The Literary Table

The Art of Eating Sit-Down Supper at M. Judson, Booksellers and Storytellers

As a passionate home cook, as editor of this magazine, and as a novelist myself, there’s one thing I am sure of—a good meal tells a story. Starting February 7th, we’re going to take that idea full circle at M. Judson with a series of book-inspired dinners, bringing together great writing and local chefs for one-of- a-kind evenings of feast and conversation.

Tickets will include signature cocktails, thoughtful courses paired with the passages that inspired them, carefully curated wines, and a copy of the book behind the night. Our series begins MFK Fisher’s The Art of Eating, for many good reasons.

MFK Fisher was the first woman in this country to write about her life through the lens of food, to write about appetite in all its forms, and the many pleasures of the table. She didn’t write cookbooks, or housekeeping manuals, or even very many recipes. Her essays are an intoxicating blend of memoir, travelogue, and lush description. She once said, “It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it and the hunger for it.” She’s legendary.

But, too—her early life and career inspired my new novel, The Arrangement, which will be published February 9th by Viking. Chef Teryi Youngblood of Passerelle devised a menu based on the same passages of Fisher’s work that were central to my understanding of her character, something I’ll talk about over our magnificent Sunday dinner. It’s my first book in 10 years, and a one-of-a-kind celebration.

Later this spring, we’ll host Lauren Groff for a meal inspired by her spellbinding novel, Fates and Furies, and the rest of the year will have more to come.

For tickets and more information, go to www.mjudsonbooks.com.

M. Judson, Booksellers and Storytellers
130 South Main Street
Greenville
864-603-2412
www.mjudsonbooks.com

Menu

To Begin Martinis and Gibsons
First Course Oyster Soup from Consider the Oyster
Second Course Warm Salad of Peas and Butter Lettuce, from An Alphabet for Gourmets
Main Course Chateaubriand and Cauliflower Casserole, from The Gastronomical Me
Dessert Winter Tangerines, from Serve It Forth
To Take Home Fisher’s personal recipe for Ginger Cookies A personalized copy of The Arrangement
$75