#VoicesfromtheStacks

Image taken from his Facebook.

Sam Choy–a man of Chinese, German, and Hawaiian descent is a Hawaiian chef and the Culinary Ambassador of Big Island. He was born and raised in Laie, Ohau, and is known for his kindness, welcoming smile, and colorful personality. He has a restaurantin Hawaii called “Sam Choy’s Kai Lanai,” and poke restaurants and food trucks in Seattle, Tacoma, and Washington. He’s one of the foundingcontributors of Pacific Rim Cuisine, which is a cookingstyle that combines local ingredients from Hawaii and a fusion of other ethnic culinary influences. He describeshis cooking as “a melting pot of the freshest ingredients from every culture on the Hawaiian islands…true Hawaiian heritage cooking.”

Sam Choy’s Sampler: Welcome to the Wonderful World of Hawai'i’s Cuisine(found in our Szathmary Culinary Collection) captures over 80 of Choy’s recipes that reflect a mixture and melding of East, West, and Polynesian food cultures, along with his own added twists for the dishes. The recipes included are his own creations, and his version of some Island favorites. The recipes range from poke, to seafood appetizers, to Hibachi Tofu Salad where the Tofu is grilled, to traditional Hawaiian cuisine like Kalua Pork and Squid Lu'au.

Try out some Pacific Rim cuisine with Sam Choy! We also have two of his other books, which can be found in our catalog.

Happy AAPI month everyone!

-Matrice Y, Special Collections & Archives Olson Graduate Assistant

Image of Quintana taken from her twitter.

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Patricia Quintana– A critically acclaimed Mexican chef, author, teacher, businesswoman, and once a culinary ambassador in the Mexican Ministry of Tourism, Quintana is an inspiration to many. Having started her journey in cooking with her great grandmother and grandmother’s kitchens in Oaxaca and Veracruz, Quintana dedicated her career to teaching and researching Mexican gastronomy, and the 32 distinct cooking styles contained within it. Quintana has stated that her “style of cooking brings sophistication to traditional recipes and giv[es] Mexican food the recognition and honor it deserves.”

The Best of Quintana is the tenth book Quintana wrote, and it consists of 60 of her favorite recipes. Some are traditional cultural dishes from different Mexican states, and others are created from Quintana’s research and brilliant mind. The recipes included are favorites of those she worked with, and her own personal favorites– dishes that she’s served at birthdays, weddings, and baptisms, and ones that simply hold special memories for her. The dishes vary from guacamole to mole poblano to churros. If you’re looking for a new chef to learn from, and some Mexican food recipes to try, give Quintana’s books a look.

We also have other books written by her, which can be found by browsing her name in our catalog!

Happy International Women’s Month everyone!

-Matrice Y, Special Collections & Archives Olson Graduate Assistant

#Voicesfromthestacks

What does it mean to de-colonize a meal?

Sean Sherman – an Oglala Lakota chef born on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and the founder of The Sioux Chef, focuses his culinary skills on the “revitalization and awareness of Indigenous foods systems in a modern culinary context.” Sherman took it upon himself to study the foundations of the food systems particular to the local Dakota and Ojibwe tribes, gaining knowledge of Indigenous farming techniques, land stewardship, hunting and fishing, salt and sugar making, the usage of wild food and harvesting, food preservation, elemental cooking techniques, Native American migration history, and Native American Culture and history in a more general sense to get a more holistic understanding of Native American cuisine and how to bring that back in the present.

The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchenis an introduction into modern indigenous cuisine of the Minnesota and Dakota territories. The recipes are all focused and centered around ingredients indigenous to America. No European staples like dairy products, sugar, or domestic pork. Instead, there’s duck, venison, blueberries and wildflowers to name a few.

In his introduction, Sherman states “This book is about the joy of indigenous cooking. It reveals the delight in finding ingredients right outside our kitchen doors. … These recipes, inspired by methods handed down through the ages, generation after generation, are integral to our culture, and, as with all good recipes, the dishes will change from cook to cook. These recipes are meant to be guidelines, not formulas. … These recipes along with the stories of goodness and resilience are told with hope and joy.”

-Matrice Y, Special Collections, Olson Graduate Assistant

Voices from the Stacks

“I Am Your Sister: Black Women Organizing Across Sexualities”

by Audre Lorde

This pamphlet, part of a series which “presents issues, strategies, and resources which focus upon the political concerns of women of color” (see back cover above) was released by Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. The press, started by Barbara Smith, Lorde, and other Black feminists in 1980, had the goal of publishing works by women of color, voices that were often silenced elsewhere.

In this purple pamphlet, emblazoned with an anti-homophobia pin on the cover, we read Lorde’s thoughts on unifying with Black women of all sexualities. She pushes back against the idea that Black lesbians are fighting for the same political rights as Black non-lesbians. She asserts that lesbians have families too, and denounces the homophobia she sees. It is addressed to those who might see differences in sexuality as a barrier, and highlights a goal for straight and queer Black women to work together towards justice. It then offers resources for organizing, with the hope that this pamphlet will be used to educate and incite activism.

Audre Lorde, a “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” was an extraordinary activist and writer who used her voice to call for social and racial justice. A former librarian, Lorde’s legacy is vast and we are happy to have a small part of it here at Special Collections and Archives at The University of Iowa.

–Rachel M-H, Special Collections Olson Graduate Assistant

Image of Audre Lorde: copyright Robert Alexander/Getty Images

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Hungry for some Southern cuisine?

Alexander Smalls– an opera singer, a James-Beard-Award-winning chef, a Tony and Grammy award winner, the co-owner of two renowned restaurants: The Cecil and Minton’s– could be just the chef you can take inspiration from! He’s appeared on numerous TV shows, magazines, and served individuals such as Toni Morrison, Spike Lee, and Quincy Jones. Here at the University of Iowa’s Special Collections & Archives, one of his books graces the shelves.

Grace the Table: Stories and Recipes from My Southern Revivalis a memoir consisting of a combination of storytelling from Small’s childhood and hometown in South Carolina, through Europe, and to Manhattan, detailing Small’s love for food. He interconnects culture, family history, and more while sharing 100s of his recipes created during his travels. This book sheds light on how he fell in love with cooking and his upbringing with Southern Revival cuisine. Some of his recipes include Southern Revival dishes like mac and cheese terrine with Creole sauce, caramel cake, and black-eyed peas with arugula. There are tales from the first meal he cooked at 6 years old, to meeting Joan Sutherland, to touring Europe as one of the star singers of the Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy and Bess.

Small, his recipes and stories, his history and his southern cooking (a mix of traditional and international flair inspired by his travels), are worth the read!

-Matrice Y, Special Collections, Olson Graduate Assistant

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Slater of Iowa&Fred “Duke” Slater

Calling all the American football fans!

Slater of Iowa by James A. Peterson is a biographical story on Frederick Wayman “Duke” Slater, the first Black All-American player for the University of Iowa, and the first Black lineman in the NFL. Slater is well known for his play with the Iowa Hawkeyes in 1921 where he helped win 10-7 against Notre Dame, breaking Notre Dame’s 20 win game streak!

The book is a short but comprehensive read on the history of Duke Slater. The biography recounts in detail his relationship with football: from childhood to his career on the University of Iowa’s Hawkeye’s football team. It also includes accounts of others he’s played with, some milestones in his early football career (including the time he started wearing a helmet), details of his games at Iowa, his dad’s involvement, and his career at Iowa in general. Slater of Iowa is a quick and exciting read, and as you can see by the images above, Peterson, the author, is good at describing the scene of the games, and giving them life.

The University Archives’ vertical file on Slater details more than just his football career at Iowa! Several clippings talk of his career as a Judge in Chicago, along with Slater Hall, his football accomplishments outside of Iowa, and more. A few snapshots of his file are shown below:

Learning about Slater is definitely worth a visit to Special Collections & Archives!

-Matrice Y, Special Collections, Olson Graduate Assistant

#VoicesFromTheStacks

Bust Zine

What began as a black-and-white Xeroxed feminist fanzine in 1993, Bust evolved into a magazine that continues to have a cult following. Founded by Debbie Stoller, Marcelle Karp, and Laurie Henzel, who asked their friends to “write stories they didn’t see reflected in the media about their lives,” the magazine publishes four times a year and is a respected feminist space for writers. They balance humor, social or personal topics of interest, and fun.

Our copies of Bust are held in the Erik Farseth Zine Collection, but we are also home to many interesting zine collections, many of them centering women, that run the gamut from affordable early DIY efforts to more expensive publications.

Whether you’re interested in some of the cool women featured on the cover, or you’re simply a person “with something to get off your chest,” you will find something interesting inBust and all of the great zines we have here at Special Collections & Archives.

–Rachel M-H, Special Collections Olson Graduate Assistant

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The Star Gazer: Planisphere PoetryandLunar Volvelle, both by Monica Ong

This week we are looking at two works by book artist Monica Ong. Ong is a 2nd generation Chinese-Filipino American who was born and raised in Chicago, IL.

The Star Gazer: Planisphere Poetry depicts the Chinese night sky from the northern hemisphere. It is based on the Soochow Astronomical Chart of 1193. This star chart holds small phrases of beautiful prose weaved around constellational lines to form the poetry within this piece. Taken directly from her Proxima Vera site, there are a few steps to read this structured poem:

“To view the stars, turn the disc to align the desired date with the hour of night. Face south and hold the planisphere overhead with the corner marked North facing north. The map will reveal a celestial poem that awaits you among the asterisms. Let the eyes wander and read aloud to someone dear.”

Ong not only wrote the poetry for this piece, but she also designed the art and construction of the book, including its typesetting. She used gold foil stamping, die cutting, and had it put together by a letterpress studio in Syracuse, New York.

We have another one of her items as well, Lunar Volvelle, which can be interpreted in any way you wish and viewed in our reading room!

Happy gazing. ⭐

-Matrice Y, Special Collections Jr. Olson Graduate Assistant

#VoicesFromThe Stacks

Mexico: The Day of the Dead

This anthology, compiled and edited by Chloë Sayer, opens with a quote by Octavio Paz, Mexican poet, from his book The Labyrinth of Solitude: “The word death is not pronounced in New York, in Paris, in London, because it burns the lips. The Mexican, in contrast, is familiar with death…”

For many with roots in Mexico (and other Latin American countries), November 2 marks the last day of the holiday celebrating loved ones who have passed away, with traditions that date back to Aztec and other Mesoamerican civilizations. A holiday that allows people to reconnect with the dead, Día de los Muertos is marked by the making of altars with beautiful ofrendas (offerings) decorated with skulls, marigolds, bread, drinks, and other personal memories and photos of the deceased.

This box of artefacts includes a book, a shiny green papel picado cutout, copies of art by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, and art by Mexican artists listed below. At Special Collections & Archives, we are honored to have work highlighting such an important cultural holiday for many.

Tin skeleton (milagro) by Maurilio Rojas

Papercut by Aarón Velasco Pacheco

Prayer-sheet and Posada print by Arsacio Vanegas Arroyo

Poster of Diego Rivera’s mural Day of the Dead

[Mural:The Day of the Dead. Copyright Diego Rivera]

Feliz Día de los Muertos!

–Rachel M-H, Special Collections Olson Graduate Assistant