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Poets in Parma
Read Full Post: Poets in Parma
We spent five days in Parma, retracing some of my old steps and doing what we could to boost the economy: consuming ample Parmigiani fare and combing markets and shops for Christmas presents and bits of finery. It was good to have a chance to refresh my memories – the kindness and courtesy of the people (an Italian Victoria?), the pastel buildings with their fine metal detailing, the microscopic lifts in the old marble-staired buildings – if you’re lucky enough to find one, the gleam of cobblestones after rain, the sulfuric stench of the water, the roar and bellow of Italian teenagers at lunchtime, and of course the wonder of the food. It’s no place for vegetarians, and would be challenging for the gluten or dairy intolerant, but omnivore heaven. Lots of dogs around too, in and out of shops and all over the market.
This was my second stay at the comfortable and perfectly situated b&b La Pilotta which gave us an excellent view and handy access to the Christmas market, just setting up a day or so after our arrival. We also stumbled upon a market in Oltretorrente, the other side of the river, and had a good perusal, warmed by a little cioccolate calda.
Commerce not being our only mission here, we stopped in at Parma’s duomo, where our entrance coincided with some music from the organist, practicing for an evening concert which featured five choirs, a small orchestra and some popular soloists. The centrepiece was l’oratorio die Kindheit Jesu by Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach – which left the impressive 50 member choir standing around for far too long. And I’m afraid only affirmed in our minds the superior skills of JS Bach. Still. It was Christmas and it was music and the heavily accented rendition of Go Tell It On the Mountain will linger on as a cherished memory. The duomo’s nativity scene was charmingly random and featured, if I am not mistaken, a watermelon seller among the gathered figures.
Moving out the doors of the duomo and across the piazza, the Battistero awed me now as it did on my last visit some years ago.
Finally, on our final drizzly morning in Parma, I managed a warm reunion with one of my former classmates, Amy, who with her husband Corrado have just hit the Michelin guide for their fusion osteria in Suzzera, Mange Bere Uomo Donna. One to check out next time! -
Poets in Paris
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So finally the Iambic Cafe dusts itself off and drags itself to its weary feet, slightly jetlagged but coming round. Sunday’s arrival in London was enlivened by the rather leisurely delivery of my baggage, but after that it was clear sailing and I was greeted by faltering sunshine on the cobblestones.
Off to Paris on Tuesday, arriving by Eurostar in good time, and then an evening of bilingual readings at the Delaville Cafe, courtesy Ivy Writers Paris, comfortably accommodated and efficiently organized by expat poet Jennifer Stills. It featured Belgian poet Constance Chlore and Parisian Dominique Maurizi, as well as Saskatoon’s own Mari-Lou Rowley, shown here with Christmas tree..
We passed a relaxing Wednesday afternoon wandering around the 18th arrondissement, mostly towards Montmartre, admiring the food in the windows, prowling its shops and pausing for a leisurely coffee. Hills and steps there are many, but the sun came out from time to time and warmed the way.
Entertainingly, we passed a couple of goats gnawing on a grass fence we’d passed several times – and found we’d discovered a little pocket of urban agriculture, apparently lush in the summer but a bit bare now, with chickens pecking trackside near Porte de Clignancourt.
Our wanderings ended with a delightful dinner at the Bistrot Poulbot. Pour moi, saumon tartare, dorade , and (how could I not) a lovely confection involving lashings of my namesake Valrhona chocolate.
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Teeth, nails, tongue, skin
Read Full Post: Teeth, nails, tongue, skinMark Schauss gave a couple of interesting talks. His research into nutrition and cognitive decline was comprehensive and detailed. One of his big messages was on the consistency he sees in research findings about the role of the two most heavily consumed excitotoxins (MSG and aspartame) in plaque development in Alzheimer’s. If you eat processed or packaged foods, both of these are hard to avoid since manufacturers play shell games with the naming. For MSG, see the comprehensive list from Truth In Labeling. For Aspartame, beware NutraSweet of course, as well as its new name, AminoSweet. He repeated an idea I’ve yet to see proven, that artificial sweeteners cause an insulin response similar to ingesting sugars, and lead as surely to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. I think there are lots of good reasons to stay away from them, but I await compelling evidence for this one. I do appreciate his main message thought, a plea for more attention paid to the gut microbiome: the more artificial the diet, the worse the gut, and a bad gut means poor communication along the gut-brain axis. Which means poor cognitive function. And, he added, exercise is the best thing you can do to keep the mind active.
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In her latest collection, Rhona McAdam navigates the dark places of human movement through the earth and the exquisite intricacies lingering in backyard gardens and farmlands populated by insects and pollinators, all the while returning to the body, to the tune of staccato beats and the newly discovered symmetries within the human heart.
“…A beautiful, filling collection, Larder is a set of poems to read at the change of the seasons, to appreciate alongside a good meal, and to remind yourself of the beauty in everything, even the things you may not appreciate before opening McAdam’s collection….”
Rhona McAdam is a writer, poet, editor, and Registered Holistic Nutritionist with a Master’s in Food Culture from Italy and a deep-rooted passion for ecology and urban agriculture. Her work spans corporate and technical writing to poetry and creative nonfiction, often exploring the vital links between what we eat and how we live. Based in Victoria, BC, and available via Zoom, Rhona is always open to new writing commissions, readings, or workshops on nutrition and the culinary arts.
