When I read the “Ode to an Orange” piece by Larry Woiwode, I was struck in particular by how strong the sensory experiences of eating oranges had stuck with him since his childhood. He had detailed information about craving, awaiting, and consuming oranges, and had made strong associations that have stuck with him and manifested in beautiful descriptive language. I am often fascinated by the ability of my own children to relate to the world around them, the associations they make, the freshness of their experience. This motivated me to approach the process of adapting Woiwode’s essay through the lens of my own children’s experience. I first interviewed each child while they ate an orange. I told them I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, and just wanted to hear about their experience eating an orange. I wanted to know if they had any strong memories about oranges, or if anything came to mind when they thought of oranges. It was interesting to see the different approaches ...
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