On April 28th, Kundiman held its first-ever Food Writing Intensive with New York Times critic Ligaya Mishan. This workshop was the first step in a larger initiative around food programming that we are excited to develop! During the all-day workshop, students participated in generative writing exercises, talked about food politics and history, took a field trip to underground food hall Turn Style, discussed favorite pieces of food writing, and ate lunch together outside.
We'll be offering another Food Writing Intensive in the fall: Stay tuned! It was a challenging, nurturing, and exciting day. Our students say it best: Enjoy some of the testimonials from the program below!
"As with every Kundiman workshop, the Food Writing Intensive created a welcoming space for writers of color to share their histories, viewpoints and personal writing in a supportive and encouraging environment. Our workshop teacher, Ligaya Mishan, was generous and attentive. Over the day-long workshop, Ligaya taught us the technicalities of food writing and the process of writing a weekly column, all while encouraging us to think more deeply about food writing generally: how the genre itself is inextricably linked to economics, politics, and social justice; how food dishes are more than culinary experiments that critics must describe, but veritable plates piled with often complicated, unexamined histories that they must parse, bite by bite." –– Alexis Cheung
"The food writing intensive was both a writing workshop and an intriguing discussion about how race, politics, etc are relevant to the food world. Days after, I was still thinking about the conversations that arose throughout the day. " –– Stephen Glauser
"The best workshops can introduce you to new ways of writing while drawing on and strengthening what you already know. The Kundiman Food Writing Intensive does that, with fantastic exercises, a brilliant teacher, and an enthusiastic, supportive camaraderie. An essential workshop for any writer looking to expand their toolbox and learn more about how to write beautifully about food." –– James Fujinami Moore
"Even having been a professional writer for decades, I learned a lot and saw my own writing –– about food as well as many other things –– in an entirely new way. Focused writing exercises, readings, and an outing made it a perfect day." –– Marie Myung-Ok Lee
