Book: Please Feed Me: A Punk Vegan Cookbook
Written by Niall McGuirk (Soft Skull Press)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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The question is whether or not Please Feed Me is a.) a vegan cookbook, b.) a punk chronology or c.) an amalgam of both.

If Niall McGuirk, former spearhead of Dublin's Hope collective, intended on creating a strict cookbook of lasting merit, then Please Feed Me is a dud. I know it's not meant entirely seriously, but recipes for a "bread sandwich" (literally, three slices of bread smashed together) and "vegan pancakes" (a mushy, boiled potato) are hardly press worthy as a cookbook. The idea that these touring bands gave McGuirk makes is intriguing, however the final press should have jettisoned a few of the jokes.

But then again where is it written that punk rock, because of the movement's strong political thrust, should have its sense of humor surgically removed? McGuirk creates an insightful dialogue between his accounts of the shows, the struggles in setting them up, then sets them against a backdrop of food the bands loved to eat. While this won't replace my favorite recipe for guacamole, the fact that one of my favorite bands - Jawbreaker - contributed makes its inclusion all the more interesting.

What McGuirk has done with Please Feed Me is create a piece of punk history that is of far greater significance than the novelty it appears to be. His stresses never waver and throughout, his collective's enduring focus on D.I.Y. ethics, creation and fostering of the artistic spirit are brought to light. There is still hope for a better way, and McGuirk still contributes to it.

That alone atones for the inclusion of a bread sandwich or otherwise.

© 2005 - Erick Mertz