Proposal for Monument Construction: Kitchen Tree
By Erich Slimak
Proposal for Monument Construction Kitchen Tree
Customer: City of Cleveland, Ohio
Location: Median of Interstate 71 Beneath Fulton Road Overpass
Contractor: Furious Snail Builders
In recognition of the contributions of one Anna Gnisder-Dobromilsky to the culinary fabric of Cleveland’s Old West Side, we the undersigned propose the erection of a permanent monument on what would be the present-day site of The Fulton Bakery, established by Ms. Dobromilsky in 1933 and since demolished to build the interstate in question.
The structure’s design will be twofold, primarily taking the form of a large stone “tree,” akin to a mobile over a crib, with frying pans, baking sheets, mixing bowls, spatulas, serving forks, kitchen knives hanging from wires of various lengths strung from the branches. The assorted pieces of cookware will collide when the wind blows, resulting in an uneven percussion of metal on metal, the sound of a kitchen in use.
Beneath the constellation of implements will be a refrigerator, stove, kitchen table and one long countertop with several appliances on it. My nine year old father will wait patiently at the table while Ms. Dobromilsky, his grandmother, prepares his favorite foods to exacting specification: cutting off crusts, peeling tomatoes, straining scrambled eggs. Piped in from a hidden speaker will be the voice of my father’s father: “Jesus Christ, Anna, just make him eat it! He can’t have someone do this for him his whole life!” This will go unacknowledged by the two, who will only smile at each other occasionally. In fact, they will never speak at all.
We look forward to working with you.
E.H. Slimak
Chief Architect
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About Erich Slimak
Slimak is a singer, amateur basketball historian, and an MFA candidate in poetry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is also an editorial assistant for Ninth Letter. His writing has appeared in Ghost City Review, Plainsongs, The Santa Clara Review, and elsewhere. You can find Erich on Instagram with the handle @ricotheslovak.