Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Blog, page 8

Writing about History: A Few Words about the Dangers and Fallacies of Presentism

pres·ent·ism /ˈprezenˌtizəm/ noun uncritical adherence to present-day attitudes, especially the tendency to interpret past events in terms of modern values and concepts. Many years ago, David Hackett Fischer published Historians’ Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought. Despite the many years since its publication – 1970 – and the now somewhat dated examples he provides … More Writing about History: A Few Words about the Dangers and Fallacies of Presentism

Deep in William Faulkner’s South: Myth, Reality, and Cooking

I’ve always wanted to make my way, to make a pilgrimage if you please, to Oxford, Mississippi, to worship at a shrine there. It’s not your ordinary saint’s tomb nor is it a grand cathedral bathed in a kaleidoscope of light when early morning sunlight blazes through stained glass. No, I journeyed many miles just … More Deep in William Faulkner’s South: Myth, Reality, and Cooking

The Natchez Trace: A Journey into the Past (and the Present)

Whatever happened, it happened in extraordinary times, in a season of dreams, and in Natchez, it was the bitterest winter of them all. ~ Eudora Welty, “First Love” Hernando de Soto and Meriwether Lewis and Aaron Burr trudged its red dirt paths, knew its mysteries and its misfortunes, canebrakes and swamps coupled with a river … More The Natchez Trace: A Journey into the Past (and the Present)

Good News in Dark Times: “Stoves & Suitcases” to Win a Medal: Addendum – “Meatballs & Lefse” a Winner, Too

I have been notified that I am a finalist in the General Nonfiction centegory by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association for Stoves & Suitcases: Searching for Home in the World’s Kitchens. And I have just learned that Meatballs & Lefse: Recipes and Memories from a Scandinavian-American Kitchen has also been named a finalist in … More Good News in Dark Times: “Stoves & Suitcases” to Win a Medal: Addendum – “Meatballs & Lefse” a Winner, Too

Good News in Dark Times: “Stoves & Suitcases” to Win a Medal

I have been notified that I am a finalist in the Autobiography/Biography/Memoir by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association for Stoves & Suitcases: Searching for Home in the World’s Kitchens. I will be in Buena Vista, FL at the end of July to receive a medal – at this point, I do not know if … More Good News in Dark Times: “Stoves & Suitcases” to Win a Medal

“Take a Goose or Duck” Now Available!

Take a Goose or a Duck is full of culinary stories about old friends like Markham and Mrs. Beeton and essays that give fresh insight. It proves that British food is intriguing and wonderful. It will be my favourite bedtime reading for the foreseeable future. ~ Regula Ysewijn, author of Pride and Pudding and The Official Downton Abbey Christmas … More “Take a Goose or Duck” Now Available!

Epis, the Haitian Condiment You Never Knew You Needed

    Haiti, it is said, is the place to discover how much can be done with little. ~ Wade Davis   Like Julia Child with her sole meunière at La Coronne in Rouen, I remember the first meal I ate in Haiti. Flickering lights in the darkness below outlined the curves of Port-au-Prince, a … More Epis, the Haitian Condiment You Never Knew You Needed

Flying Kites, Rara Bands, and Poisson Gros Sel: Easter Season in Haiti

Easter traditions in Haiti include kite flying, rara bands, and food. Soaring in the wind, simple, colorful kites express the longing to transcend the quotidian. And rara brings music, tapped out on metal instruments, many rough and angular, hewn from scraps of metal and old oil drums. As for food, Haitian Poisson gros sel (Rock … More Flying Kites, Rara Bands, and Poisson Gros Sel: Easter Season in Haiti

Sunshine State Book Festival!!! Coming Soon!!!

I’ll be there with all my books and a smile, at booth #55 in the Oaks Mall.

The Call

Nature is a Haunted House – but Art – a House that tries to be haunted. ~ Emily Dickinson From my vantage point on the third floor of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, I spy on the ant-like pedestrians scampering below, frantically dodging raindrops and rude taxis. Tiny moving sculptures, … More The Call