Paroma banerjee biography of michael jackson

Kristin Vuković is the author of the forthcomingThe Cheesemaker's Daughter (August 6, 2024, Regalo Press), inspired by her travels to the island of Pag in Croatia—and of course, Pag cheese (Paški sir). I was lucky enough to meet Vuković in a food writing workshop I taught a few years ago. She shared some early pages of her debut novel, and her work blew me away. Her writing was stunning, her characters felt real, and as a cheese lover, it felt like she deeply understood what made cheese so rich with meaning.

I sat down with Vuković to talk about cheese, family, books, and what makes her tick.

How does your identity as an American with Croatian heritage impact your work as a writer?

My obsession with Croatia is no secret! Growing up with my grandmother’s cooking and hearing Croatian spoken in their home in Dayton, Ohio, I was determined to learn more about this place they were from. I’ve now been to Croatia more than two dozen times! I think that wanting to know more about where our family came from has fueled me as a writer and contributed to exploring the themes of identity, belonging, and home that run through my debut novel.

Tell me about the intersection of cheese and literature—how do they relate to each other?

There’s a line in my novel, “Cheesemaking always leaves fingerprints.” Ultimately, cheesemakers are the authors of their own cheese, and you can taste their unique signature. I think cheesemaking is similar to writing in that you’re always feeling your way through and needing to make adjustments along the way. Cheesemakers take into account time and temperature of ripening and other factors that can change, and writers discover aspects of their characters as they develop and events that can alter the narrative. Cheesemaking is such an ancient practice, and there’s something so elemental about it. On Pag, it’s a way of life for many people, and I lo

March 9, 2001

20th annual Holocaust conference begins March 24

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The 20th annual Holocaust Remembrance Conference will focus on the need to affirm history and accept responsibility.

Scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 24 and 25, on Purdue University's West Lafayette campus and sites around Greater Lafayette, the conference will focus on "Challenging Our Beliefs."

"For 20 years, the conference has been able to bring the Greater Lafayette community's attention to the Holocaust and what happened when people allowed themselves to be unconcerned about their neighbors," said Rabbi Gedalyah Engel. "We cannot deny history. The Holocaust required our participation. We must accept our own personal responsibility for this horrific period in history so it can never happen again."

All conference sessions are free and open to the public.

Purdue President Martin C. Jischke will open the conference with remarks on "Affirming History."

The keynote speaker will be Michael Shermer, author of "Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It?" and "How We Believe: The Search for God in the Scientific Age." He also is publisher of Skeptic magazine, host of the Skeptics Lecture at Caltech and an adjunct professor at Occidental College. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Pepperdine University, master of arts in experimental psychology from California State University at Fullerton and a doctorate in the history of science from Claremont Graduate School. Television appearances include "20/20," "Dateline," "Good Morning America," "Extra!," "Oprah," "Unsolved Mysteries" and other programs.

Other notable conference participants include Simon Iwens, a Holocaust survivor from Lithuania and author of "How Dark the Heavens: 1,400 Days in the Grip of Nazi Terror;" Robert Melson, author of "False Papers," whose parents passed as a Polish nobleman and wife;" Cseslaw P. Kenser, a non-Jewish retired Purdu