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| Audre Lorde, Ada Lovelace and Anne Sexton |
Dear
Diary,
OOOOOOH
my oh my oh my. Don't know about
anyone else but I've sort of always wanted to get pied in the face just like
the cartoon characters used to get on tv when I was younger. FINALLY MY DREAMS
CAMES TRUE!! I got to work with Ada Lovelace and Anne Sexton to try and educate
people on the toxicity and sexist way food is marketed to us and the effects
that such pointed conversations of food have on all our bodies. At first, I was
nervous. Really nervous. Nervous to the point where I think I was coming off as
almost mean? You know how it goes Diary; you're not sure how you’re going to be
able to be the most effective so you sort of shut down instead. Well, thank God
I had probably the most intellectual and chipper ladies standing in the room
with me. We chatted about our own relationships with food, politics, our
families, our INSANE daily lives and feminism. It felt like being back at camp
or something! I will always be grateful for the opportunity to have a room to
walk in to where you know there is nothing but kind women waiting to work with
you.
ALSO
DIARY, we went to Jersey for the first time! I know we’ve been all over the
world but sometimes that means you forget what your own backyard looks like ya know? The trip up there was
so charming and when we finally got there, the lovely people of William Paterson University had SO MUCH FOOD WAITING FOR US!! It was honestly a dream
come true. We munched on some great snacks, had a full dinner, then performed
our latest show for a group of surprisingly responsive women and a handful of
men!
I think
the biggest thing I’ll take away from this show is you should never under
estimate yourself. There is no telling what you can accomplish if you allow
yourself to be open to the people in the room with you and let their energy and
light fill you with your own.
Missing
my ladies dearly already and can’t wait to see them again!
Sincerely,
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| Audre Lorde as Edna Lewis (Anne Sexton looks on) |
Dear Diary,
Today I went
to Wayne New Jersey! We had this massive theatre all to ourselves! I got to do
a show about women and food! We talked about important things like body image,
and eating healthy and the relationship between food and media and gender. It
made me feel empowered. I feel like I can do anything no matter what I look
like. We also honored MFK Fisher, Julia Child, and Edna Louis. What amazing
women! It really made me want to learn more about women and food. It also made
me want to cook more! Actually, if I’m being honest, it really made me hungry.
Love,
Dear
Diary,
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| PIE CALL! Pie in the face rehearsals |
Well, I ditched my vodka
tonic for some bread dough at William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ over the
weekend. I'd lost my voice for the 4 days leading up to the show - I
thought of it as a forced silent retreat, minus the retreat with an emphasis on
forced. But, the show must go on, and our fearless director, Aphra Behn,
said my lines as I mouthed the words and moved about the stage like a wooden
marionette all last week. We toyed with the idea of keeping it that way
as an avant garde performance art piece, but in the end, realism reigned and my
shaky voice finally came back. Just in the nick of time!
The show was grand and
exhilarating - going from the history of women in food, to food activism
in America, to learning a bit about 3 colorful femme foodies of America--unsung
heroes reclaiming power in a highly male-dominated arena. We had a better
than expected turn-out, but for a school with over 11,500 students, we were
surprised that the theatre was not more packed. If only they'd known they
would have a chance to make a baguette with Julia Child or immerse themselves
in a positive body-image Lady Gaga singalong... **sigh, sip of aforementioned
vodka tonic**
High points in the show
were the quality group of proud New Jerseyans screaming "Pumpkin
Pie...Fat...Feminist" at the top of their lungs. I love the words
"Pumpkin pie" so much, I took the liberty of yelling them in lieu of
my scripted lines at the top of my lungs. One may interpret that
as a mistake, but I interpret it as a delicious, delectable moment of my inner
foodie ID stealing a few seconds of the show. Perhaps that will be the
subject matter of my next confessional poem. "I Will DIE... For
Pumpkin PIE"...
Until next time, lovelies,
stay true and stay FULL!
xoxo, Anne Sexton
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| Julia Child leads a kneading fest! |
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