Clambake: A History and Celebration of an American Tradition

by Kathy Neustadt

An appreciative examination of the New England clambake, Neustadt divides her study into three historical (social, economic, political, regional, and cultural) influences on the clambake; a close focus on the Allen's Neck clambake as a cultural phenomena in its own right; and a critical examination of the central elements of the clambaking tradition―food, ritual, and festival.

The author views the clambake as a unique American folk tradition with interesting connections and rich resonances with other aspects of American culture and history.

Genres: Food, Folklore, Nonfiction, School

240 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

Reviews

[Bob Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of Clams, Cooking, and Ambivalence

As a New Englander born and bred, for me there's nothing better than a plate of finely fried clams with a bottle of beer and some tartar sauce or perhaps, a dish of fragrant steamers to be dipped in clam juice and butter. So I had this gut feeling (sorry) that I was going to enjoy Neustadt's CLAMBAKE. I wasn't wrong either. Here, in a most user-friendly format, you can find everything you ever wanted to know about clambakes---the history of clambakes in New England; 19th century customs such as Squantum feasts, political banquets, and Forefather's Day; how the rise of tourism and public transportation affected the clambake tradition; the manner of collecting and cooking all ingredients, and how a particular clambake, celebrated every year in a small community in southeastern Massachusetts, related to its participants and performers. Neustadt collected all manner of posters, old photos, and magazine illustrations from the past which are scattered appealingly throughout the text in conjunction with her own photographs. All this is most pleasing and I don't hesitate to recommend the book to anyone interested in the subject.
The second side of the book is one in which the author attempts to link her study of clambakes to the larger field of anthropological theory. As regards this aspect of the book, I think I might have titled my review "To Deconstruct or Not To Deconstruct", for I feel that Neustadt remained extremely ambivalent about her own profession or at least, her participation in its peculiar rituals and behavioral system. She aptly points out that what people refer to as the "tradition" of clambaking is, in fact, invented tradition which draws attention to what was considered a "suitable" past. She nicely concludes that the clambake underlines the imagery of inheritance (from the Indians, from the Pilgrim fathers) rather than the inheritance itself, it being unproven that the Indians ever had any clambaking tradition. So far, so good. But, if I were you, I would skip Chapter 7, in which she tries gamely to relate her research to the work of all sorts of "heavies", but backs off each time, saying that, to her, it really doesn't fit. She is so ambivalent about getting theoretical that one wonders why she even wrote this chapter. (Could it be that it was part of a prior thesis ? Part of her own initiation rites?) Then, surprisingly, in the final chapter, she sums up in excellent form what she thinks it all means, connects clambakes to identity, community, continuity, harmony. Why she needed that previous chapter is even more questionable. She plumps for experience over analysis---which is great as advice for life---but doesn't cut much ice in the arena of intellectual activity. She remains torn between readers of popular folklore, those who might be called philo-clamists and an academic audience, uncertain of whom she is writing for. It's a strange performance in an otherwise fine book, because you know, she tried to write for all three.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neustadt not only shares the history of the clambake and an ethnographic record of how it is done in Allen's Neck, Massachusetts, but also imparts an important criticism of sociological and anthropological research, showing that theory and method sometimes inhibit us from truly studying and understanding social and cultural events and traditions. It serves as a great introduction to existing and accepted theories, while at the same time questioning and pushing them forward.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent ethnography of foodways. Much more entertaining than an academic book has any right to be.

[Garrett Zecker · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pretty interesting exploration into the practices of food folklore. I have been reading a great deal of folklore texts recently, and I have to say that this one was not my favorite - this seems like a disjointed jaunt between the three sections. I probably found the first section, the history, to be the most rewarding, but as Neustadt began to delve into the various literary criticism interpretations of what she was experiencing, and then proceeding to dismiss them as though she never brought them up, I became turned off of the text. I think the thing that was the most unfortunate about my experience with the book has to do with the fact that I read "Number Our Days" previous to this, and my experience with written/documented Folklore studies became a romance with the narrative that was written by Myerhoff - rife with characters that are easy to relate to and whom you cannot help building trust and sympathy with. This read more like a documentary, with a lot of descriptions that just really turn one off to these practices (...but maybe it was because I was developing hives because I am allergic to fish of all types?). Regardless, this is a very well researched study, but there are better ones in my opinion. If I were a New Englander that ate buttery, sloppy shellfish, I may have found it more fascinating than I did... The first section was fascinating, but the analysis and folklore aspects were dry, and didn't seem to fit. Unfortunately, that is what I was after in this text.

[Clar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, another book for school - something that I never would have read on my own but something that I thoroughly enjoyed - and even though I would never partake of the fishy foods served, this book made me really want to attend a clambake!