The Question of Taste in the Opposition of Scarcity and Abundance in Diasporic Food Memoirs: a Study of Dignity, Authenticity and Equilibrium

Abstract

Culinary memoirs offer literal and metaphorical representations of taste as both narrative plot and metaphor through personal experiences of want and plenty. Memoirs oppose and juxtapose the poles of scarcity and abundance and in doing so explore their points of intersection, notably around exile and the question of origins. What is the place of taste, ostensibly a superfluous detail, in these stories of scarcity and abundance?

This discussion will focus on the poetics of autobiographical culinary-focused memoirs, with an analysis of specific literary elements, including recollections and recipes. It will also consider the affective and historical connections with culinary traditions  in diasporic literature Ambiguous narrative representations of abundance and scarcity are examined through contemporary authors including Austin Clarke, Louise DeSalvo, Elizabeth Ehrlich, and Linda Furiya. The insights they offer into the diasporic experience of the American Dream, and the salvatory nature of discerning taste and culinary rituals allow us to explore the equilibrium between the experiences of want and plenty.