OP: The Melting Pot

English in Action, Inc., 1974. Loose leaf ring bound. Fair.

English in Action was an organization tasked with pairing immigrants with US citizens for one-on-one English conversation practice. Participants quickly discovered that a favorite, enthusiastic topic was food.

In 1974 the group self-published a loose-leaf, ring bound volume of recipes contributed by the program’s participants. The collection is as wide ranging as one could imagine: New England clam chowder, Mexican albondigas, German marrow dumpling soup, Szechuan eggplant-pork stir fry, Colombian ajiaco de pollo, Korean barbecued ribs, and Czech cherry dumplings.

The book was not exactly constructed to last—binder ring bound without sturdy wrappers. But we’re happy to report that this copy is intact and fully functional, although there are a few tears, splatters, and marginalia throughout. We’ll grade it Fair, as it remains somewhat fragile. A touching example of the way food brings people together, nonetheless.