The Poet's Cookbook

The Poet's Cookbook is an anthology of prose and poetry by twenty-one accomplished authors focusing primarily on their experiences, memories, and stories held within a traditional cookbook. Described as “the secret stories behind everyday meals,” The Poet's Cookbook provides an intimate look into the gastronomic lives of authors who otherwise would never journey into the world of culinary arts. This collection is a unique look into a world often taken for granted, a sensory examination of the complex beauty and tragedy that lies beneath the simple nostalgia of a good, home- cooked meal.

A marine engineer by first trade, André Narbonne was living out of his duffel bag when he arrived in Halifax on a damaged tanker in the mid—eighties. He completed two degrees in English at Dalhousie University and a PhD at the University of Western Ontario. He teaches English & Creative Writing at the University of Windsor.

André Narbonne's first collection of award—winning stories, Twelve Miles to Midnight, abounds withintriguing and raw characters: a mother who flees to a wild island in Northern Ontario to protect her son from the vengeance of strangers; a mad captain on an icebound oil tanker stalked by an invisible predator; a Melvillean chef who prefers not to cook; a sex worker seeking transcendence. In twelve piercingly authentic stories, Narbonne crafts a compellingly human world in which compassion is the genius of commonplace heroes and heroines.

John Fraser, CM, is a Canadian journalist, author, and academic, who has served as Master of Massey College at University of Toronto since 1995. As a journalist, he has received multiple national awards, and his work has been published in many of the leading international newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, Maclean’s, the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, Paris Match, and New Republic. He is the author of six works of nonfiction and one novel. In 2011, he was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada. John lives in Toronto.

Editorial Reviews

"The Poet’s Cookbook throws into toothsome relief the truth of every kitchen, that the best recipes are thoroughly brined in memories, gossip, losses, joys. Prop this book on the counter, spatter it with batter, read it again and again." -Susan Holbrook, author of Steamy: A Menopause Symptomology

"...a cornucopia of delights for both body and mind. Read, eat, and be merry!” — Paul Vermeersch, author of Shared