Poppy Cannon and Walter White

Previously I posted the poem Domestic Villanella by the canned food, cooking guru, Poppy Cannon. The poem was written to her long time lover and prominent figure of the NAACP, Walter White. As a black man with light skin White was able to gather information on lynchings taking place in small southern towns. He publicized the atrocities he had investigated and went on to lead the NAACP for over twenty years.


Cannon and White’s relationship began while they were both married and the exposure of their affair would mean White’s removal from the organization. Poppy went on to write several books, her most famous being The Can-Opener Cookbook. Though she was well educated in the culinary world Her work was not always taken very seriously in the world of gastronomy, because her commitment was to the everyday woman in the kitchen. She was dedicated to creating shortcuts in order to save time, but was also a proponent of the marketplace and worked for Heinz and General Foods. It was when Cannon and White were finally married that she began producing poetry as an addendum to her recipes in her book The Bride’s Cookbook…

(Will add more tomorrow. Going to get some recipes from this cookbook)