Five Questions for Kim Anderson, Director, Montana Center for the Book

By Allen M. Jones, 1-14-06

Kim Anderson, Director of the Montana Center for the Book, was kind enough to recently throw some enlightenment on the genesis behind the new recipe collection, Eat our Words, the state of western letters, and a look at the future arts scene in Montana.

New West Eat our Words: Montana Writers' Cookbook was compiled by the Montana Center for the Book and the Montana Committee for the Humanities. What was the genesis for the project? Where did the idea come from? (Seems like there has to be a story behind it.)

Kim Anderson Like so many good (and, occasionally, less than good) ideas, this one was hatched in Jim and Lois Welch’s kitchen. MCH Executive Director Mark Sherouse and I had kicked around the cookbook idea for several years, but who knows if anything would have come of it if it hadn’t been for a fortuitous conversation at a party at the Welch’s. I was congratulating my friend Caroline Patterson on her recent appointment as an editor at Farcountry Press, and we were talking about the sort of projects she hoped to take on. Probably because we were both eating and drinking as fast as we were talking, and because we were surrounded by writers, I mentioned the cookbook idea and Caroline loved it. Eat Our Words was the first project she initiated at Farcountry, and we’re immensely grateful that she and the powers that be at Farcountry saw the potential (and the fun) that we did and that they agreed wholeheartedly with the concept of producing the book as a fundraiser for the Montana Center for the Book.

NW The number and variety of writers you were able to corral together into one book is exceptional. Without naming names, was it ever difficult trying to convince so-and-so to chip in? (Has to be an anecdote back in there somewhere as well.)

KA You know the most amazing thing about this whole project was the incredible response from writers. We sent out a letter to about 200 authors in our data base asking for their help. And within a matter of weeks we had positive responses from the over 90 who appear in the book. The generosity and enthusiasm was just overwhelming. My biggest regret is that there were, as always, people who were overlooked because they weren’t yet in our data base. Some writers just don’t cook (Richard Ford sent a very sweet note to that effect, although he did come up with some suggested titles) and others had to remind me that they didn’t actually live in Montana (our definition of “Montana writer" was broad enough to encompass people who had spent some substantial time here.) David Romtvedt, who’s Wyoming’s poet laureate, contributed, conceding that “for many people Wyoming is Montana’s southernmost county." The one that got away? I wish we’d been able to get Jim Crumley’s chili recipe, but then he said if he shared it he’d have to kill me.

NW How many of the recipes have you tried yourself? Do you have your favorites?

KA Do you think people will actually cook these????? Seriously, one or another of us has tried almost every one—or at the least we have their edibility on good authority. We’ve all tried Bill Kittredge’s New Year’s Day Ramos Fizzes (every New Year’s Day.) No doubt about it—they do the trick. We’ve also had some fun signings/tastings around the state. John Holbrook’s Chili Blanco and Kim and Janet Zupan’s Smorna pa Zhosa were big hits at Fact & Fiction in Missoula (if you don’t have a heart attack as you eat the 18 egg Smorna, you’re either a Slovene or already dead.) Annick Smith’s Hungarian cheese spread and Dave Thomas’ wonderful Slumgullion disappeared quickly at The Good Food Store. I, of course, frequently dine on Lonely Boy Pot Roast, and while the boy in question is no longer lonely, the pot roast remains delicious. None of us has the courage to tackle Dick Manning’s recipe for deer neck or Jim Harrison’s for bear. And I think the next edition will carry a warning sticker on Ralph Beer’s contribution, Ragout Celibataire.

NW It's probably safe to assume that you're familiar with most of the writers who appeared in this collection, both on a personal and a professional level. In pairing the recipes with the names, were there any surprises? Any personalities that didn't fit with their food?

KA What a fun question! Let’s see. Well, frankly Allen, I never figured you to be the “mom and apple pie" sort. And then there’s Judy Blunt, who I think of as a rather no nonsense character. And yet she evidently spends countless hours creating little “party penguin" hors d'ouevres. Go figure. For some reason, learning that Mark Spragg and I share a secret love of ham loaf was very touching. And the picture of a nine-year-old Melanie Rae Thon in her Halloween costume is worth the price of the book (the bran muffin recipe that accompanies the photo is excellent, too.)

NW Flipping through the 92 different authors in Eat our Words, it only reinforces what a rare community of writers we have here in Montana. You and Mark Sherouse have both done the community a service by working up this book, as well as by hosting the annual Festival of the Book. Do you have other projects on tap? What's the next big thing in Montana culture?

KA Of course we’re already gearing up for the 2006 Montana Festival of the Book, September 28-30th. We’ll be announcing the 2006 One Book Montana selection in the next few months (a program which invites everyone in the state to read and discuss the same book. In 2005 the selection was Letters From Yellowstone, in 2004 Fools Crow, and in 2003 Winter Wheat.) We’re currently offering nearly twenty reading and discussion programs across the state in our OpenBook program. We’re about to start the judging for Letters About Literature, a national program which asks young people to write to an author who inspired them. And somewhere down the line we’re thinking about a new publication. (Talk about the next big thing in Montana culture—how about Eat Our Drapes: Montana Writers’ Decorate!) Other than that things are pretty quiet right now.


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