Melanie Jennings, On Writing…

back-talk melanie jennings Melanie Jennings Melanie Jennings earned an MFA in fiction from Mills College and a doctorate in American Literature from UCSD. She has taught creative writing and published poetry and fiction in such publications as In the Grove, spelunker flophouse, Crab Creek Review, and Redwood Coast Review. She has been awarded writing residencies at the Espy Literary Foundation and the Jentel Foundation. When she grows up, Melanie wants to be a novelist and a pastry chef. Melanie's website: www.lighthouse-communications.org

Writing | Food | Travel | Book Reviews |Play Reviews |Fiction | Poetry

Writing...

Should I Get an MFA?
Yes.

That’s the short answer since I knew you’d want it right away. It will always be my answer. There. Solve your problem? Probably not. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this question. It’s agonizing for most, though it probably shouldn’t be. The question is not, Should I Get an MFA, but something more like, What Do I Want to Do While on This Planet?

Where Should I Get an MFA?
So you know deep in your heart that you want to study creative writing—due in part to my previous piece on this very topic, Should I Get an MFA? You’ve decided that getting an MFA is the best way for you to develop your writing, meet likeminded folks, and broaden your professional horizons. Okay, great. Next question: where should you go? There are a few things to consider when looking for schools and programs. Probably the most important are location, expense, faculty, and the quality of the program.

• What is a Writing Residency and How Do I Get One?
A residency is a beautiful thing. As I write this, I’m kicked back in a comfy recliner next to a wood-burning stove in a cozy studio, a room of my own, as it were, smack in the middle of Wyoming. Outside my window, a white-white half-moon rises above a boulder-strewn hill, atop whose peak a pair of bald eagles have made their nest in which to raise two baby bald eagles, all of whom soar past daily. I’ve been awarded a month to write in this studio, to have no other obligations but to work on my novel, to "trust my process" as commanded by the executive director of the foundation, and to live comfortably in the gorgeous six-bedroom house next door with four artists and one experimental filmmaker. Sound insane? Or like heaven? Well, it is, and it’s called being a writer-in-residence.

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Food...Glorious Food!

The Pleasures of Pomegranate (Originally published in Fahrenheit Magazine)
San Diego's El Cajon Boulevard at Texas Street is turning into an international gourmet ghetto. If you like the cuisines of Ethiopia, Vietnam, Japan, and Lebanon, and bar hopping that ranges from the indie scene of Livewire to the piano bar of the Red Fox Room, then get thee to the neighborhood’s newest addition, Pomegranate, a Russian-Georgian culinary gem...

East African Restaurants in San Diego (Originally published in Fahrenheit Magazine)
Step into Harar and you’re bound to be greeted by a smiling woman popping her head out from behind the kitchen door. With indoor and outdoor dining rooms big enough to stretch out your legs and relax a while, Harar’s atmosphere is warm and comfortable. You may notice the absence of utensils. Ethiopian food is eaten with one’s fingers and the help of injera, a salty bread made of buckwheat flour...

Chive (Originally published on SanDiegoRestaurants.com)
Everything you’ve heard about Chive is true. It’s wonderful. This modern bistro has earned well-deserved attention since it opened. And while it’s trendy, chic, and even a little glamorous, food is the real star at Chive. Located at 558 Fourth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter, Chive’s beckoning green sign greets eager diners looking for classic American fare enlivened by seasonal ingredients and unique combinations...

Chef Profile of Chive’s A. J. Voytko (Originally published on SanDiegoRestaurants.com)

Aqua Blu (Originally published on SanDiegoRestaurants.com)
One word: Go. Just go. You’ll be happy you did. Bold flavors have found a new home in the Gaslamp’s latest addition, Aqua Blu at 734 Fifth Avenue, a self-proclaimed "fusion seafood" bistro. My guest and I couldn’t miss the arched wave of an aqua-colored frieze adorning Aqua Blu’s façade, a beckoning pearl on a street jammed with chefs competing for our taste buds...

Morton’s (Originally published on SanDiegoRestaurants.com)
What’s not to like about Morton’s? Their famous tableside presentation, top-of-the-line steaks, and incomparable location next to the Convention Center and the San Diego Bay, all contribute to a spectacular dining experience. A hit with local regulars, corporate travelers, and tourists, everyone appreciates a meal at Morton’s. The simple elegance of the dining room demands relaxation, so ease into an evening that promises a lovely meal as you stroll past well-stocked private wine cellars (you can have your own if you like, complete with your name engraved across the front), the cocktail lounge where you might catch ice cubes flying through the air and landing expertly in a high ball glass, and, finally, to your comfortable, candlelit booth in a quiet corner. Sit back, order a martini or a lemon drop or the house specialty, a cosmopolitan and prepare for the dining experience that is Morton’s...

Asti Ristorante (Originally published on SanDiegoRestaurants.com)
For over ten years the consistently excellent food and service of the Gaslamp’s Asti Ristorante has earned the loyalty of local regulars who appreciate quality northern Italian cuisine. What these diners enjoy is a comfortable dining room with both indoor and patio seating, and the knowledge and rapport of servers they know by name. The exposed brick walls and Italian-themed paintings and banners of the dining room lend a warm and relaxed atmosphere to a meal that is sure to please. The night we visited, big southern accents from the next table let us know that tourists, too, find Asti a gem among the many fine restaurants of the Gaslamp Quarter...

Mille Fleurs (Originally published on SanDiegoRestaurants.com)
Mille Fleurs is not a restaurant, it’s an experience. With numerous awards to its credit, Mille Fleurs is consistently rated one of the best restaurants in San Diego county, inspiring pilgrimages to Rancho Santa Fe by San Diegans and tourists alike. Such a journey is well worth it for the opportunity to taste German-born Chef Martin Woesle’s classic French-meets-California creations...

Chef Profile of Martin Woesle of Mille Fleurs (Originally published on SanDiegoRestaurants.com)

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Travel...

Au Naturel in Jacumba (coming in 2004)

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Book Reviews...

Diamonds & Raspberries: Reviews of New York Times Bestsellers
Sassy and smart, down and dirty. Reviews of New York Times bestsellers...

On Writing Books: Reviews of Books By Writers, For Writers
On Writing Books explores the brilliant (and sometimes tarnished) advice put forth in writing books. As a writer, what can you learn from these books? Are they for beginners or can folks with years of writing experience find something between the covers as well?

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers , by Mary Roach
If you ever thought donating your body to science meant just a boring trip to the local medical school’s anatomy class, Roach invites you to tag along with her as she explores the ways in which cadavers are actually used. From crash test dummies strapped into cars, to experiments to debunk the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin, the after-life of the body donated to science is really quite adventurous...

Elaine Sciolino’s Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran
...offers just the antidote, particularly as we brace for a war in the Middle East that promises wild and unpredictable outcomes. Sciolino, senior writer for The New York Times, was lucky enough (or unlucky, depending on your outlook) to land in Tehran in 1979 aboard the same plane that carried the leader of the Islamic Revolution, the Ayatollah Khomeini, back to Iran. The plane was under threat of being shot down by the Iranian air force. In fact, the Shah's generals had devised a plan to shoot down the plane and presented the details to then-President Carter's National Security Advisor...

The Bathhouse, by Farnoosh Moshiri
If you're looking for a light summer read, something you can take to the beach and toss aside later like an empty soda can, you can safely ignore Farnoosh Moshiri's The Bathhouse. Powerful and chilling, this novel is a page-turner, a train wreck you can't turn away from.

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Play Reviews...

Private Lives
The premise of Private Lives is the capricious nature of love. A kind of drawing room comedy, the play opens with a campy set of honeymooners sharing adjacent balconies in a French Riviera hotel. If this sounds fun, we’re soon surprised to learn that two of them, Amanda and Elyot, were previously married to each other. Horrified to see one another, each connives to spirit their newly betrothed away from the hotel, hoping to salvage their honeymoon and indeed, their new marriages...

Cotton Patch Gospel
As Jesus matures, the townsfolk realize he may be a little touched. His own (earthly) father is miffed by his son’s rejection of the traditional church and scolds Jesus for insulting the town’s preacher. Not to be stopped, Jesus is then tested by "Daddy" (God) and sent into the woods for forty days and nights without food or water ("Man doesn’t live by grits alone" is one of the gems from this scene)...

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Fiction...

Waiting with Jo-Jo (originally published in spelunker flophouse, Spring 1997)
I'm waiting. Waiting in this fucking little sterile room with Aaron slumped down next to me. We've been here now two hours waiting for them to call my name so I can get my colpo and my icing to get rid of the fucking warts on my cervix Aaron gave me. He gave me them unknowingly, but I still hate him for it. And now he's started drinking again and as he's slumped down in the chair against me I can smell the Rainier fermenting through his skin and the cigarettes and sweat and all the fucking we've been doing lately.

Bones (originally published in, Crab Creek Review, Spring/Summer 2002)
I've spent most of my time since that phone call wondering what space means. Because I think I can give space if it means a big backyard with maybe a separate workshed or enough space to get a little Deere mower Owen could ride around on. But if space means a wide-open range with just the yellows of the land and the blue of the sky coming together at the horizon, I don't think I can manage it. Space as the final frontier is not something I'm willing to negotiate. Owen and his collection of turquoise belt buckles can walk right off the edge if that's the kind of space they need.

Home (originally published in Redwood Coast Review, Fall 2003)
In the backyard I find Nick sitting in a battered camping chair that has missed packing with his head resting on the chair-back, eyes closed. He hears me walk out onto the concrete steps of the patio and says, with eyes still closed, "We're doing the right thing," as if he is talking in his sleep.

Family Secrets, a Novel Excerpt
She didn’t leave that day. When she awoke the next morning tucked next to the tent’s makeshift kitchen and remembered where she was and what had happened, she knew she’d never leave.

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Poetry...

Terra Bella Night (originally published in the Texas Poetry Calendar, Flying Cow Productions)

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