Contemporary Portuguese American literature written by Thomas Braga (1943-), Frank Gaspar (1946-), and Katherine Vaz (1955-) share a profusion of topics - with ethnic food being, perhaps, the most representative one. What these writers have in common is that their roots can be traced to Portugal's Atlantic islands - the Azores - and not to continental Portugal. They are native Americans and write in English, though their characters and themes are Portuguese American. Some of them lived close to the former New England whaling and fishing centers of New Bedford and Nantucket, which Herman Melville has immortalized in Moby-Dick and in his short story, “The 'Gees,” in The Piazza Tales. These seaports were renowned worldwide and eventually attracted Azorean harpooners. The Azorean background of Thomas Braga and Frank Gaspar helps us to understand why fish and seafood feature so extensively in their writings instead of dishes containing meat as is the case in the fiction of Katherine Vaz.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Winter 2008
Research Article|
January 01 2008
The Tastes from Portugal: Food as Remembrance in Portuguese American Literature
Reinaldo Silva
Reinaldo Silva
Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Search for other works by this author on:
Ethnic Studies Review (2008) 31 (2): 126–152.
Citation
Reinaldo Silva; The Tastes from Portugal: Food as Remembrance in Portuguese American Literature. Ethnic Studies Review 1 January 2008; 31 (2): 126–152. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/esr.2008.31.2.126
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.