Passion: Candy

24 MB MP3

It’s in limited edition, it’s doubble dipped, it’s high-end and low-carb: Candy.

As part of our Passion Thursday series we’re planning to do a show on candy. The idea for the show surfaced when writer Steve Almond was on our Summer Reading show. He’s written a 300 page love letter to his sweetheart, the candy bar and his book, Candyfreak has turned out ot be a king size nostalgia trigger.

Combing though the web also suggests that sweets can spur a red hot debate. This could be a great show but only if the callers call and the posters post. We want the lowdown on your sugar highs. Please post your candy stories here. What was you childhood favorite? Do you long for the confections of yesteryear? Were sweets verboten in your home or in vast supply?

Watch the perennial favorite, Cherry Mash , being made.

Steve Almond

Steve Almond is a writer and a self-declared candyfreak. He’s written The Evil BB Chow and Other Stories,

My Life in Heavy Metal and Candyfreak. He lives in Sommerville, MA and teaches writing at Boston College. He’ll be joining us at WGBH.

From Chelsea’s pre-interview notes

• Candy for me is not this superficial entity. What I want to get at when I talk about candy is the emotional and psychological import. The reason I resisted writing Candyfreak for a long time is because I thought ‘I’m a writer, I want to write serious stories and candy is superficial, childish, it’s regressive, it’s kids stuff.’ But that’s not exactly the case

• Candy is the Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll of childhood. It’s about self-love and how you draw love from the world, and at the same time it is forbidden. It makes kids more conflicted.

• Candy gets me away from the misery—it put me back in touch with happier times. As a kid I always relied on candy to get me through—it rescued me. I love the nostalgia value of candy. You start talking candy and you unleash so many childhood memories. It’s very powerful in that regard

• As a kid I would ride my bike four miles to the Mayfield Mall to buy mint parfait

• I went trick or treating way beyond my years

• I would buy candy, lock myself in my room, pour it onto my bed and play with it the way other boys would play with toy soldiers

Cybele May

Cybele May has been blogging on Candy Blog since April. She also started a flickr group that shares photos of favorite candies. She’ll be joinging us from Los Angeles, CA.

From Chelsea’s pre-interview notes

• I’m drawn to candy because I enjoy the experience. I like the way it tastes. I like the smell. I like the feel of flavors and textures on my tongue. The colors and the packaging can be fun. I like that I can share candy–that it’s a sign of friendship when you offer some to another person. It’s usually inexpensive and it’s widely available.

• My masters thesis was titled “Hershey.” It was a historical play based loosely on the later years of Milton Hershey’s life and centered on the strike at the Hershey factory in 1937. Of course I had to do a lot of research about all aspects of Hershey. I made quite a few visits there and did some interviews with survivors of that era.

• I love blogging because it reminds me why I like candy and it rekindles those early, happy associations. It has also helped me to broaden my horizons. I feel like when I try candy from another part of the world. I have more of a connection with people there. How different are we, after all? And when I talk about other people’s favorites, they might be connecting with me.