Foodie Poetry: With Apologies to Ogden Nash

No man is lonely while eating spaghetti: It requires so much attention. — Christopher Marley

When I attended the Massachusetts Poetry Festival recently, I took a class on writing poetry about food. I’m off to Italy soon. What else did you think would happen?

c. 2010 J.H-M and CultureChoc

‘Talian Food

I would not eat the sauteed eel

Not the calamari, not the scungil’

I never knew why clams were food

And oysters never seemed that good

Mackerel, a dark and oily fish,

Like trippa, never graced my dish

What kind of ‘talian can I be

when slimy things repulses me?

I crave the pasta, fichi, rice

And melanzane’s always nice

Gorgonzola makes me happy

While nociola turns me sappy

Blood orange juice is great to start

A day at the porchetta cart

Rich prosciutto, macchiato

You eat slime — I’d rather not-o.

Buon viaggio!

Linda Dini Jenkins

Linda Dini Jenkins is a card-carrying Italophile, travel planner, freelance writer, and amateur photographer. Travel is her passion, so writing about her travels just comes naturally. She hopes all her travelers find a way to express their joys, surprises, and fears as they travel and gives every traveler a nifty journal to help smooth the way. Learn more…

Your home away from home.

If you’re looking for an exceptional self-catering experience, consider Casa Linda in the heart of old Sulmona, one of the most beautiful small cities in Abruzzo. Less than two hours from Rome’s Fiumicino airport, Sulmona has everything you need for a relaxing holiday. It’s also close to the beach and skiing/hiking areas. Casa Linda is a charming, well-appointed apartment, lovingly restored by one of the area’s preeminent architects, just steps from the Cathedral of San Panfilo at the edge of the Villa Communale (city park). LEARN MORE…

Dream. Travel. Write.

Writing has long been Linda’s passion, and she started writing about Italy nearly 20 years ago. Travel Italy the Write Way combines her love for Italy with her love for travel writing, blogging, and finding new ways to tell about the experience of travel in both prose and poetry.

Even if you can’t travel with her in person just yet:

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FROM THE BLOG

November 1 is Reclamation Day

Linda Dini Jenkins - 10/31/2023 - Travel story / Uncategorized - 0 Comments - Halloween / overtourism / Salem

There was only one sign for pumpkin spice anything, and it was at the train station in Rome. Starbucks, of course, and my apologies to all who love the fall-themed brew. But then there was the Trick or Treat sign on the Irish pub (!) in my Italian town of Sulmona. It was jarring. Halloween hasn’t yet come to Italy in a big way, and that’s fine with me. Call me a grump. Because the rest of the year (as most of you know) I live in Salem, Massachusetts where, over the past 20 years, Halloween starts in early September and runs through mid-November. The crowds are staggering – nearly one million people come into town on Halloween weekend alone.…

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Photos by Linda Dini Jenkins and Valerie Raccuglia

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