Janjigian Delves into Wine, Ladies, Beat Writers and JFK in San Francisco

“I’m there [in San Francisco] nearly every year. I would like to retire there, ”he said and laughingly added,“ retire in the most expensive city ”.

The Cabrillo, the theater Harry owns in foggy Richmond, has seen better days, and his girlfriend, the practical Dana, wants him to sell it and they get out of town and go somewhere else. However, Harry really left his heart in the city.

He explained, “Harry is a pretty nostalgic guy and doesn’t want to let go of the past. Willy-nilly. These things seem to have something to do with his reluctance to push many things. ”

At the heart of the book is an “inconsistent up and down romance,” he explained.

Janjigian draws lively characters who are stuck in the midst of serious decisions. When asked where his characters come from, he referred to another writer, Jhumpa Lahiri, who had said in an interview that “she had no idea how this process worked and it just happened”.

He continued, “I would agree with that. For this novel at least, it started when I was living in San Francisco and really, really loved this movie theater and the San Francisco neighborhood. This cinema still exists in the Richmond neighborhood today. ”
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In fact, the Cabrillo in the Richmond neighborhood seems to be inspired by the Balboa Theater in the same neighborhood, showing quirky films in beautiful surroundings.

Not only the main character and his circle are in love with the Beat writers; consider Janjigian a fan. “I got introduced to the Beats by a film professor and attended some avant-garde film courses at Clark [University in Worcester]. The whole environment was strange. I hadn’t read any beats or [Jack] Kerouac until he had us read On the Road in conjunction with a film called ‘Heartbeat’ based on the autobiography of Carolyn Cassady, wife of beat writer Neal Cassady.

(“Heart Beat” explores the love triangle of real-life characters Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac and Carolyn Cassady in the late 1950s and 1960s. It shows Kerouac, who writes his groundbreaking novel On the Road, and its impact on their lives.)

Since then, he said, he has “tried to investigate the beats’ flaws, including the shortage of women”.

Nevertheless, by writing, he can still come close to this ideal. “Writing enables me to explore these lives,” he noted.

“I admire this bohemian way of life, but I like a bit of comfort,” he said with a laugh. “They usually have a much more interesting life.”

Janjigian added another piece of himself to the book: Gephyrophobia, the fear of bridges. It’s one that has been a part of Janjigian’s life for years.

“Like many writers, I use that fear and fear,” he said. And did he think that if he wrote about it, would he be able to master it? “That would have been the ultimate goal to drive it out.”

“Interestingly, when I was living in town and working at the Depot Bookstore in Marin County. I shuttled back and forth across that [Golden Gate] Bridge five days a week for over two years and had no problems. I didn’t have a phobia, ”he recalls. Slowly: “I had a little nervousness that began to develop over some high bridges.”

As he and his wife moved to Maryland over time, the phobia came with a vengeance. “When my wife and I moved to Maryland, my wife and I were walking across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and I was absolutely scared,” he recalls.

“I just really, really avoid high bridges,” he added.

Life during the pandemic

The pandemic made a huge difference in Janjigian’s life. First, a small book tour with stops in Boston and San Francisco was canceled, and second, because of the free time, Janjigian was able to write a screenplay about Kerouac, like his protagonist Harry, “in a case in which he imitates art” ”and a novel.

He explained, “I started doing this right after the novel was published in November. I started writing in December and am currently working through the final draft. It’s called ‘Kerouac’. We’ll see how it goes from here. ”

He added: “I wrote a novel, Confluence in Café Zürich, which is about the character Jackson and a previous theft. which is alluded to in A Cerebral Offer. ”

Janjigian had some advice for aspiring writers. “I subscribe to Hemingway’s simple advice: Travel. It forces you to meet other people and experience different things. It’s the greatest a writer can have. ”

The other piece of the puzzle is writing every day. “I never write. When I sit down to write, I always write something. It is whether it is a holder or not. Even if it’s only half an hour, it’s important to keep this rhythm. ”

Janjigian was born and raised in Massachusetts. He lived in Watertown with his family before moving to Belmont and graduating from Belmont High School. He attended Clark University in Worcester and later did his Masters at Leslie University in Cambridge.

“I was just finishing my degree at Leslie University and teaching full time,” he said. The expat’s life tickled him. So he decided to take some of the courses to complete his studies at St. John’s University in Rome.

He remembered his year living near the beach outside Rome: “I loved it. It was fantastic. I would have stayed longer if I had had the opportunity. ”

“I met my wife in 2005 and we moved here [to Washington, DC] 2009 for her job. She is a scientist who works for the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, ”he said.

They tried to move to San Francisco but failed and decided to go where the jobs were.

Janjigian is now Associate Dean of American University. He oversaw the founding and launch of the English Language and Training Academy (ELTA). Before joining the AU in 2012, he taught at UMBC, Northeastern, and the Institute for English Language at Harvard University. At Brandeis University, he helped launch their ESL pathway program.

He has published two other books, Gone West (collection of short stories), Defending Infinity (novel), in addition to A Cerebral Offer.

He and his wife live with their three cats.

To purchase A Cerebral Offer, go to Amazon or visit https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9781604892581/a-cerebral-offer.aspx