I’m glad to have fresh work and have it in a very nice journal, The Magnolia Review.
“Number One Pork Chop Man” is an essay I started when I was working on my MFA at Queens University of Charlotte. It is about a great Chinese restaurant that used to be in Rocky Mount (NC) for about 30 years before the owners sold out and moved to another state.
The food was the best, but the people — most especially Su — made the restaurant our go-to place for years. Like so many things we take for granted in life, I assumed it would always be there.
This piece taught me some hard lessons about writing. I originally thought I’d be including this in my first book, but I never could get it “just right.” I cut and added and cut and added, and sent out a couple of versions of it, but knew it wasn’t right.
So, I shelved it and let it percolate for over four years. One day when I was struggling with some larger projects, I dug it out and took a pencil to it. I cut the length drastically and ended up with a much better piece. The Magnolia Review had published me before, so I thought of them — they took it quickly. Sometimes, it just takes time.