“It’s an odd marriage: the ugly bird
that doesn’t fly and the tiny tire that’s deep
fried and dipped in frosting. Who puts a donut
on a plate with a dead bird and provides a little Hendrix in the mix?”
The answer author Kimberly Mathes had in mind in her poem “So Much Nothing Welcomed” was Welcome Chicken + Donuts, one of the two businesses that make up Welcome Hospitality (the other is Welcome Diner). Both businesses are the focus of “Welcome Home,” the literary anthology released Saturday by local publisher Four Chambers Press.
“Welcome Home” comprises poetry and prose by downtown Phoenicians, stories related, whether loosely or directly, to the two establishments that have become a central part of downtown Phoenix culture.
“We thought that there was something special about this place, and I think more importantly, that it tapped into larger discussions or conversations about the development of Phoenix and what it means to live in a city, that we thought were worth investigating and sort of bringing to light,” said Jake Friedman, founder and editor-in-chief of Four Chambers Press.
At the live reading and release party for the new anthology, held Saturday evening at Welcome Diner, it was clear that there was something special about this place and the people who went there. The contributors that read their pieces out loud for an audience, happily munching on pulled pork fries, chicken and biscuits, and burgers.
Contributor Marcus Christensen said Four Chambers’ publications were helping to define downtown Phoenix as a community.
“We’re still a very young city…it’s helping establish and kind of solidify our identity in helping people come together and really gives us a place to collaborate and really be creative and live together,” he said.
“Welcome Home” is the second of two special projects coordinated by Four Chambers Press in partnership with local organizations. The first was “Poetry and Prose for the Phoenix Art Museum,” an anthology with the local art museum as its focus.
The ultimate goal for Four Chambers Press is to publish two of these special projects a year, Friedman said. The idea for the next project has not been finalized, but he said possible themes are drinking culture, nature or travel. Four Chambers also publishes one literary journal a year, along with single-author works.
Friedman said he working on the project showed him the importance of food culture to the Phoenix community.
“I think when we have conversations about arts and culture as a community…we’re always thinking about like music, or visual arts, or theater,” Friedman said. “Food and drink are also an important part of being cultured, and having tastes that are not just artistic or aesthetic, but also actually having a palate for food, knowing that your food comes from a trustworthy source, and being able to taste the difference between quality… is significant and intuitive.”
Michael Babcock, who started Welcome Diner with his wife Jenn Robinson and partner Sloane McFarland, said Welcome was honored to participate in the “Welcome Home” project with Four Chambers Press. Babcock said Welcome Hospitality provided “moral support” for the project, answering questions when needed and helping out when they could, but the staff at Four Chambers did the brunt of the work.
Robinson, who contributed to the issue herself and read at the release party, said projects like this one by Four Chambers help to establish the downtown area as a creative center for greater Phoenix.
“I think it’s playing a role in identifying downtown Phoenix as a place where Phoenicians, not just downtown Phoenix dwellers, but the greater Phoenix area, can now identify downtown Phoenix as a place where they can come and express themselves creatively,” she said.
Contact the reporter at Faith.Anne.Miller@asu.edu.
