Food, Hospitality and Story-Telling: A Greek Adventure in Modern America
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A Note on Food
Feasts and foods are rampant in the Odyssey. They are also integral to Greek culture. In fact, food and feasting are integral to all cultures—all humans must eat and all cultures partake in collective feasting. Even if the way they eat varies widely, the fact of eating does not. Consider these questions:
● What values are part of a Greek view of food and feasting?
● What values are part of a Christian view of food and feasting?
● What values are part of American views of food and feasting (in America at large, in your community, or in your home)?
● What problems do you see with regarding food and feasting in our culture (Monte Vista, homes, America, media representation)?
A Note on Hospitality
In the Odyssey, food is highly related to hospitality--hospitality between humans, and hospitality between humans and gods. Food always comes before storytelling, and food is sacrificed to gods in attempts to change one’s “fate.”
● In the Odyssey, when is food used to get on the gods’ good side? When is food used in a way that puts characters on the gods’ bad side?
American Perspectives - Review one or more and think about hospitality and food practices in American culture.
Select 3-4 of these passages to read. Reflect on what Christian principles are regarding food and hospitality, and how Jesus is the ultimate model of those principles. Consider the context, even if it is not provided.
When Odysseus is welcomed into King Alcinous’ court, he is bathed, oiled, and fed. Then, he is asked to tell his story. Your assignment is to do the same--find someone whose story you do not know. Think about how you could even reach out to total strangers, or reach out to people who are “sons of pain” like Odysseus, who have gone through a lot, but whose stories are not being told, or are unknown to most of our society or community. Then, think about how you can create a hospitable setting--perhaps hosting a great feast--in which your guest will be comfortable enough to share their story. Then, you will write an Epic Poem based on his or her story to be given back to him or her as a gift, and to be spread to a wider audience if you can find a way. Here are the steps:
2. Study Scripture, The Odyssey, and American culture to think about how create a hospitable setting in which your guest is comfortable enough to share his or her life-story, or a story that is very significant to who they are and where they are going.
f. Length: at least 50 lines of poetry
*Optional: find a way to broadcast your guest’s Epic story to a larger audience. Consider writing contests, community events, open mic nights, etc. Think about how you can enact Greek-style oral storytelling in our print and media saturated world where things are recorded in order to be forgotten, not spoken in order to be heard and remembered.
Grading of the Poem--
A: Includes all required elements of an epic poem in a way that uniquely, excellently, and creatively re-imagines a guest's story in epic or mythic terms. Poetry is inventive, unique, and creative, and includes well-chosen details that are highly appropriate to the story. Free of errors. At least 50 lines.
B: Includes all required elements of an epic poem in a manner appropriate to a re-imagining of a guest's story in epic or mythic terms. Poetry is inventive, unique, and almost free of all errors. At least 50 lines.
C: Includes all of the required elements of an epic poem, re-imagining a guest's story in an epic and mythic way. Generally free of grammatical and syntactical errors, at least 50 lines.
D: Missing one or more required element of an epic poem in an attempt to re-imagine a guest's story in an epic or mythic way. Several grammatical or syntactical errors, and/or below the line requirement.
F: Missing several elements of an epic poem, and/or fails to properly re-imagine a guest's story in an epic or mythic way. Grammatical or syntactical errors confuse the reader, and/or below the line requirement.
Grading of the Poem--
A: Includes all required elements of an epic poem in a way that uniquely, excellently, and creatively re-imagines a guest's story in epic or mythic terms. Poetry is inventive, unique, and creative, and includes well-chosen details that are highly appropriate to the story. Free of errors. At least 50 lines.
B: Includes all required elements of an epic poem in a manner appropriate to a re-imagining of a guest's story in epic or mythic terms. Poetry is inventive, unique, and almost free of all errors. At least 50 lines.
C: Includes all of the required elements of an epic poem, re-imagining a guest's story in an epic and mythic way. Generally free of grammatical and syntactical errors, at least 50 lines.
D: Missing one or more required element of an epic poem in an attempt to re-imagine a guest's story in an epic or mythic way. Several grammatical or syntactical errors, and/or below the line requirement.
F: Missing several elements of an epic poem, and/or fails to properly re-imagine a guest's story in an epic or mythic way. Grammatical or syntactical errors confuse the reader, and/or below the line requirement.
4. A short reflection on what you learned from this process (5 points)
Things to include in your plan:
Things to include in your plan:
Guests' name and relationship to you:
- When you will host him or her:
- Where you will host him or her:
- Look at a calendar. When should you have a draft of the Epic Poem ready to revise by? Any other important dates to put on your calendar?
- Are you note-taking or audio recording:
- How you will prove to Mr. K that you did this:
- How you will create a hospitable setting for your guest:
- Brainstorm good questions that you can ask at the beginning to inspire his or her story (be the Muse!), and questions you can keep in your back-pocket to encourage the person to keep telling his or her story, or to ask for clarifications/stimulate more details (some of these may be hard to write in advance, and will require that you simply listen very well in order to know what questions you should ask in the moment):
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