The story of the Wilkinson family survived some of America’s worst sins and lives on through recipes, court records, and kitchen conversations.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new book by one of Kentucky’s top poets is filled with family recipes.
Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts is as much history as it is a cookbook. This work shows how eastern Kentucky’s little-known black history has survived through generations of brave women who faced slavery, hunger, and racism. Their spirit lives on whenever the book’s author, Crystal Wilkinson, is in the kitchen.
“Recipes are written down, but I think they’re in your body. They’re in your memory, especially things that you make often or that your family often makes,” she said. Ta.
Her grandmother, Christine Wilkinson, made lots of chicken and dumplings. This is one of the many recipes featured in this book.
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“I come from a fluffy dumpling background,” Crystal said as she prepared biscuit dough. She mixed it with a fork and then kneaded it with her hands.
“Sometimes when I’m kneading the dough, I look down and remember what my grandmother’s hands looked like when she was doing this,” she explained, but there are some differences. Crystal doesn’t pluck feathers from birds or use glass to roll out biscuit dough.
The soup and bread used to make the little chickens tell their own stories about women who made the most of what they had. During the Great Depression, her grandmother Christine married with a mouth to feed.
“This is hill comfort food. It’s the perfect one-pot meal for country royalty,” Crystal read aloud from “Praisesong” as the dumplings simmered in the soup.
Crystal is on tour promoting the book, conjuring kitchen ghosts across the country. In Lexington, she shared her excitement with most of her family. Her cousin Regina Turner helped her with some of her family history. She was visiting from Washington, D.C. – which was a surprise for Crystal.
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“It’s a dream,” Turner said. “I’m so happy that Crystal made this decision. Our family has been so close over the years and it’s a monumental moment.”
Many fans came to get her signature, but Erica Goodman left with a mission to preserve her family’s story.
“Our stories are constantly being rewritten or completely erased, so it’s our responsibility to be able to pass on our history to the next generation,” she said.
“As long as there are books, the family will live on,” said Love Star Aunt Simpson-Wilkinson.
A book chronicling the history of generations of Black women in the kitchen. Crystal is grateful to her ancestors, family, and the people they touched.
“People say, “My Italian Nonna is a ghost in the kitchen.” I would also like to thank each person who took the time to tell me how this book affected them. “I’m here,” Crystal said.
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