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Showing posts with label Frank Bruni. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frank Bruni. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

"Words. A child needs a forest of words to wander through, a sea of words to splash in. A child needs to be read to, and a child needs to read."

TWO EXCERPTS FROM A POWERFUL PIECE, "The Gift of Reading", by Frank Bruni, IN THE NEW YORK TIMES:

Words. A child needs a forest of words to wander through, a sea of words to splash in. A child needs to be read to, and a child needs to read.

Reading fuels the fires of intelligence and imagination, and if they don’t blaze well before elementary school, a child’s education — a child’s life — may be an endless game of catch-up.





“Kids who read more get better at reading, and because they are better at reading, it’s easier and more pleasurable so they read still more,” he [Daniel Willingham, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia and the author of Raising Kids Who Read] said. “And kids who read well don’t just do better in English class — it helps them in math, science and every other class, too.”

I’d go even further. Reading tugs them outside of themselves, connecting them to a wider world and filling it with wonder. It’s more than fundamental. It’s transformative.

Read the article in its entirety here: "The Gift of Reading".

Friday, May 30, 2014

"Read, kids, read"

Now where have you heard that before?

At Commits, for sure. Since April 2003, when I began teaching journalism, I have been pushing my students to read. (Sometimes, they push back, and that, I have to say, is a big concern for me.)

In June 2010, I also wrote a blog post on the subject: "Why you must read".

And I have been using my social media accounts in a big way to try to popularise reading.

MONIKA KHANGEMBAM, CLASS OF 2012

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when, two days ago, first thing in the morning, I received this message via Facebook from Commitscion Monika Khangembam (Class of 2012), with a link to an article by Frank Bruni in The New York Times:

Monika Khangembam

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/05/13/opinion/bruni-read-kids-read.html?referrer=
This article reminded me of you sir.
After I sent a message thanking her, Monika replied:

Yay! I am so glad you liked it. The ideas expressed in the article resonate with what you mostly say in class and how you keep telling us to read more. I can also imagine you encouraging (read nagging) your nieces and nephews to read. 


During the course of our text conversation, Monika revealed she is reading The Fault in Our Stars, which finds mention in the NYT article, too. So I replied:

What a wonderful coincidence. I bought a copy of this book for the college library some time ago, but before placing it in the library I read it to try to understand why it had become a bestseller. It is an excellent book, for young people especially. I loved the highly original plot.

Monika then articulated her own thoughts about the book:

That's amazing sir. I am not so much into these young adult novels but I accidentally came across this and I am glad I did. The characters feel so real. I can so relate to Hazel. You relate to her more if you are a 20-something and still struggling to understand your life. There is this particular part in the beginning where Augustus talks about oblivion and how Hazel responds to that. That has helped me to be less scared and be a bit more adventurous. It's funny how a few lines can influence us so deeply.

And it's amazing, I thought to myself, how a few lines written by my student about the transformative power of reading can brighten my day like nothing else can. Thanks a million, Monika!

SRUTI NAYANI, CLASS OF 2004
  • There's more good news on the reading front. Commitscion Sruti Nayani (Class of 2004), who has been blogging about books for some six months now, has just published a post about the importance of writing. Sruti makes six important points in the post. Here is the first one:
Read and read some more. I do not know how one can begin writing if one does not read; reading is essential. You could begin with newspapers, magazines, essays, short stories, fiction, non-fiction or even articles. Basically, just about everything. The idea is to find a path to the written word. This kind of reading could help you to understand the different types of writing and eventually develop your own style.

Now where have you heard that before?
***
SOMETIMES IT IS EASY TO MEASURE THE IMPACT OF A READING ROOM POST (A FACEBOOK CONVERSATION WITH BRINDA DAS, CLASS OF 2015):
“My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.”
― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
reading The Fault in Our Stars.
Like · ·
***
Frank Bruni's article is so inspiring
BISWAJIT DEY (Class of 2016): I read the article by Frank Bruni just now. I found it really inspiring this was the first time I got to know that there are so many positive aspects to reading other than gaining knowledge; reading acts as therapy too. Thanks for sharing, Sir.

***
  • Patrick Michael, editor of the Dubai-based Khaleej Times, commented via Google+
Ramesh, as a voracious reader, it's heartening to read that the message is getting home. I'm sure many more will realise the benefits of reading. Anything and everything. Comics included.

I follow most of the links you send and some I forward to a few of my colleagues who, despite the many years of experience under their belt, still believe that life is a learning curve and you can learn more from books than from idle chatter.

My next book: Straight to Hell: True and Glorious Tales of Deviance, Debauchery and Billion Dollar Deals. Read all about it here. Can't wait to get my hands on this mother of lies!

Oh, the pleasures of reading!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Do you have what it takes to be a restaurant critic?


What is a chef to think when a leading newspaper's restaurant critic, in her review, heaps praise on his rawas (salmon) preparation when the dish in question was chicken wings? Can you blame the chef for thinking there is something fishy about this particular reviewer? Wouldn't he then also question the credibility of the newspaper that sent her on this assignment?

This rawas-chicken wings gaffe is just one of the many sticking points in the relationship between chefs and restaurant critics, Lhendup Bhutia tells us in a recent issue of Open:

Earlier, a few writers reviewed eateries, but now almost every publication or website with a lifestyle section has one such reviewer. Unlike in the West, where food reviewing is a serious job and most writers have a background in culinary arts, here it is very rare to come across a food writer with any such expertise. What’s more, most of them don’t specialise in the subject.

It is not surprising that chefs dislike reviewers. But in India, where a chef’s competence is usually judged by a gaggle of fledgling writers, this dislike is replaced by utter contempt.

Read Bhutia's enlightening piece in its entirety here: "What Chefs Make of Food Reviews". Be warned, though: You may never again take a restaurant review in an Indian publication seriously. Worse, you may stop reading restaurant reviews.

The problem appears to be the lack of expertise on the part of restaurant critics in our country. Of course, there are exceptions, such as the food reviews in Time Out Bengaluru, which come accompanied by the claim, "The best food and drink in Bangalore, reviewed anonymously by experts".


But is there any food critic in India whose fame and prowess is on par with that of Frank Bruni, the New York Times legend? Of course, Bruni was a seasoned (no pun intended) journalist before he was appointed the newspaper's restaurant critic in April 2004 (he moved to the Op-Ed page as a columnist in June 2011). His background in journalism surely contributed to his approach and success as a food reviewer.

Some time ago, Bruni answered a couple of questions from readers on why he gave up conventional reporting and took up the position of restaurant critic. His response is so illuminating:

Q. Until reading the section on your background connected with "Talk to the Newsroom," I had not realised what an extensive background you had in journalism. I was wondering 1) why you chose to become a restaurant critic and give up your involvement in day-to-day news reporting and 2) do you miss being a more conventional reporter?
— Kenneth Astrin
Q. I've read your articles in The Detroit Free Press and The New York Times since the early '90s, and have always admired your work. With all respect, I can't understand why you are now doing restaurant reviews. It's honest work, but it seems frivolous.
— James Gerardi
FRANK BRUNI
A. Restaurant criticism was a new challenge and new adventure that came along at a time when I was almost ready for both. I say “almost” because I would have loved to have spent another 12 to 18 months as the newspaper’s Rome correspondent, but the critic’s job came open when it came open, just under two years into my Rome assignment.

Frivolous? I understand why it might be seen that way, but I myself don’t see it that way at all.

Food in general, including restaurant food, is an object of ever greater attention from ever larger numbers of people.

Restaurants often serve as handy mirrors of a neighborhood or a city or a moment in time. They reflect people’s passions and foibles and vanities.

They bring people considerable joy. They claim a considerable fraction of many people’s incomes.

So acting as a guide through the restaurant world and writing dispatches from it strike me as meaningful work.

At times I indeed miss what you call “conventional reporting.” There’s a very particular satisfaction in gathering information, in picking up the phone or hitting the road and, chalk mark by chalk mark, filling in what was a blank blackboard.

But I get to do some of that in the restaurant-related articles I write beyond reviews, and even reviews themselves incorporate more "conventional reporting" — or at least reporting — than you’d think.

They pivot, as all reporting does, on close observation and on making sense of a certain experience, a certain small patch of the world. 

What an insightful piece of writing this is! In nine paragraphs we get the essence of what it means to be a restaurant critic. Read the entire Q&A with Frank Bruni here. You will savour some delectable tidbits in the form of Bruni's replies to questions on topics such as the reactions of chefs to his reviews, and the music and noise in restaurants. He also addresses the very important subject of anonymity, and tackles firmly this question asked by a reader in Montreal: "What do you say to chefs who feel a critic without having worked in a restaurant or studied in a culinary environment, should not be a restaurant critic?"

For dessert, sample the restaurant review by Frank Bruni that prompted the owner to take out a full-page ad in the New York Times in protest against the review. (You will also want to read this trenchant post on the inappropriateness of the ad by former NYT restaurant critic Mimi Sheraton in Slate: "Restaurateur bites critic". And you must, absolutely must, read the New Yorker take on the restaurateur-critic face-off: "Kobe Beef". That's a great headline, too!)

Now there is only one question that begs an answer: What would happen if restaurateurs in India were to emulate the American restaurant owner?
  • Illustration courtesy: The New York Times 
Experience in journalism is an advantage if you want to be a restaurant critic

SAUMYA IYER
SAUMYA IYER (Class of 2014), a foodie whose wish is to be a food writer and who is currently an intern with Bangalore Mirror, commented via e-mail:
I think you at least need to be an experienced journalist with knowledge about the food industry in order to write about it. One of my favourite food critics, Marina O’Loughlin, absolutely loves restaurants. That passion speaks to me through her writing; not only is she experienced in the field of journalism but she is also very well versed with the nuances of food and the thought that goes into making a particular dish.

I also agree that a reviewer must remain anonymous at all costs because having the chef and staff give you special attention when they should be going about their own business is not how a reviewer can soak up the real flavours of the place.

As for amateur food writers, there are so many bloggers and Facebook groups like “Foodies in Bangalore”, that it got me thinking: just because you love eating food, does that make you an expert? I also spoke to one of the city’s famous chefs about this, and he told me that there’s nothing you can really do about it and that opinions are like a**holes, everyone’s got one.
  • SAFFANA MICHAEL, Dubai-based communications manager for Middle East and Central Asia, commented via e-mail: And we place so much of our decisions whether food or movies or books on these so-called "reviewers". Loved reading the Bruni critique on the Kobe Room …ouch!  
  • KOKILA JACOB, a media professional now living in Dubai, commented via e-mail: Ha ha, this is hilarious. I think there are not many expert food reviewers here in Dubai either.