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Travis Willie

No more whistling walk for me


Reading about Freedom.


A Journey through African American Culinary History in the Old South.


The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty


‘The whistling walk’ of a plantation house was said to be a path often covered, leading from the outdoor kitchen to the Big Plantation House. This was supposedly the space where the slaves had to whistle as they brought the food in, to prove they were not eating it.’


‘ So much was lost- names, faces, ages, ethnic identities - that African Americans must do what no other ethnic groups must do: take a completely shattered vessel and piece it together knowing that some pieces will never be recovered. This is not quite as harrowing or hopeless as it might sound. I like to listen to the Japanese art of kintsugi, repairing broken vessels using gold. The scars of the object are not concealed, but highlighted and embraces, this giving them their own dignity and power. The brokenness and it’s subsequent repair are a recognised part of the story of the journey of the vessel, not to be obscured, and change, transition, and transformation are seen as important as honouring the original structure and its traditional meaning and beauty.’


I’m enjoying this book very much. I think it’s to do with freedom.


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