Jenkyns earned a B.A. in Literature from American University in Washington, D.C. then went on to get an M.A. in English at San Francisco State University. He finished his education with an MFA in Drama from the University of Arizona, Tucson in 1992. From 1995 to 1997 he was a Soros fellow in the Czech Republic where he taught English as a Foreign Language. Currently he teaches EFL at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman.