Luther Hughes, born and raised in Seattle, is the author of A Shiver in the Leaves (BOA Editions, 2022) and the chapbook Touched (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2018). Founder of Shade Literary Arts, a literary organization for queer writers of color, he is the Executive Editor for The Offing and co-hosts The Poet Salon podcast with Gabrielle Bates and Dujie Tahat. His work has been published in Poetry, Paris Review, The Rumpus, New England Review, and others. He is a recipient of the 2020 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship and the 2020 92Y Discovery Poetry Prize. Luther received his MFA from Washington University in St. Louis.
Here, he talks about Hot Cheetos, trying every new cookie he can get his hands on, and gumbo as final meal (with a dog he does not yet own).
On his all-time favorite meal:
I’ve been thinking about this a lot since this question surfaced on Twitter about two months ago, and I was racking my brain for my answer. But I am happy to say my all-time favorite meal is smothered chicken over white rice. I think I first had it as a child, elementary age. My dad probably made it.
On what the light looks like during his favorite meal of the day:
Dimly lit, but not candle-necessary type of dim. Warm. An orange color. Something that reminds me of summer.
On snacking while writing:
While I’m a HUGE snack person, I don’t eat when I write. Snacking to me is fun, restful. Writing is neither of those things for me in the moment.
His go-to late-night snack:
Hot Cheetos.
On his food quirks:
I have to try every cookie I come across if I’ve never had it before. There was a time when Oreo was doing all these crazy flavors and I probably tried every single one. If you ever come across candy apple Oreos, don’t try it.
On his final meal request:
My final meal request would probably be my boyfriend’s gumbo. I’d be eating it with our families, my closest friends, and a dog I currently don’t have but want, who will, obviously, not be eating gumbo.
