Jeannette Westwood was born in Boston, but moved to San Jose when she was ten days old. She’s lived in the Bay Area for most of her life since then, and still finds herself there now despite attempts to go to college somewhere far away. She’s a student, undeclared, and her possible major changes every week or so.
If she had copious free time, she’d learn how to make paper, paint and silkscreen t-shirts, and build a 5’4″ multi-colored giraffe out of papier-mache. In reality, she steals time when she can, and relaxes, reads, writes, and attempts to be artistic in smaller, doable amounts.
Where do you get your ideas?
It’s a lot of what ifs and following thoughts and situations to see where they go. I get ideas while showering, while trying to go to sleep (very inconvenient, then I have to get out of bed, turn on the light, write it down, and crawl back into bed knowing in a minute I’ll have a new thought). I get ideas from pictures, from images I think are beautiful. From moments when life seems funny and more than a bit strange.
Tell me a little about The Banyan Tree. What was the first image or phrase or impetus that made you sit down and spin it out?
The Banyan Tree started with an exercise done in a creative writing class in high school. There was a few lines of poetry that had a goblin, a picture of a small stone statue (on a blue background, feathered wings, cape…), and Goya’s painting “Cronus Devouring His Children.” It’s the only story I’ve ever written that began with a writing exercise, so I’m surprised that all three elements remain in the story. I’m also surprised I haven’t tried writing from three different images/poems again–because it started as an exercise, I wrote much of The Banyan Tree without any idea of how it would end. I didn’t take the story seriously for a long time, and so experimented a lot with the prose. It was fun to write.
Of your current stories, published or unpublished, which is the most important to you and why?
I think answering that question is like trying to decide which of your children you love best. Each of my stories holds a special place in my heart. Of course, I’ve cut ties with a few of these story-children, but there’s still bits and pieces of them I love.
What author do you admire yet hope never to be compared to?
No one’s coming to mind at the moment, but I wouldn’t want to be an author who has one stunning novel/short story and then either doesn’t write again or just fades into the background.
What’s your favorite place in the world?
I love being outside. Before school started, I spent a few days just going to beaches, walking along them, wading, watching the waves. I also like mountains, and more day-to-day, I like sitting near fountains, looking at interesting buildings, and reading outside my room on the fire escape.
If not yourself, who would you be?
I’d be myself, but with a few add-ons. Specifically, wings to fly, gills to breathe underwater, and retractable spines.
