Rhoda Janzen Biography

Biographical Sketch

Rhoda Janzen grew up in a conservative Mennonite Brethren household; however, once she attended college, she strayed from her strict upbringing. In 1994 and 1997, Janzen was the poet laureate of the University of California. After being married for 15 years, her husband left her for a man named Bob that he met on Gay.com. The combination of her divorce and an unfortunate car accident led Janzen to return to her Mennonite roots in Fresno, California. Her return home and recent misfortunes inspired her to write her New York Times bestseller Mennonite in a Little Black Dress. Before the book rose to fame, though, Janzen was diagnosed with breast cancer and endured a double mastectomy and radiation. She discusses these struggles in her second memoir entitled, Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right and Solves Her Lady Problems. Janzen earned her Ph. D. from UCLA and currently teaches English and Creative Writing at Hope College in Holland Michigan.

 

Book of Poetry

Babel’s Stair, Word Press, 2006. Print.


Memoirs

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Henry Holt and Co., 2009. Print.

Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?: A Mennonite Finds Faith, Meets Mr. Right and Solves Her Lady Problems.
Grand Central Publishing, 2013. Print. 
 

*Interviews

Sachs, Andrea. “Rhoda Janzen: From Modern to Menonite.” TIME Magazine. Oct 20, 2009. Print.

McKee, Jen. “Rhoda Janzen, bestselling author, will talk of love, faith and cancer at Nicola's.” The Ann Arbor News. Oct 12, 2012. Web.

Victor Enns, “Interview with Rhoda Janzen.” Rhubarb Magazine. Apr 17, 2013. Print.

*Reviews

Christensen, Kate. “She Did Go Home Again.” The New York Times. Nov 5, 2009. Web.

Bancroft, Colette. “'Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?' by Rhoda Janzen a cheerful, insightful look at a return to faith and love.” Tampa Bay Times. Oct 6, 2012. Web.

 *There are numerous interviews and reviews of Janzen's works, these are only a few of them.

--Dominique Chew