profiles, global issues concerning food justice, and a nice little collection of recipes. It certainly dovetails quite nicely with what I'm learning this semester in my Food Systems and Food Access courses.
At any rate, it was certainly a nice little belated birthday surprise.
And for those who are curious, here is the poem:
The Farm Job
Why are you going to Virginia?
asked my grandfather.
I can find a farm for you to work on here in Indiana.
Why are you working on a farm?
That was the unasked question.
I didn't know how to answer him,
but just as I took my college education for granted,
never did he question the heft of a shovel,
or the sun on the back of his neck.
