March Bold Fork Book Club: VIBRATION COOKING by Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor

“When I cook, I never measure or weigh anything,” she wrote. “I cook by vibration.”

Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor was a multi-hyphenate before that it was even a thing: she was a regular guest of "All Things Considered", hosted a series of NPR cooking specials and a PBS food show. She was also an actress (Daughters of the Dust, Beloved) chanter, dancer, friend to David Bowie and James Baldwin, costume designer, and member of the Sun Ra Solar-Myth Arkestra.

But above all she was one of the foundational food writers in this country, and we are thrilled to be exploring her 1970 book VIBRATION COOKING: OR, THE TRAVEL NOTES OF A GEECHEE GIRL for our Bold Fork Book Club.

Vertamae described herself as a “poet, culinary anthropologist and writer” and she insisted that food is undifferentiable from personal experience, history, and race. Though she was immediately pigeon-holed as a proponent of “soul food” Vertamae shook off that label (and all others) and her memoir shows her commitment to a larger vision, including recipes, thoughts, and personal stories. In VIBRATION COOKING she sought to celebrate the importance of cooking in Black culture as an act of community, consciousness and resistance.

Join us for conversation and food inspired by the book on March 27.

Host or Publisher Bold Fork Books