It’s always a pleasure to revel in your children’s success. Such is the joy here at Little Village that two of our regular writers have penned well-received books in the last two months. But, of course, while the feeling of pride is apt, to call them our children would be a gross disservice. They’ve been quite the opposite: guardians of our little alt magazine, helping to raise it from infancy. Their perfect bound tomes are the well-deserved culmination of their passion for our Midwestern communities and sensibilities. Bravo!
Kurt Friese
A Cook’s Journey: Slow Food in the Heartland
Ice Cube Press
Nearly a decade ago, Devotay chef Kurt Friese founded Iowa’s first Slow Food chapter. As readers of his It’s About the Food column will know, the Slow Food movement has exploded in those ten short years. In his book, Friese tills the rich soil of middle America for stories from the frontlines of our revolution against bad eating. Friese spent two years traveling the Heartland in a search for those who preserved and promoted slow food ideals. In essays on local farmers, organic restaurateurs, sustainable brewers and fellow foodies, Friese pairs story with practical recipes from his own kitchen. Since opening the doors to Iowa City’s Devotay in 1996, Friese has been a tireless promoter of a deliberate approach to food, from local growing to passionate preparation, now A Cook’s Journey can do that job for him.
Thomas Dean
Under a Midland Sky
Ice Cube Press
In the life of Thomas Dean, the weather is an ever present companion. Writing his monthly column, U R Here, Dean often fuses his passions for meteorology, community and family. Under a Midland Sky is an expansion of those ideas. Here in the center of the country, our lives are set in front of harsh winters, swirling cyclones, crisp autumns and triple-digit summers. Dean examines his own personal story played out under these many skies revealing to the reader how place and environment shape who we are and ground us to a particular place. In a year when weather has defined Iowa and illuminated who we really are, Dean’s reflections are all the more poignant, helping us understand our relationship with the place we call home.
