5 from Fitch: November 2023
You know those friends you have who always offer great recommendations for books to read, movies to see and places to go? That’s us! Every month, our intrepid writers will share five recommendations based on their current favorite things. Have you read a riveting book lately? Seen a movie or show that deeply affected you? Eaten a surprising homegrown snack? Indulged in unexpected nostalgia? Please drop us a line in the comments!
Will Palmer
🌽 Growing: Indigenous Corn
What is it?
Flor del Rio, a variety of Indigenous corn — popcorn, to be exact — that's adapted to our high-desert climate in northern New Mexico. Last spring we planted this $4 packet from Tucson-based Native Seeds/SEARCH, a nonprofit seed bank that has preserved some 2,000 heritage crop varieties developed over centuries by communities throughout the Southwest. Their proceeds allow them to distribute seeds for free to Native American families and community gardens and to promote biodiversity in the region.
Why I love it.
Because it allowed us to utilize a dusty 100 square feet of our backyard, with moderate amounts of daily drip irrigation, to grow a long row of beautiful corn plants that reached above the top of our 6-foot wall. Because it taught me about the fascinating way corn grows (and how it needs a little help with pollination). Because it's cute — wee little 4-inch-long ears — and beautiful: a crazy, unexpected array of deep purple, red, yellow, blue and black kernels. And because, once the seeds are dried, it means free popcorn all winter.
Dorothy Pomerantz
📺 Watching: “Our Flag Means Death”
What is it?
An HBO half-hour comedy about Stede Bonnet, a rich man who became a pirate, and his relationship with the infamous Black Beard (played by Taika Waititi).
Why I love it.
The show is an incredible workplace comedy where marauding pirates take time to talk about their feelings and take care of one another. It is also unabashedly queer in the most nonchalant way; the relationships are all based in love and respect, not gender. It’s truly one of the most unique shows I’ve ever seen and it makes me incredibly happy.
Stephane Fitch
🎭 Supporting: Regional Theater
What is it?
Regional theaters draw on local professional talent to produce plays and musicals that are far more polished than the amateurish fare available in community playhouses.
Why I love it.
A year ago, I was introduced to the Phoenix Theater Company, a storied regional theater near my home. Its productions are electrifying — equal to the quality of traveling Broadway roadshows. But the tickets cost way less and the seating is far more intimate. Most mid-large cities in the U.S. have at least one regional theater, often with roots going back to the “little theater movement” that flourished in the U.S. a century ago. Find one near you and enjoy.
Mary L. Dudy
🪨 Getting active: Bouldering
What is it?
A burlier way to rock climb, no ropes allowed.
Why I love it.
Sport climbers are happiest ascending high walls. Drawing on a combination of balance, strength and chutzpah, we work in concert with the rock, trusting our protective gear and belay partners to keep us safe. Bouldering, which I’ve recently taken to, is a gnarlier affair. The walls are much shorter. You might have to pull as few as five precise, exacting moves that require serious muscles and fingers that do not fear pain. Sans harness, sans rope, trying not to shake in your tight climbing shoes, you realize why bouldering routes are called “problems” and you wonder glumly who named your only protective gear a “crash pad.” And then you make it to the top, and oh, the joy!
Kristin Kloberdanz
📚 Reading: “Let Us Descend,” by Jesmyn Ward
What is it?
A novel by Jesmyn Ward about a young, enslaved woman whose vicious master (and sire) has sold her in the Deep South. This novel follows Annis’ journey, physical and spiritual, as she is forced to walk from the swampy rice fields of the Carolinas, through the holding pens of New Orleans slave markets and ultimately to a brutal sugar plantation in Louisiana.
Why I love it.
I marvel at how deftly Ward weaves together realistic depictions of the slaves’ enforced march through the natural world and the supernatural hauntings that tether Annis to her African predecessors. Ward’s writing is raw and beautiful, even as she describes despair and abuse. A haunting and timely treatise on family and perseverance, and a sharp reminder in today’s political climate that slavery was a hideous and tortuous blight on humanity that has lasting repercussions.