COME TO OUR EAT, DRINK AND THINK FESTIVAL

THE DELICIOUS CONNECTIONS BETWEEN LITERATURE AND FOOD FROM A CHINESE PERSPECTIVE by Andrea Rademan Friday the 13th isn’t always unlucky. Take this Friday, April 13th, from 7-9 p.m. at The Taiwan Academy, located at 1137 Westwood Blvd. in the heart of Westwood Village. It’s the site of a public dialogue called Taste Taiwan: Taiwanese Delicacies and Food Literature: A Kaleidoscope of Delicacies. Taiwanese culinary artist Theresa Lin and Professor Michael Berry of UCLA’s Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, lead a panel discussion followed by a reception. Theresa Lin, as most Chinese food lovers know, is a multi-lingual and multi-talented chef, author of over a dozen cookbooks, and a mainstream media favorite. For the past three decades, Lin has taught culinary classes, served as a food columnist for China Times and Central Daily News, hosted the Chinese Restaurant Awards, produced Taiwan’s Food and Wine Show and she’s the go-to Chinese food expert for film directors, Ang Lee (Eat Drink Man Woman 1994; Life of Pi 2012) and Martin Scorsese Silence 2016). She also hosts a popular culinary radio show on AM 1300 every morning, where she gives suggested daily menus and culinary advice, thus integrating two very different art forms perfectly. Professor Michael Berry is a prolific cultural researcher in modern and contemporary Chinese literature, Chinese cinema, popular culture in modern China, and literary translation. Berry’s approach is transnational and his work addresses the richness and diversity of Chinese art and culture as it manifests itself in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other Sinophone communities. His impressive body of work includes Boiling the Sea: Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Memories of Shadows and Light, Modernism Revisited: Pai Hsien-yung and the Taiwan Literary Modernism Movement, A History of Pain: Trauma in Modern Chinese Literature and Film, as well as book length translations of The Song of Everlasting Sorrow: A Novel of Shanghai, To Live, The Remains of Life et cetera. Berry’s popular articles also appear in American and Chinese mainstream media. The Taiwanese culinary culture contains history and tradition, and is closely tied to ethnicity and locality with ongoing innovation. Theresa Lin and Professor Michael Berry bring their variety of experiences to cultural diversity. Their extensive readings of and contributions to classical and contemporary world literature will be integrated with the topics of fine food and taste in their conversation. RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taste-taiwan-food-literature-of-jiao-tong-tickets-44427914087.