Contributor Bios – November 2017
Laura Dodson has been the subject of several one person exhibitions in Athens, Greece and New York. Her work has recently appeared at the Clemente Art Center, Lesley Heller Workspace, the New York Studio School and Elizabeth Harris Gallery in New York; the Godwin-Turnbach Museum in Queens; Sideshow Gallery, Schaffler Gallery, and Five Myles Gallery in Brooklyn. Her photographs are in the permanent collection of the Contemporary Art Center of Thessaloniki and the American College of Athens. She currently teaches Digital Photography at Queens College and Pratt Institute’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. See more of her work at www.lauradodson.net.
Teresa Duggan explores Baltimore city by foot and bicycle, photographing scenes that suggest curious stories, have a curious arrangement of elements, or a naturally pleasing composition. She likes little surprises — scenes that make her, or the viewer, wonder what exactly is going on there. Some images may additionally be drawn on, incorporated as collages, or double exposures. Experimentation is the game, and the reward. See more of her work in City Paper’s Contact Sheet, or the Baker Artist Portfolios.
Trish Hopkinson has always loved words—in fact, her mother tells everyone she was born with a pen in her hand. A Pushcart nominated poet, she is author of three chapbooks and has been published in several anthologies and journals, including Stirring, Pretty Owl Poetry, and The Penn Review. She is a product director by profession and resides in Utah with her handsome husband and their two outstanding children. You can follow Hopkinson on her blog where she shares information on how to write, publish, and participate in the greater poetry community at trishhopkinson.com.
Juyanne James is the author of The Persimmon Trail and Other Stories (Chin Music Press, 2015), her debut collection of 17 stories in which she interprets the African American experience in Louisiana. James is an Associate Professor of English at University of Holy Cross in New Orleans. Her stories and essays have been published in journals such as The Louisville Review, Mythium, Bayou Magazine, and Eleven Eleven, and included in the anthologies New Stories from the South 2009 (Algonquin) and Something in the Water: 20 Louisiana Stories (Portals Press, 2011). She was also commissioned to write a story for Symphony Space’s Selected Shorts Project. James has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize three times. Her essay “Table Scraps” was a notable essay in The Best American Essays 2014.
Alex Ledford received her MFA from the University of New Hampshire. Since graduating, she’s returned to her native North Carolina to write, teach, and help with Outlook Springs, a fledgling journal. Other work has appeared in Midway (nominated for Best of the Net 2017), So to Speak, Bop Dead City, and elsewhere.
Athena Melliar is a freelance poet, writer and essayist. She writes for online publications such as Frear.gr and OffsiteCy.com. She is an UNESCO award winning short story writer. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities and is bilingual in English and Greek.
Christine Stoddard is a Salvadoran-Scottish-American writer and artist who lives in Brooklyn. Her visuals have appeared in the New York Transit Museum, the Ground Zero Hurricane Katrina Museum, the Poe Museum, the Queens Museum, the Condé Nast Building, George Washington University’s Gallery 102, and beyond. In 2014, Folio Magazine named her one of the top 20 media visionaries in their 20s for founding the culture magazine, Quail Bell. Stoddard also is the author of Hispanic & Latino Heritage in Virginia (The History Press), Ova (Dancing Girl Press), Chica/Mujer (Locofo Press), Lavinia Moves to New York (Underground Voices), The Eating Game (Scars Publications), and two miniature books from the Poems-For-All series.
Vasundhara Tolia, called Vasu, is a Physician by profession. She is a Pediatric Gastroenterologist who was deeply involved in Clinical research, teaching and mentoring throughout her career as an academician and clinician. She paints mainly in acrylic and occasionally in graphite, and oils. She loves the works of John Singer Sergeant, some of the impressionists and renaissance artists. Her artwork can be found at www.vasutolia.com.
