ContributorsSummer2006

Contributors

VERA AKOUTAH is a self taught artist with great interest in the human form in ways in
which style and creativity can be expressed, all of her art is produced using dry mediums
like charcoal and pastel for more info see www.artclimbers.co.uk/vakotuah

LAREDO BAILEY lives and writes in Tempe, Arizona.

GAY BAINES lives in East Aurora, New York, and is a member of the Roycroft Wordsmiths.
Her poetry has appeared in Cimarron Review, Rattapallax, Slipstream, Nimrod, Bayou,
and many other journals. She is co-founder and poetry editor of July Literary Press
(www.julyliterarypress.com). In 2002 she published her first novel, Dear M. K. Her poetry
collection, Walking After the Blizzard, is still looking for a publisher.

ANN CARLI lives in Los Angeles. She is CEO of Fuzzy Bunny Films, and producer of the
films Festival Express and Crossroads, among others. Her latest production, Fast Food
Nation, directed by Richard Linklater, was recently nominated for the 2006 Cannes Film
Festival’s Palme d’Or award. The film is due out this fall. She has previously had fiction
published in Pearl, and has fiction forthcoming in Lorraine and James. (editor's note:
sadly, Lorraine and James is not currently publishing)

KRISTINE CHALIFOUX is the author of the chapbook, In The Light, and her poetry has
appeared in numerous literary magazines, including Agni Review, Brooklyn Review, Janus
Head, and others. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and is a recipient of an
Illinois Arts Council Award. Formerly associate director of DePaul University’s Honors
program, she is currently teaching English at Raleigh Charter High School in Raleigh, NC.
She lives with her spouse, the poet James A. Hawley, her daughter, Ktimene Edgrin, two
dogs, and one cat.

MATTHEW CULLEN lives in Beverly, MA. He is a student at the University of New
Hampshire, and is clinging to the “young” in “young poet”. He has not yet published much
of anything, at least nowhere terribly notable, and as of this writing holds no degrees in
anything, but is far from an empty slate.

LL EVELAND, self-taught artist with a passion for Outsider Art, integrates mixed media
collages and acrylics on canvas. L has exhibited at many galleries and museums in the
New York City area, including Gallery Juno NYC and Diffusion Art. Permanent collections
include Luzerne Chamber, Rogue Gallery, and a commissioned installation honoring the
WTC Fallen Firefighters and Police Officers in NYC. L says: “A creative person must
overcome the fear of ridicule. They must be daring and even foolish at times. After all, ‘an
apple is just an apple’. . . so what if it looks like an orange?” Many more of L’s works can
be enjoyed online at www.LLeveland.com

MARGARET FIELAND lives in the Boston area with a partner and several large dogs. A
computer software engineer, she plays the flute and piccolo as well as writes poetry.
Her poem, Night Time was a finalist in Humdinger ezine’s January 2006 comic poetry
contest. It can be read at http://user8512.websitewizard.com?Home. More of her poetry
can be found online at Poetry Soup:
http://www.poetrysoup.com/poetry_search_results_nameasp?
FirstName=Margaret&LastName=Fieland&x=12&y=12.

SAMUEL GILLIS’s art can be viewed online at www.gillisfineart.com. Sam began pursuing
his art at age fourteen. Professor Eddwin Meyers of Chicago’s Atelier Alternative has been
a major influence upon his artistic development. Mr. Gillis’ work appears in collections
around the globe. He has frequently exhibited in museums and galleries in both Chicago
and New York. Magazines in which his work has appeared include Dogwood Journal,
BLN, and Bakery of the Poets. He is an instructor at the Baraka Studio in Chicago.
www.gillisfineart.com

JAMES A. HAWLEY received an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in 1988
and was the recipient of an Illinois Arts Council Fellowship, 1989-1990. His poems have
appeared in The Salt River Review, The Iowa Review, American Letters & Commentary,
The Brooklyn Review and Porch Magazine. Division & Ashland was selected by West
Town Press (Chicago, Il) for publication in its inaugural chapbook competition. He lives
near Rolesville, North Carolina with his spouse, the poet Kristine Chalifoux, and their
daughter, Katie Edgren.

WILLIAM HEYEN   Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1940, he received his MA and Ph.D. degrees
from Ohio University. His plethora of awards and fellowships include those from the NEA,
the Guggenheim, and The American Academy & Institute of Arts and Letters. His poetry
has appeared in hundreds of periodicals and journals, including Poetry, American Poetry
Review, New Yorker, Harper’s, Kenyon Review, and Southern Review. His poems have
also appeared in countless anthologies. Of his numerous volumes of poetry, perhaps the
most notable is Erika: Poems of the Holocaust, considered a classic of its kind. His book
Crazy Horse in Stillness was awarded the 1997 National Small Press Book Award for
Poetry. In addition, he has written a novel, Vic Holyfield and the Class of 57, and been the
editor of several critically acclaimed anthologies, including September 11, 2001:
American Writers Respond. A former Fulbright Senior Lecturer in American Literature in
Germany, he is Professor of English and Poet in Residence Emeritus at SUNY Brockport.

JAMES KIERAN McGONNELL was born in Cork City, Ireland in 1967. He studied painting
and Art History at Hunter College in Manhattan. Since coming to New York, McGonnell has
been showing his work continuously at locations which include the Haggerty Museum,
Milwaukee, Christopher Henry Gallery, New York, Axel-Raben Fine Art, New York, The
American Federation of the Arts, Dublin Cross Gallery, Ireland. His work has been seen
nationally in venues including The Kennedy Center Festival, Washington, D.C. and
ARTCENTER, Miami, FL. He has been profiled in numerous publications throughout the
US and in Ireland. His work was chosen as backdrop for the Fall 2000 New York Fashion
previews for the Leading Trade Men’s Fashion Magazine, D.N.R. He also designed a
stage for Sean Curran Modern Dance Company, which has been touring the U.S. since its
premiere at Jacob’s Pillow Modern Dance Festival in 1999. In an article entitled ‘Top 40
under 40’, McGonnell was selected as one of the top Irish success stories living in the US
today.   His work can be viewed at www.kieranmcgonnell.com

NIKOLAY ( a.k.a. NICHOLAS SOKOLOV ) lives in Prague, Czech Republic. He is
continually searching for new art techniques, new avenues of expression, and greater
understanding of humanity. His aesthetics derive primarily from the heritage of Leonardo
da Vinci and the masters of the Italian, German, and Dutch Renaissance. His art has
appeared in countless galleries throughout the United States and Europe, including the
Dumskarya 3 Gallery in St. Petersburg and the Post Modern Cafe and Gallery in
Amsterdam. He has recorded as a musician, playing guitar and piano with the acoustic
blues trio Tupelo Sugar. His music was the subject of a German television documentary.
His book of poetry, Time of Butterflies, was published in 1995. His artwork and poetry can
be viewed online at www.nikolayfineart.com.

JON PETRO is an artist living in Worcester, MA. His work has been exhibited in museums
and galleries throughout the country, and has appeared in magazines such as The
Worcester Phoenix and Redivider, among others. He has been a guest lecturer at Clark
University in Worcester, MA. Please visit his website at www.jonpetro.com to see more of
his work.

SUZANNE AUDREY REEVES is a senior at John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School in
Augusta, Georgia. Her three poems in Gentle Strength are her first works to appear in
print. Her creative passions also include music and photography.

LÁZARO ROJAS lives in Santiago, Chile. He flew to Chile hanging from the legs of an
African swallow. He is an immense fan of Pablo Neruda.

SAROSKA’s works can be viewed online at www.saroska.com. She has studied art at
various institutes and universities in Seattle, New York, and Madrid. She currently teaches
art at La Guardia Community College, the Musuem for African Art, and Hunter College.
She is also a curator for the New York Public Library. Her work has been displayed in
numerous New York galleries and libraries as well as at the United Nations. In Madrid,
she is represented by the prestigious Duran Auctions House.

INGRID SUNDBERG lives in North Hollywood, CA. Her artwork has been exhibited in many
arenas throughout America, including the NoHo Gallery LA and The Foundry Art Center.
She has been published in a wide variety of magazines and books, including The
Mountain Astrologer, Sage Woman, and Half Price Books. Much more information on
Ingrid and her life and work can be found at www.sundbergstudio.com

JULIÁN ESTEBAN TORRES writes: “Having lived in over three dozen places makes it
difficult to confine the concept of home to any specific locale. My native soil is wherever
there is a blank canvas upon which to write. In 2006, I hope to live in every country in the
Americas that begins with the letter ‘C’ .” He holds a B.A. in Philosophy and
Communication, a M.A. in Justice Studies, and hopes to get his Ph.D. within the next forty
years. He has been a performance artist and documentary film director, as well as the
founder of various philosophical, educational, and artistic organizations. His written works
across a spectrum of genres have appeared in various periodicals and journals across
North America. He is Editor-in-Chief of The WRIToracle (www.thewrit.org)

TRUMANJI lives under a fig tree in Southern California, works as an architectural designer,
acupuncturist, herbalist, artist and publisher, and loves being a father.

YANNICK VERDIER-MONSEGUR is a photographer living in Paris, France.

THOM WARD is Editor at BOA Editions, Rochester, New York. The author of four
collections of poetry, including Various Orbits (Carnegie Mellon University Press), he lives
with his wife and three children at the end of a street at the edge of a swamp in upstate
New York. There, many bullfrogs are leveraged into solidarity.

DAVID WHITE is a San Diego based artist who primarily works with sculpture and video.
He graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Fine Art-Sculpture. His
artistic explorations have taken him to places as diverse as Germany, to study traditional
stoneworking methods and design, and to Brazil, to study art, technology, and culture.