Mark Kurlansky

Last updated

Mark Kurlansky
MarkKurlansky01.JPG
Kurlansky in 2013
Born (1948-12-07) December 7, 1948 (age 75)
Hartford, Connecticut
Occupation
  • Journalist
  • author
GenreNonfiction

Mark Kurlansky (December 7, 1948) is an American journalist and author who has written a number of books of fiction and nonfiction. His 1997 book, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World (1997), was an international bestseller and was translated into more than fifteen languages. His book Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons From the History of a Dangerous Idea (2006) was the nonfiction winner of the 2007 Dayton Literary Peace Prize.

Contents

Life and work

Kurlansky was born in Hartford, Connecticut on December 7, 1948. [1] He attended Butler University, where he earned a BA in 1970. [1] He started his career as a playwright. He was a theatre major at college and wrote seven or eight plays, a few of which were produced. But he said that he became "frustrated with theatre, which is to say I became frustrated with Broadway". [2]

From 1976 to 1991, he worked as a correspondent in Western Europe for the Miami Herald , The Philadelphia Inquirer , and eventually the Paris-based International Herald Tribune . [1] [3] [4] He moved to Mexico in 1982, where he continued to practice journalism. In 2007, he was named the Baruch College Harman writer-in-residence. [1]

Kurlansky wrote his first book, A Continent of Islands, in 1992 and went on to write several more throughout the 1990s. His third work of nonfiction, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, won the 1998 James Beard Award. [5] It became an international bestseller and was translated into more than 15 languages. His work and contribution to Basque identity and culture was recognized in 2001 when the Society of Basque Studies in America named him to the Basque Hall of Fame. [1] That same year, he was awarded an honorary ambassadorship from the Basque government. [1]

As a teenager, Kurlansky called Émile Zola his "hero", and in 2009, he translated one of Zola's novels, The Belly of Paris , whose theme is the food markets of Paris. [6]

Kurlansky's 2009 book, The Food of a Younger Land, with the subtitle "A portrait of American food – before the national highway system, before chain restaurants, and before frozen food, when the nation's food was seasonal, regional, and traditional – from the lost WPA files", details American foodways in the early 20th century.

Publications

Nonfiction

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Presentation by Kurlansky on Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, August 15, 1998, C-SPAN
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Presentation by Kurlansky on Salt: A World History, January 29, 2002, C-SPAN
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Presentation by Kurlansky on 1968: The Year That Rocked the World, January 14, 2004, C-SPAN
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Presentation by Kurlansky on The Food of a Younger Land, May 14, 2009, C-SPAN
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Presentation by Kurlansky on Paper: Paging Through History, June 12, 2016, C-SPAN

Fiction

Children's books

As editor

As translator

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kipper</span> Whole cold-smoked herring

A kipper is a whole herring, a small, oily fish, that has been split in a butterfly fashion from tail to head along the dorsal ridge, gutted, salted or pickled, and cold-smoked over smouldering wood chips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cod</span> Common name for the demersal fish genus Gadus

Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus Gadus is commonly not called cod.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitefish (fisheries term)</span> Several species of demersal fish with fins

Whitefish or white fish is a fisheries term for several species of demersal fish with fins, particularly Atlantic cod, whiting, haddock, hake (Urophycis), and pollock (Pollachius), among others. Whitefish (Coregonidae) is also the name of several species of Atlantic freshwater fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Banks of Newfoundland</span> Group of underwater plateaus south-east of Newfoundland, Canada

The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordfish, haddock and capelin, as well as shellfish, seabirds and sea mammals.

<i>Le Ventre de Paris</i> 1873 novel by Émile Zola

Le Ventre de Paris (1873) is the third novel in Émile Zola's twenty-volume series Les Rougon-Macquart. It is set in and around Les Halles, the enormous, busy central market of 19th-century Paris. Les Halles, rebuilt in cast iron and glass during the Second Empire was a landmark of modernity in the city, the wholesale and retail center of a thriving food industry. Le Ventre de Paris is Zola's first novel entirely on the working class.

<i>Bacalhau</i> Type of Portuguese cod dish

Bacalhau is the Portuguese word for cod and—in a culinary context—dried and salted cod. Fresh (unsalted) cod is referred to as bacalhau fresco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence Birdseye</span> American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist

Clarence Birdseye was an American inventor, entrepreneur, and naturalist, considered the founder of the modern frozen food industry. He founded the frozen food company Birds Eye. Among his inventions during his career was the double belt freezer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockfish</span> Air-dried unsalted preserved fish

Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks on the foreshore. The drying of food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage life of several years. The method is cheap and effective in suitable climates; the work can be done by the fisherman and family, and the resulting product is easily transported to market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dried fish</span> Fish preserved by drying

Fresh fish rapidly deteriorates unless some way can be found to preserve it. Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of microorganisms. Open air drying using sun and wind has been practiced since ancient times to preserve food. Water is usually removed by evaporation but, in the case of freeze-drying, food is first frozen and then the water is removed by sublimation. Bacteria, yeasts and molds need the water in the food to grow, and drying effectively prevents them from surviving in the food.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dried and salted cod</span> Preserved fish

Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting. Cod which has been dried without the addition of salt is stockfish. Salt cod was long a major export of the North Atlantic region, and has become an ingredient of many cuisines around the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean.

<i>Pescado frito</i> Fried fish dish

Pescado frito, also called pescaíto frito, is a traditional dish from the Southern coast of Spain, typically found in Andalusia, but also in Catalonia, Valencia, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.

The Modern Library Chronicles are a series of short books published by the American publisher, Modern Library. Most of the books are under 150 pages in length and intended to introduce readers to a period of history.

Biscay Bay is a local service district in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandade</span> Dish of cod, olive oil, and potatoes

Brandade is an emulsion crafted from salt cod, olive oil, and usually potatoes. It is eaten in the winter with bread or potatoes. In French culinary terminology, it is occasionally referred to as brandade de morue and while in Spanish cuisine, it sometimes known as brandada de bacalao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cod fisheries</span> Fisheries for cod

Cod fisheries are fisheries for cod. Cod is the common name for fish of the genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and this article is confined to three species that belong to this genus: the Atlantic cod, the Pacific cod and the Greenland cod. Although there is a fourth species of the cod genus Gadus, Alaska pollock, it is commonly not called cod and therefore currently not covered here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaea salt</span> Unrefined sea salt mixed with a red ʻalaea volcanic clay

Alaea salt, alternatively referred to as Hawaiian red salt, is an unrefined sea salt that has been mixed with an iron oxide rich volcanic clay called ʻalaea, which gives the seasoning its characteristic brick red color. It is part of Native Hawaiian cuisine and is used in traditional dishes such as kalua pig, poke, and pipikaula. It was also traditionally used to cleanse, purify and bless tools, canoes, homes and temples. Once exported to the Pacific Northwest to cure salmon, it saw a resurgence in popularity late in the 20th century in fusion style cuisine of Hawaii both on Islands and beyond.

<i>Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea</i> Book by Mark Kurlansky

Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea, first published as Nonviolence: Twenty-Five Lessons from the History of a Dangerous Idea, is a book by Mark Kurlansky. It follows the history of nonviolence and nonviolent activism, focusing on religious and political ideals from early history to the present.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run down</span> Stew dish

Run down, also referred to as rundown, run dun, rondón, fling-me-far, and fling mi for, is a stew dish in Jamaican cuisine and Tobago cuisine. The traditional Jamaican dish is eaten in several Latin American countries that share a coast with the Caribbean Sea.

Cod Island is an uninhabited island in the northern coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, in the eastern part of the country, 1,700 kilometers northeast of the capital Ottawa. The total area of the island is 133 square kilometres.

<i>Salmon</i> (book) 2020 non-fiction book by Mark Kurlansky

Salmon: A Fish, the Earth, and the History of a Common Fate is a 2020 non-fiction book, written by Mark Kurlansky and published by Oneworld Publications, about the economic and natural history of salmon. It is a follow-up to Kurlanksky's 1997 book, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World. The book is dedicated to Icelandic environmentalist Orri Vigfússon.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Contemporary Authors Online". Biography in Context. Gale. 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  2. editsuite99 (June 19, 2020). "Interview with Mark Kurlansky". ARTSMANIA. Retrieved July 20, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. "The Writers Directory". Biography in Context. Gale. 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  4. editsuite99 (June 19, 2020). "Interview with Mark Kurlansky". ARTSMANIA. Retrieved July 20, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. "Awards Search | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  6. "A Conversation with Mark Kurlansky, translator of Zola’s Classic" Archived January 20, 2015, at the Wayback Machine , conversation with Terrance Gelenter
  7. Wolkomir, Richard. "Review of 'Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World'". Smithsonian . Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  8. MacFarlane, Robert (January 20, 2002). "Observer review: Salt by Mark Kurlansky". The Observer . London. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  9. Preston, Peter (April 17, 2004). "Observer review: 1968 by Mark Kurlansky". The Observer . London. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  10. Garfield, Simon (July 3, 2016). "Paper: Paging Through History by Mark Kurlansky – review". The Observer . London. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  11. "Nonviolence: Twenty-five Lessons From the History of a Dangerous Idea, 2007 nonfiction winner"
  12. "Dayton Literary Peace Prize - Mark Kurlansky, 2007 Nonfiction Winner". www.daytonliterarypeaceprize.org. Retrieved January 13, 2016.