Tag: Honey

A soft-focus close-up peers down into a pale green drink containing mint and a curl of sliced cucumber. The ingredients dissolve into luminous shapes, their boundaries blurred by glass and liquid. Shades of mint, lime, and yellow-green fill the frame, giving the image a cool, muddled, almost abstract quality. Freshness and sharpness mingle in this hazy study of sweet and sour. Photo by the author.

“Sweet and Sour” * Fiction * Karin Doucette

aromatica poetica August 26, 2026

Like many young-marrieds in the 1970s, Bob and Jill devoured Siddhartha and Vonnegut, appreciated Hendrix, and filled their bodies with revolutionary meals from the spiralbound pages of Moosewood Cookbook and the Diet for a Small Planet. They bought a small, shingled house, set back from the Seattle street, which they papered, painted, and flower-potted with vigor. Both got good jobs and then had a healthy, happy son. On TV, Julia Child stirred an enticing pot of life’s possibilities which captured …

A copper samovar sits on a table next to a copper crepe plate stacked with golden deliciousness. And a white teacup and saucer with designs stand by.

“Big Stink in a Little Crepe Shop” * Memoir Excerpt * Elizabeth Sammons

aromatica poetica June 16, 2022

The same way we say “Ah, Shucks!” Russians mutter “Da, Blin!” (Literally, “Yes, crepe.”) I gained insight into this phrase on a mild April evening, when I also discovered how our US cultural expectations sometimes rendered ordinary tasks like ordering dinner somewhat less than forthright. This excerpt comes from “American on Display,” the journal I kept on my first trip to the USSR in 1990 as a bilingual guide on Design USA, a cultural exchange exhibit of American life to …

Olfactory Report stamp on a grey background that is a blurry bit of the cover of Elizabeth Powell’s poetry book Atomizer in the background.

Olfactory Report 9: Poetics of Scent by Catherine Haley Epstein + Poetry by Elizabeth Powell

aromatica poetica April 30, 2022

“Poetry is the lifeblood of rebellion, revolution, and the raising of awareness.” Alice Walker April is National Poetry Month, and for the past few weeks my 10 year old has arrived home with endless haikus, acrostics, and concrete poems. Part of this equation is that he is not a fully self-conscious human and is still nimble with his words. Poetry is deceivingly simple, and one of the hardest art forms to do well. Poetry is in fact a major art …

“Goldilocks Ensemble”: a photograph of children’s books such as Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Blue-Sky Thinking, etc. Three books are open with words blacked out.

“Goldilocks Closet Secrets” * Images + Text * Janina Aza Karpinska

aromatica poetica December 7, 2020

Here are some pages from different editions of Goldilocks from my collection of Goldilocks Files –Treated, or altered pages, in the style of Tom Phillips, which was a technique I chanced upon years ago, and which gave me the words and expression I lacked by any other means. I have chosen those which relate to the senses – taste; scent; pleasure. As a little bit of background on the actual technique: I’m indebted to stumbling across the Tom Phillips technique …

"Three Eggs" photo by Michael Lee Johnson.

“Vodka Omelet” * Poem + Audio * Michael Lee Johnson

aromatica poetica June 17, 2020

“Vodka Omelet” Audio “Vodka Omelet” Text Make it clear in my mind, Jesus, am I whacked-out on Double Cross Vodka or have I flipped out calling myself Limburger omelet chef? I hate question marks and angels with crazed wings. You know the type, John the Baptist toking weed, stoned out of his mind, storyteller, foul smells from poor hygiene, eating habits open mouth, swallowing grasshoppers, so silky, smooth as sweet honey. Add 3 eggs in a skillet, Parmesan/Romano blend, …