John Vincent Palozzi

Cook These Poems: 20 Vegetarian Recipes Disguised As Poetry John Vincent Palozzi

Publisher Marketing: One day while researching poetry exercises for my poetry class, I came upon the idea of Recipe Poems. This exercise asked the poet to think of a food recipe and write a poem around it, about it, incorporating it - however it would work. I loved the idea, as there is nothing I love more than poetry, except for food! So I wrote my first Recipe Poem. Being a vegetarian, of course, I was not going to use a recipe for chicken cacciatore. I fell in love with writing Recipe Poems and turned to the Internet for finding recipes. I Googled "Vegetarian Recipes" and found a ton of ideas. Some of those recipes were from various countries around the world and made for even more fascinating ideas for poems. The recipes and "facts" (like the history of potatoes) fond in these poems are true, and following the directions should result in preparing the actual dish being written about. I used my imagination to make up the stories that are told in each poem. They are not necessarily "true" stories, thought some are based in true facts. But mostly, I tried to imagine emotional themes that would tie in with the food being prepared, like the tears in the "Oregano Baked Onions" and a sick old man in "Old-fashioned Vegetable Barley Soup." Contributor Bio:  Palozzi, John Vincent I started writing poetry when I was thirteen years old. To practice I would type whatever came to mind, which turned out to be adolescent rhyme. Throughout high school I enjoyed writing poems, having some published in the school literary magazine. At the University of Buffalo I continued writing and took classes in poetry. I would often frequent coffee houses reading my verse during those college years. After graduating I moved to Florida. Though I worked various jobs to pay the rent I never gave up writing poetry. In 1986 I joined the Poets of the Palm Beaches. In 1989 I became President of The Poets and held that position for seventeen years. To this day I still serve on their Board of Directors. Over the past fifteen years I have organized and conducted poetry readings, workshops and classes. I have, at times, won various prizes in poetry contests I am also a member of Artists of Palm Beach County. For the past 20 years I have been working with photography, collage and digital imaging. Many of my works have been exhibited in various public places and galleries in Palm Beach County, Florida; such as the Palm Beach International Airport, the Boynton Beach City Library, and the Armory Arts Center.