Place as Character with Isidra Mencos

The Florida Writer Podcast

Imagine being a girl coming of age after the death of a dictator and the rise of democracy. In her recently debuted memoir, Promenade of Desire: A Barcelona Memoir, Isidra Mencos takes her audience on a treasure hunt as she searches for the quiet, descriptive, lyrical words to describe her extraordinary journey during a time of cultural self-discovery in Barcelona, Spain. Enjoy this Florida Writer Podcast as host Alison Nissen and Isidra chat about her journey to publication that began in Spain and flourished in California.

Originally from Spain, Isidra Mencos has lived in the US since 1992. She holds a PhD in Spanish and Latin American Contemporary Literature from the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught Spanish language, literature, culture, and creative writing for twelve years. Since she started writing creative nonfiction in English in 2016, her essays have been published in literary journals like Diálogo, Chicago Quarterly Review, The Penmen Review, Newfound, Stirring Literary Journal, The Manifest-Station and Front Porch Journal. One of her pieces was listed as Notable in the Best American Essays Anthology. Her work has also appeared in widely read online publications like Wisdom Well, WIRED, and Better After Fifty. Her debut memoir Promenade of Desire—A Barcelona Memoir came out October 11, 2022 (She Writes Press).