Contributor Bios – May 2021
Dr. Paul Brooke is a Professor of English at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he teaches Advanced Creative Writing, Environmental Literature, Creative Photography, Introduction to Poetry, Introduction to Nonfiction, Editing and Digital Publishing, Contemporary Literature, Diverse Voices, Major Authors, and Literary Theory. His writing has been featured in such journals as the North American Review, The Antioch Review, Rocky Mountain Review, Scientific American, International Poetry Review, Isotope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing, and the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature and the Environment. His work has won numerous awards including The Iowa Prize for Poetry, two nominations for the Pushcart Prize, and a finalist selection for The Proverse International Poetry Prize (Hong Kong). He was chosen for a residency at The Writers’ Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in 2021 and the Gullkistan Writing and Photography Residency in Iceland for 2018. His long poem, “The Skald and the Drukken Tröllaukin,” an interconnected series of Norse form poems, was selected second place and included in the 64 Best Poets of 2018. Read more about his work here.
Jacalyn Carley is a U.S. artist working in Berlin, a published poet and author — having arrived at this point in her life via a few decades as a choreographer. Movement and the female figure interest her — which dances right into women’s stories. She cares about narrative, and believes we have to light up the unspeakable. See more of her work here.
Luigi Coppola is a teacher, poet, first generation immigrant and avid rum and coke drinker. Shortlisted for Bridport Prizes, longlisted for the Ledbury and National Poetry Competitions, publications include Worple Press’ anthology ‘The Tree Line’, Acumen, Ink, Sweat and Tears, Iota, Magma, Rattle and Rialto. Find more of his work here.
Linda Eve Diamond is an award-winning poet and photographer. Her poetry has been performed at Artist Embassy International’s Dancing Poetry Festival, screened at the REELpoetry International Poetry Film & Video Festival, displayed at the Museum of Art – DeLand, and published by numerous journals and anthologies. Her most recent publications include poetry in postcard form at HOOT Review, photography on the cover of Pithead Chapel, and flash fiction at Crack the Spine. Find more of Linda Eve’s poetry and other creative arts here.
Teresa Duggan: Baltimore photographer and artist at large. Found humor, ephemeral scenes and street surprises are #1 these days, but anything’s possible. See more photos in this CityPaper gallery, or Baker Artist Portfolio.
Jillian J. Ellis is a fine art photographer and self-portrait artist, whose work explores the connections between deep human emotions, the body, and memory. She earned her B.F.A. in Art Photography from Syracuse University in 2011. Jillian is originally from Dayton, Ohio, and is now based in Santa Barbara, California. View more of her work here or follow her on Instagram at @jillianjellisart.
Joann Field: I was told as a child that young ladies could not make their way in the world as an artist.. you had to be sensible or practical. So, I sort of did what I was told… But I never stopped creating and making “things”… Most recently I have rediscovered the art of embroidery which I combine with natural dyeing and my photography. My BFF always says, “the muse will not be denied – the art will come out one way or another.” We all find our voice… Find more work here.
Vin Grabill received his B.A. degree in Studio Art from Oberlin College in 1971 and a Master of Science in Visual Studies degree from the M.I.T. Center For Advanced Visual Studies in 1981. After teaching Video Art at the Massachusetts College of Art from 1984-1988, he joined the faculty of the UMBC Department of Visual Arts in 1988 where he continued to teach video art until retiring in 2020. Grabill served as chairperson of the department from 2008-2015. Grabill has been creating and exhibiting works in video art formats since 1979. His single channel video work and installation work utilizing video have been exhibited nationally and internationally. In addition to individual projects, Grabill collaborates regularly with performing artists, choreographers, and poets in an attempt to find new solutions for the presentation of live arts utilizing live and recorded aspects of the video medium. Since retiring from UMBC, he has begun painting again, returning to his artistic roots.
Dr. Emory D. Jones is a retired English teacher who has taught in high school and in several community colleges. He has four hundred and fifty-five credits including publication in such journals as Writer’s Digest, Smokey Blue Literary and Arts Magazine, The Light Ekphrastic, Big Muddy; a Journal of the Mississippi River, Three Line Poetry, Auroras & Blossoms, Pegasus, Halcyon Days Magazine, Falling Star Magazine, The Cumberland River Review, The Delta Poetry Review, Calliope, Deep South Magazine, Modern Poetry Quarterly Review, and Encore: Journal of the NFSPS. He lives in Iuka, Mississippi.
Norbert Marszalek lives, works and was born in Chicago. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Northeastern Illinois University and has also studied at the American Academy of Art and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His paintings, works on paper, and sculpture have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States, including the George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles; the Richard Levy Gallery in Albuquerque; the Fort Wayne Museum of Art in Fort Wayne, Indiana; and the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago. Marszalek also has work in numerous permanent collections including the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art in Iowa. See more of his work here.
Michele Poole is a poet who studies and writes poetry. Although she discovered the world of poetry at primary school, it was only in the last two years that her poetry has been showcased to the world. She has won ‘runner up’ for creating a poem based on Asylum Seekers. She is officially an Honorary poet based in Suffolk, UK. Recently, she became a featured poet in the UK and is a regular contributor for ‘Poetry Aloud’. Michele lives in Australia and has a degree in Creative writing.
A graphic artist and lifelong poet, Stephanie Pressman earned an MA in English from San Jose State University, taught writing at community college, and is the editor of her small press, Frog on the Moon. She served as co-editor of cæsura and americas review. Her work has appeared in Bridges, The MacGuffin, The Kerf, Sing Heavenly Muse, and Montserrat Review as well as online in Newport Review, Halfway Down the Stairs, Red Wolf Editions, Ekphrastic Review, The Collidescope, and others. Her long poem “Lovebirdman” appears in an illustrated volume published in June, 2018.
Derek Roper has dedicated his creativity and ingenuity to the cosmic mythos. The Mad Artist focuses much of his work on the mysteries of cosmic horror. Some of his favorite classic cosmic horror stories include the Call of Cthulhu, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and the King in Yellow. Of course, there are many more! His passion for these stories and the mythos drive his creative processes. Derek primarily works with digital art, but also has a passion for clay work and wood burning. He is always working with new mediums to portray his art.
The child of Swedish and Greek immigrants, Alexandra Samios was born in Connecticut and grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, moving to central Illinois as a teen. They studied art at the University of Illinois and the Hochschule fur Angewandte Kunst in Vienna. Originally working strictly in visual media under the name Alex Nelson, Alexandra specialized in works on paper, with monumental works in corporate and private collections throughout the Chicago area as well as numerous one-person and group shows. The artwork that preceded the focus on poetry was text based, using the written word both graphically and as literal text. As a poet, Alexandra uses the personal to express the universal, focusing on their garden and house, the weather, and the landscape.
