Dinner at six: Voices from the soup kitchen

by Helen Hudson

"This work grew out of my experience as a volunteer in a group of evening soup kitchens known as the Center City Soup Kitchens.... The main body of work consists of a series of interviews with some of the guests.... My focus is on the individuals - who they are, where they came from, what brought them to the soup kitchen, how they feel about it, how they see themselves, and how they cope with the extreme hardships and humiliations they are forced to endure." (from Preface) The book is divided into three "The Volunteers", "The Guests", and "The Kitchen".

Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

"(January 1920 – January 2014) Born to successful immigrant parents, Helen Lane was graduated from the Fieldston School in New York in 1937 and from Bryn Mawr College in 1941. After training briefly for nursing during World War II, Helen obtained her Ph.D. in American history from Columbia. Meanwhile Helen had met Robert Lane (Harvard ’39, later to teach political science at Yale) at a work camp on the Hudson designed to integrate German student refugees with American youth. In 1944, while Robert was still in the Service, the two were married in New York City.

In the 1960s Helen attended writing classes at the New School in New York City, beginning her publishing career with short stories in Redbook, Colliers, The Virginia Quarterly, the Antioch Review and other selective publications. Her novels began with Tell The Time to None, continuing with Meyer Meyer, Farnsbee South, Criminal Trespass, Temporary Residence and Night Voices. Her collections of short stories include The Listener, Death of a Mother-in-Law, and Extreme Remedies. All these works of fiction reflect her lifelong concern with social justice and responsibility.

She also wrote and edited Dinner at Six: Voices from the Soup Kitchen, a collection of interviews with the clients of the soup kitchen where she worked. Dinner at Six is available for a voluntary donation from Wildfire Press and all book sale proceeds go to organizations helping the homeless." (http://www.thewessexcollective.com/)

Reviews

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always my favorite book. Makes me realize how privileged and fortunate I am. Inspires me to be curious to learn about everyone’s story and humbly respect how their unique stories are formed and told, and each and every story teller’s individuality and identity.

[Renee Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book give you a true feeling as to what it is like to have no job, no home, no money, and no family. It makes you feel what these folks feel in a way not many books can do.

This book had good reviews, and was written by an author who spent two years volunteering for a Soup Kitchen and befriending many of the regulars. How they honestly felt about all that, well one can only wonder. But most of the time this book just made me want to hug it.

It lost me though when it got into the personal interviews of fifteen of the regulars - the stories were interesting - but it (to me) wasn't the true POINT of this book and just left me scratching my head.

A good book for those sorts of folks who have no idea what the "real" world is like.