“Given my interest in writing about farming and my love of the Vineyard, this opportunity was essentially my dream realized,” says Kristin Griffin, the first-ever recipient of a farm writing fellowship that marks a collaboration between Noepe Center for Literary Arts and the FARM Institute. Last Thursday, Noepe hosted a reading of her work, where friends and guests had a chance to mingle, chat, and listen to Kristin’s writing on a gorgeous fall day in Edgartown.
Nothing inspires food writers more than living close to the source of their food. For her two-week residency at Noepe, Kristin spent mornings volunteering at the FARM Institute, assisting with various tasks, and using the afternoons to write: “Some days I’d help feed and water the birds, others I’d be out in the fields sorting sheep.” The future of her food-writing career was undoubtedly shaped by the those early-morning chores and late-night writing opportunities.
Kristin, a fiction and food writer living in Oregon who teaches at Oregon State University, has been visiting the Island since the age of 15. She spent countless summers working various jobs here and writing her way through those endless seasons. She even honeymooned on the Vineyard. “This Island and its community hold a lot of my heart,” says Kristin. As a fellow food writer I can definitely see why; it’s a place that breeds inspiration.
I’m always interested in what helps motivate other writers. When I asked Kristin, her response could not have been more perfect: “Being out in the world, seeing and doing new things, inspires my writing. The potential for story is everywhere; you just have to get out to find it.” You just have to get out to find it — there’s no better advice than that. So friends, go out there and find it, whether it be inspiration for writing or anything you’re passionate about.
You can find Kristin’s food writing in various publications including Serious Eats, Paste Magazine, and Portland Monthly, among others. She also has a food-focused novel about a Boston Irish recipe tester that will soon be out. Visit her site for updates at kristingriffin.wordpress.com.
