Review of La Poutine : Culture et identité d’un pays incertain

Abstract

La Poutine: Culture et identité d’un pays incertain, is ideally housed by Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal, and more specifically by its imprint, « La Petite Culture ». This collection, run by Chantal Savoie, is based on the premise that every cultural object deserves our attention and reflection. As a cultural object in its own right, this book about poutine is compact, densely laid out, with margins just large enough for concise notetaking, and fits comfortably in one’s hands. On the front cover, an illustrated red and white striped paper food tray featuring butter-yellow fries, cloud-white cheese curds and chocolate-brown sauce on a sage-green background gives colour and definition to a dish that is commonly described as a sea of beige. Here is another stylized representation of poutine, one whose aesthetics perhaps hint at the essay’s analytical premise: to bring colour and definition to a seemingly monochromatic subject.