By Pennell Paugh
East County Magazine
SAN DIEGO — Written with humor as well as heart ache, Jane Muschenetz touches in All the Bad Girls Wear Russian Accents on her raw feelings of becoming a refugee during the Russian invasion of her home country, Ukraine, and being transplanted to San Diego.
Muschenetz reflects on themes that connect to identity. She then shares her growth as she acclimated to her new country, went to MIT, married, and became a mother.
All the Bad Girls Wear Russian Accents offers depth into the author’s experiences. Like the best of poets, she is a critic of her old and new countries. Her use of unstructured prose makes the collection read like a series of stories.
One poem, most of my friends can relate to, is entitled “Guest Ready.”
In the clean part of the house
I can sit and pretend my life
Is well-organized and dust free
Some people have drawers or closets
Where messes get shoved out-of-sight
Amateurs
I have whole rooms,
Corridors, not ready for company
Just this summer,
I bought an entire house
So I can vacation from the one I keep too full
Muschenetz’s debut poetry chapbook, a Five Stars Readers’ Favorite, has charm, wit, as well as raw feelings. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book is donated to organizations that support Ukrainian refugees.
Muschenetz and her family live in San Diego. Today, she is a fully grown MIT nerd, California gardener, mother, artist, and writer. Connect with Muschenetz’s work on her website at PalmFrondZoo.com
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Pennell Paugh is a freelance writer whose article is republished from East County Magazine, with which San Diego Jewish World trades stories under auspices of the San Diego Online News Association.