Book/Plate Brings Together Food, Literature, And Neighbors
Jeff Waxman hadn’t lived in the neighborhood long before he became a regular at Peck’s on Myrtle Avenue, a specialty foods shop filled with tins of coffee beans and prepared meats and cheeses, the espresso machine often hissing away. Waxman bought his coffee at Peck’s Foods and his books at Greenlight Bookstore. Before long, the Clinton Hill resident helped bring the two together.
“I was looking for something to do in the backyard at Peck’s,” explained Theo Peck, who owns the store. One day he was talking about it with an employee. Jeff Waxman happened to be there and overheard the conversation.
Waxman works in marketing for Other Press, a small publisher, and it didn’t take long he and Peck to come up with the Book/Plate event series, which brings together food and literature, and neighbors, too.
“We’re trying to bring out the communal aspect of it,” said Waxman, “and there’s really not a better way to do that than with a meal.”
So after speaking with Peck, Waxman proposed the idea to Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, co-owner of Greenlight Bookstore.
“He was a fan of both Greenlight and Peck’s and had an author ready to go, so how could I say no?” Bagnulo said. “One of the reasons I was so delighted with this series was that it introduced me to these two cool people who live in my neighborhood, and to Peck’s which is a wonderful shop and eatery. I love being part of a neighborhood like this, and I’m always discovering great new places that are right under my nose.”
At each Book/Plate event, an author discusses his or her book while attendees enjoy a meal around the tables in the back of Peck’s Foods. Greenlight handled book sales and publicity. Peck works with his chefs to create a meal inspired by the book being discussed that evening.
“I have a lot of amazing people who work in the kitchen who can cook really well,” he said.
Waxman agreed that the food has been fantastic. “I don’t believe there’s anything that the chef’s there can’t cook,” he said.
The first event took place last fall and featured author Francisco Goldman, whose book Interior Circuit, is a memoir set in Mexican City.
The second Book/Plate gathering was with Matthew Gavin Frank’s Preparing the Ghost, a nonfiction book about a giant squid. No actual squid was eaten but there was octopus.
Both events were very much neighborhood affairs. “There was quite a nice contingent of people from Fort Greene and Clinton Hill,” said Waxman. Some had fascinating stories of their own, like the guy who designed Doctor Octopus’ tentacles in the Spider-Man movie.
The event was full of regulars from the neighborhood, said Peck. “They want events where you can walk 10 minutes have an event have fun and meet people you could walk home with,” he said.
They’ve recently selected the next two authors: Amanda Vaill and Jim Shepherd.
Vaill’s latest book, Hotel Florida, is a nonfiction work about Madrid during the Spanish civil war of the 1930s, where journalists, photographers, and idealists like Ernest Hemingway, Marsha Gellhorn, and Robert Capa came together. “It’s full of excitement, atmosphere and a lot of good food (and drink),” said Bagnulo. “ Amanda is local and has a lot of ties to the neighborhood too.”
Shepard writes beloved short stories and novels with precision and wit. His new novel The Book of Aron is about the Jewish Warsaw ghetto in Poland during the Nazi occupation.
“We’re glad to have Jim coming to New York for this event, which will celebrate Jewish culture and food as well as the writer’s craft,” said Bagnulo.
Vaill will read on April 26 and Shepard on May 17. So if you’re looking to be introduced to some new literature, food, or neighbors, you can get tickets here.
About the author: Jeremiah Sierra is a writer and managing editor for Trinity News, a magazine published by Trinity Wall Street, an Episcopal church in New York City. He has an MFA from the New School in creative writing, and has written for the Huffington Post and On Faith. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and tweets at @jeremiahspeaks.