The Salina Art Center will host “Eat Your Words: An Afternoon of Food and Poetry”.

According to the organization, the event on Sunday, November 9th, will feature a hands-on cooking class and a public poetry reading that highlight the creative connections between food and language.

The afternoon begins at 1:30 p.m. with a cooking class led by Adrienne Lynn, executive chef at Renaissance Cafe. Participants will learn how to make her recipe for sweet potato and sage gnocchi with creamy marsala sauce. The class is limited to 12 participants, and advance registration is required. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased here.

At 4:00 p.m., the public is invited to a free poetry reading emceed by Traci Brimhall, Poet Laureate of Kansas and editor of Eat Your Words: A Kansas Poetry Cookbook. The event will feature readings by local poets Kristin VanTassel, Linda Lewis, Jessy Hylton, Lori Brack, Josh Rubino, and Amanda Little, followed by an open mic for additional food-themed poems.

“Eat Your Words: A Kansas Poetry Cookbook” pairs twenty accessible recipes from Kansas chefs with original poems inspired by those dishes. The anthology explores the sensory and emotional connections between food, memory, and community. Alongside poems and recipes, the book includes creative “recipes” for writing, encouraging readers to reflect on their own culinary and cultural experiences. Through shared meals and shared language, the collection celebrates nourishment in many forms.