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Monday, January 16, 2012

Books A Defense of Mason Jars, by Glaciers Author Alexis Smith

Posted by Alison Hallett on Mon, Jan 16, 2012 at 4:00 PM

Alexis M. Smith—whose debut novel Glaciers is reviewed quite favorably, by me, right here—has a funny little piece on the Powell's blog about her use of a mason jar in her book:

Last fall, I was reading over the final proof of Glaciers when I came across the passage in which my heroine's love interest drinks coffee from a mason jar. I paused, eyes focusing on the words: mason jar. My mind went back to when I started the book, in the winter of 2003-2004. Some of my Powell's coworkers used mason jars with lids in place of Nalgene bottles and aluminum travel coffee mugs (I assumed that, like me, they preferred drinking from glass). I flashed ahead in time to my friends at Dove Vivi, who have been serving water at their tables from vintage quart jars since they opened in 2007 (along with the tasty corn pizza [YUM—eds] and the endearing thrift store assortment of forks, it was one of the things that made me fall in love with them). But by the time I was reading that final proof of my novel, it was 2011, and I had recently dined at two new Portland restaurants in which I was served water in wide-mouth pint Ball masons. I had mentally added them to the list of all the other cafés and restaurants and brewpubs in town already using jars for drinking glasses.

I stared at the page of my novel and thought, "This isn't a unique character trait anymore." In my mind, Glaciers takes place during Bush's second term, but it's not explicit. I just had a feeling it would read differently to people now. I tried to think of something that could stand in for the mason jar. Then I thought about cutting it. I didn't want this character to be a cliché of Portland trends.

She goes on to explain why she decided to include the jar after all. And sure, it seems like a trivial detail, but I picked up on it in my review, as did the Willamette Week.

Smith was on Think Out Loud this morning—you can listen to the segment here, if you missed it.

 

Comments (9) RSS

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1
Oh, I'm a regular Mercury troll and I'm so over mason jars. They are so Bush's second term, like Portlandia and the Simpsons. What a cliche. I'm far too cool to be drinking out of a mason jar since everyone does it now.
Posted by So Over on January 16, 2012 at 5:29 PM · Report
2
Call me what you will: Everything tastes better out of mason jars.

With drinking out of the way, I can't wait until hipster scientists discover how to eat off something other than plates. Butcher paper is close, but I kind of feel that's like the Betamax of hipster eating technology, yknow?

Something better is just around the corner, I can feel it.
Posted by Commenty Colin on January 16, 2012 at 6:49 PM · Report
3
Thrift store vinyl covers = the new plates?
Retro frisbees?
board game/puzzle box halves?
Posted by TSW on January 16, 2012 at 7:26 PM · Report
4
I was eating turkey chili off a frisbee long before it became a cliché of Pawnee, IN, trends.
Posted by geyser on January 16, 2012 at 7:54 PM · Report
5
Pie tins.
Posted by guspasho on January 16, 2012 at 10:12 PM · Report
6
Dishwasher-safe, wooden split shingles.
Posted by Commenty Colin on January 17, 2012 at 9:48 AM · Report
7
Hub caps. Bed pans.
Posted by TSW on January 17, 2012 at 10:53 AM · Report
8
If I want water or another beverage in a restaurant or bar I want a proper glass. I don't care how hip or trendy or "in" this practice is. This smacks of the same process that ultimately ended in 75% of white kids in parts of Portland (and upstate NY) drinking PBR. Which is to say its fucking lame. BTW that prose is semi painful to read. Seriously.
Posted by The Showstopper on January 17, 2012 at 12:56 PM · Report
9
there's this

http://www.couriercoffeeroasters.com/wordp…
Posted by miguelaron on January 18, 2012 at 1:48 PM · Report

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