New Collection: Cultivating Thought Series

June 22, 2015

By Nancy Kuhl

Chipotle Mexican Grill has made a gift of a complete set of its Cultivating Thought Series—short texts by acclaimed authors printed on paper cups and bags—to the Yale Collection of American Literature at the Beinecke Library. The series is the brainchild of author Jonathan Safran Foer, who also serves as its curator. It presents the thoughts of authors and comedians on Chipotle cups and bags, each cup illustrated by a different artist. Authors in the series include Julia Alvarez, Augusten Burroughs, Jeffrey Eugenides, Barbara Kingsolver, Toni Morrison, Amy Tan and many others (see the Orbis record for complete details: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/12477484). For more information about the Cultivating Thought Series, visit: http://cultivatingthought.com/.

The Yale Collection of American Literature collects American Literature in all its formats and in all media, documenting the ways great American writers reach diverse and unusual audiences beyond standard book publishing. Our collection includes texts by well-known writers printed on bumper stickers, lapel pins, public transportation banners, matchbooks, hand bills, and other non-standard publication formats (for some examples, see Poetry Outside of Books). Chipotle’s gift of the Cultivating Thought Series continues and extends this collecting tradition in the Yale Collection of American Literature, insuring these works will remain available to readers and to scholars seeking to understand something of the relationship between literature and innovative marketing at a moment in history when reading and literary production are in tremendous upheaval.

Library Catalog Record: http://hdl.handle.net/10079/bibid/12477484