Creator: Jon Dawes
Exhibition: CYOW 4: Blackout
Published: May 2021
Format: Twine (Harlowe 3.1.0)
Access: itch.io
Content Warning: None
Description of the Work
When I was a teenager, my friend Brian and I made up our own religion. It was a pretty basic design: we two were the high priests and there were no other practitioners. It was called the Banana Cult and we worshipped King Chiquita, decrying his arch-nemesis, the evil Dole. (This was long before I found out that both banana companies were literally using death squads against trade unionists and reform activists in the fruit producing countries. We were half right.) We made up some synchronized focusing exercises that resembled a combination of yoga and tai chi, which we performed cross-legged before embarking on a day of freestyle frisbee or other such fun.
One of the philosophies of the Banana Cult was that all bananas, regardless of colour, are basically good: green bananas are simply young, yellow bananas are in the prime of life, and brown and black bananas were becoming “wise”. If I’d seen past the joke to the antiracist/ageist metaphor and taken it to heart at the time, I might actually have avoided saying and doing a bunch of things as a teen that I regret to this day. But back to the book…
This is a Choose Your Own Cookbook that helps you make use of those wise bananas before you are forced to compost them. (You do compost, right? 😉 Given at least one very ripe banana and some other basic ingredients listed at the beginning, the book with lead you through a path whereby you check your pantry and refrigerator for various ingredients. Eventually, you will either arrive at a selection of vegan baked goods recipes that you can make with your ingredients or a sad end that tells you to hit the grocery store and try again.
The tie-in to the CYOW theme of “Blackout” is, of course, that we will be using up your wise black bananas. I dedicate this book to my fellow priest Brian Munsil. May we once again have the opportunity to get together for worship and frisbee.
Video Playthrough
Louise Chow and Brendon Vance made a video of her playing my cookbook! Check it out here and be sure to give her a like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXAxkf-R-Kw