The single theme of Nourritures was chosen for its breadth of denotations and was en thusiastically approved as the topic for the 2008 North American Society for 17th Century French Literature Conference, held at Lafayette College in Easton, Pensylvania. The appointed session chairs were quick to suggest intriguing subtopics. Along with the more predictable choices of « L'Art culinaire », « Nourritures célestes », « Appétits et desires », and « Le Goût », less obvious Subjects such as « Poisons, drogues et aphrodisiaques », « Cannibalisme », « L'Imaginaire du vin », and « Nourritures et médecine » were proposed as well. These topics in turn generated a plethora of stimulating original presentations.