Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor, "who in a life of varied artistic careers, most notably as a commentator on NPR, was best known for extolling the virtues of the Gullah food and culture of her native South Carolina," died September 3, the New York Times reported. She was 79. Smart-Grosvenor, who liked to call herself a "culinary griot," was also the author of Vibration Cooking or, The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl (1970), "often described as an autobiographical cookbook." Her books also include Vertamae Cooks in the Americas' Family Kitchen and Vertamae Cooks Again: More Recipes from the Americas' Family Kitchen.
Smart-Grosvenor is the subject of a forthcoming documentary, Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl, directed by Julie Dash and expected to be released in 2017. "The film will include some re-enactments, Ms. Dash said, because 'she was a dramatic person,' " the Times wrote.