Two Programs this Week Highlight Upcoming ODU Literary Festival: “The Hungry Heart is Telling You”

September 30, 2014

In conjunction with the upcoming 37th annual Old Dominion University Literary Festival, two pre-festival programs will be offered this week on the main Norfolk campus.

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Michael Ruhlman, ODU's Fall 2014 Visiting Writer in Residence will give a craft talk on "The Unconscious Mind and the Power of Routine." Ruhlman is the celebrated author of "House: A Memoir," "The Soul of a Chef," "The French Laundry Cookbook" (with Thomas Keller) and "Ruhlman's Twenty."

The event, which is sponsored by the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Creative Writing Program at ODU, will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Batten Arts and Letters building's Burgess Room (9024).

For the second event, to be held Thursday, Oct. 2, a panel discussion entitled "The Butcher, the Baker, the Artisanal Maker: Fortifying our Community Tables" will focus on how sustainable food and farming efforts provide nourishment for a positive future within local communities. It will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Barry M. Kornblau Alumni Center and will feature:

• Lorraine Eaton, ODU MFA 1999 graduate, food writer for The Virginian-Pilot and author of "The Tidewater Table Cookbook"
• Amy Price Neff, co-owner of Pendulum Fine Meats in Norfolk
• Patrick Ferrell, ODU Master of Arts 2009 graduate, English department faculty member and food/wine aficionado
• Bev Sell, founder and general manager of Five Points Community Farm Market

Both events are being held ahead of the annual literary festival that runs Oct. 6-10 and includes readings by Michael Ruhlman and other authors, including several accomplished writers on ODU's faculty. This year's literary festival entitled "The Hungry Heart is Telling You" will examine the relationship of food and sustenance in a variety of cultural, poetic, political and other contexts.

On Oct. 6, Ruhlman will give a reading at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Dominion University Theatre. The event is free and open to the public. For more information on this event and others associated with "The Hungry Heart is Telling You," visit the ODU Literary Festival website.