Jessica Zafra's Blog, page 16

Two and a half days in Orihuela

I am writing an essay on the poet Miguel Hernandez for a book that is being produced by Instituto Cervantes Manila. My research begins in Hernandez’s hometown of Orihuela in the Valencia region. (Valencia as in oranges and Arroz a la Valenciana.) In Plaza Ramon Sije in the old town, there is a palace for […]

Join our Advanced Writing Boot Camp on August 17 and 24!

So you’ve written that story, memoir, travel or food essay, fan-fiction, or chapter of a novel. What next? Join our Advanced Writing Boot Camp and get your first readers. We’ll work together to prepare a final draft, and plan your next steps. Publish? Print? Self-publish? E-book? Film adaptation? How? The possibilities are mind-boggling.

Allariz, a jewel in Galicia

I gave a talk at Espazo BenComun in Allariz, a beautiful town in Ourense (1hr10 by train from La Coruña). “Beautiful” is not an exaggeration—Allariz has actually been given the title by international agencies for revitalization and sustainable management. The population of Allariz is 7,000 (times three in the summer when tourists and people with […]

Our reading group selection for May-June is The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

Our next Reading Group Discussion will be held on Saturday, 15 June 2019, 4-6pm at Tin-Aw Art Gallery, Ground floor Somerset Olympia (across the hall from Old Swiss Inn), Makati Avenue beside the Peninsula Manila. Everyone who’s read the Bulgakov is welcome.

Here’s our Podcats Episode 8: How to spot a scam

L-R: PJ, Jessica, Deo, Roni, Allan, Von. Recorded on 9 Feb 2019. Part 1 Part 2

“And now our watching has ended.” The spoiler-laden full closure recap of the Game of Thrones finale. Justice for Ghost!

We all knew it would not be a rousing ending. Since Season 5 the series ran out of book, and without George RR Martin’s world-building imagination, the show became fan-fiction. And not even as good as your fan-fiction. Yes, Game of Thrones descended into bad writing, character inconsistencies, sloppiness (Jaime’s hand growing back, etc) and […]

A vertical tour of Modernist-Art Nouveau La Coruna

The Arambillet Building (1912) in Praza de Lugo (near FNAC and the Mercado). Designed by Antonio Lopez Hernandez and Julio Galan y Gonzalez Carvajal, Chief Architect for the province of La Coruña. Casa Rey (1911) by Julio Galan, in the Crystal City on the Avenida Marina. These glassed-in balconies used to be the backs of […]

Six hours in Santiago de Compostela

My host Yolanda Castaño, founder and director of Residencia Literaria 1863, is a major Galician poet, translator, sometime TV presenter, and tireless promoter of Galician culture. She gave a talk at the University of Santiago de Compostela, a pleasant 45-minute drive from La Coruña. I tagged along. Yolanda’s latest book, her twelfth, is a collaboration […]

A month in La Coruña

I am at Residencia 1863, a literary residency run by the Galician poet Yolanda Castaño. The apartment is in a 19th century building in the old town center. It used to be a photography studio. The former occupants left the sentry on the balcony. Look, a Notting Hill homage. This is how I met my […]

The Defenestrations Chapter 5B: We discover that Iñigo’s father is really…

Artwork by Jason Moss. Used with permission. The Defenestrations Chapter 5C by Roni Matienzo For mature audiences 1. “Ma’am?” Melissa tried to make sense of what Teepee was saying. Then she laughed at herself for trying to understand the insane. “Hija, muchas gracias for everything. I need to go as I’m famished!” Teepee left before […]