May 20, 7pm I’ll be part of a diverse trio of writers — and we hope you will be there — for an evening of conversation, sipping, and reading at one of Chicago’s favorite venues, the Book Cellar. If you’ll be in the area, please come. The Book Cellar has a cafe atmosphere: in addition to books, you can also purchase wine, beer, coffee, and lovely treats.

 Jennifer Jordan is the author of Edible Memory, examines the ways that people around the world have sought to identify and preserve old-fashioned varieties of produce. Jordan interviews farmers who are devoted to restoring heirloom fruits and vegetables and offers a powerful retelling of our many historical connections with these foods, from the heirloom tomato (now ubiquitous with the farm to table movement) to antique apples; changing tastes in turnips and related foods like kale and parsnips; and the poignant, perishable world of stone and tropical fruit. Along the way she reveals the connections—the edible memories—these heirlooms offer for farmers, gardeners, chefs, diners, and home cooks. She is associate professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.

Angela Doll Carson is a poet and essayist whose work has appeared in Burnside Writer’s Collective, Image Journal’s Good Letters, St Katherine Review, Rock & Sling Journal, Ruminate Magazine’s blog, Elephant Journal and Art House America. You can also find her writing online at Mrsmetaphor.com. If you enjoy the writing of Anne Lamott, check out her newly released memoir: Nearly Orthodox: On being a modern woman in an ancient tradition. From Catholic schoolgirl to punk rocker to emergent church planter, Angela Doll Carlson traveled a spiritual path that in many ways mirrors that of a whole generation. She takes us with her on a deep and revealing exploration of the forces that drove her toward Orthodoxy and the challenges that long kept her from fully entering in.