On the sixth episode of The Shorttales Club, Oz and Friends read and discuss the short story, “Caterer, Caterer” written by Pemi Aguda. It is a story centered around a ‘caterer’ just like the title suggests, however, unlike what comes to mind when you hear the word, this is one meal you’d prefer to skip.
A Mixed Pot
It’s not everyday a good samaritan strolls into your life to help ease off some of your burdens. When this person also happens to be your pastor, you welcome him and his gifts with open arms. This was the case of the people living in the community Pemi described. Their pastor had bought the local Grammar School a generator, distributed foodstuff to members of the community and built a new Church – the tallest building in town. It was a monument that drew eyes to the sky, a constant reminder of God’s rule over the heavens. Pastor Pascal was God-sent.
So it was a thing worthy to be celebrated when our caterer was called in to cook for the Church’s opening ceremony. More so since her chief rival, Iya Sadiq, was the one to recommend her, after having to travel out of town for a family emergency.
Caterer, Caterer is the winner of the 2015 Writivism Short Story Prize.
“Pemi Aguda is from Lagos, Nigeria. She has an MFA from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan.
Her writing has won awards such as: a 2022 O. Henry Prize, a Nommo Award for Short Story, a Henfield Prize, a Tyson Prize for Fiction, Hopwood Awards (for Novel, Short Fiction, Non-Fiction and Drama), and the 2015 Writivism Prize. She received a work-study scholarship from Bread Loaf Writers Conference in 2018, an Octavia Butler Memorial Scholarship from the Carl Brandon Society to attend the Clarion Workshop in 2019, as well as a 2019 Juniper Summer Workshop scholarship. She was a 2020 Aspen Words Emerging Writer Fellow, and her novel-in-progress won the 2020 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award. She is a 2021 Fiction Fellow with the Miami Book Fair, and a 2022 MacDowell fellow.
W. W. Norton will publish her story collection, Ghostroots, and her novel, The Suicide Mothers. She is represented by Renée Zuckerbrot of MMQ Lit”
https://amzn.to/3hdAhpt – Roses For Betty And Other Stories: The Writivism Anthology 2015
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