Contributors
Issue 3: Maps
A lapsed journalist, judy b. (International Arrivals) lives in San Francisco where she makes occasional appearances as a jazz vocalist. She publishes a daily fiction at onze.typepad.com.
Alison Bowman's (High Among the Reasons I Don't Backpack Alone) writing has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, The San Francisco Bay Guardian, and KineticTravel.net. "High Among the Reasons I Don't Backpack Alone" is part of a growing collection of wilderness humor essays, tentatively titled Tales of a Trepid Mountaineer.
Sean Mclain Brown (Orienteering) served in episode I of the Gulf War as a jet-engine mechanic on Harriers. Currently, he is Assistant Editor of LUNA and a member of the Veteran's Writing Workshop led by Maxine Hong Kingston. His first book, Manufacturer's Specifications and Guidelines, is forthcoming from Blue Barnhouse Publishing.
Natalia Martín Cantero (Antiques) is a West Coast correspondent for the Spanish newswire. She writes short stories at a turtle´s pace but can hand you an article in a blink. She has been in this country long enough to wish she could apply for citizenship at the independent republic of San Francisco.
Dan Coshnear (The Really Ultimate Common Ground (First Draft)) lives in Guerneville and teaches fiction through UC Berkeley Extension. He also works nights in a group home for men and women with mental illness. He is author of a collection of short stories, Jobs and Other Preoccupations (Helicon Nine 2000).
Anne Earney (Into the Night) is finishing her MFA at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. Her fiction is forthcoming in Flyway, where it will be published as the winner of the Iowa Sweet Corn Prize, and in Murder, Mystery, Madness, Magic, and Mayhem, an anthology of Missouri writers.
Zdravka Evtimova (Rumm) was born in 1959 in Bulgaria, Europe. Her short story collection Bitter Sky was published in UK in 2003 by Skrev Press. Her short story collection Somebody Else was published by MAG Press, USA in 2004. Her short stories have been published in UK, USA, Canada, Australia and in a number of European countries. She lives with her husband, two sons and a daughter in Pernik, Bulgaria and works as a literary translator from English into Bulgarian.
Karen Foster's (Candy's Heart) poems been published in Fireweed, Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, Hurricane Alice, among others. Her short stories have been published in Briar Cliff Review, The Mag, in addition to some on some shelves somewhere. Stained Glass, one of her plays, has been performed at the Lincoln Community Playhouse, Lincoln, NE.
Oakland-based Jeff Greenwald (On Maps) is the author of five travel books, including three best-sellers: Shopping for Buddhas, The Size of the World, and a recent anthology called Scratching the Surface: Impressions of Planet Earth from Hollywood to Shiraz. He is a contributing editor for Yoga Journal, Tricycle, and Travel+Life magazines, and serves as Executive Director of Ethical Traveler, a global alliance of travelers dedicated to human rights and environmental protection (www.ethicaltraveler.org). In the course of his career Greenwald has celebrated Passover with Paul Bowles, circled Mt. Kailash with a demoness, and interviewed the Dalai Lama about Star Trek. He launched his stage career in 2003 with a critically acclaimed one-man show, Strange Travel Suggestions.
Sonya Hunter (Roots) “makes music that is both elegant and hypnotic, weaving tales of urban frustration and mixing word play with wisdom," said The Utne Reader of this Northern California-raised songwriter. With six albums to her credit and another one on slow simmer, Sonya Hunter has kept busy over the years. She currently calls Oakland her home, and regularly performs her music with her partner Erik Pearson, sings with the glee club "Ted Brinkley and the New Floridians," and is member of the country sextet "Magic City Chamber of Commerce." Sonya Hunter on Spotify
Rita Kasperek (Rocky Point) lives with three cats and a battered computer in Oakland, California. Her work has appeared in The Portland Review, GSU Review, Sand Hill Review and Storyglossia, among other publications. Recently her fiction was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and won Honorable Mention in the New York Stories fiction contest. She's working on a novel.
Gabrielle Margonelli (Droum) is writing a book that will be published in the fall.
Singer-songwriter Ira Marlowe (Going West) writes “four-minute movies” — finely crafted, highly visual songs that mix wry humor with unusual passion, energy and honesty. He recently won the “Songs Inspired By Literature” contest and is featured on a benefit CD alongside Tom Waits, David Bowie, Roseanne Cash, and Steve Earle. In Spring of 2004, Ira debuted “How to Write a Song”—a one-man multi-media musical —which ran for five weeks at San Francisco's Off-Market Theater. He is currently working on a release for children, as well as a forthcoming CD for grown-ups called "Lucky." www.iramarlowe.com.
Ryan Masters (Catch and Release) is on staff at The Monterey County Weekly. His work has appeared in Surfer, The Surfer's Journal and Scuba Diving Magazine. He is the editor of The Bathyspheric Review.
Stephanie Gene Morgan (When I Went Looking for You the First Time) is an artist based in Oakland, CA. Her work has appeared in Dwell, The Advocate and L'Actualitie. She is currently working on film projects.
Dan Akira Nishimura (The Arkansas Girls) makes his literary debut in the "Maps" issue. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Northern California night photographer Troy Paiva (4360 Miles in 126 Hours) captures the disappearing roadside world with his evocative night-photography technique. He travels the west shooting with old and obsolete, low-tech equipment creating brilliantly lit tableaus of the abandoned debris of a modern, disposable culture. Make sure to visit Troy's website, Lost America.
Monica Regan (west of the divide) lives and writes in San Francisco. Her poems have recently appeared in 26 and Parthenon West Review.
Formerly of the San Francisco band Me Jane, Jane Selkye (Memphis) and Chris Kee formed Plainjane in 2000 with Scott Amendola to record i gorgona. I gorgona is Greek for The Mermaid and refers to a Greek oral myth about a monstrous half-woman, half-fish who can sing you the songs of the sea, speeding your boat on its way, or fly into a rage, sing mourning songs, and pound your ship to the bottom of the ocean. Ms. Selkye is a librarian and spinner/dyer.
Eric Schniewind (Path of Least Resentment) is a writer, actor, geologist, and a proud father. Which means he is too tired to write about himself right now, but relative to continental drift, there's plenty of time to think of something clever later.
Clara Silverstein (My Father's Hometown, 20 Years After His Death) the author of the memoir White Girl: A Story of School Desegregation (University of Georgia Press, 2004). Her poems have been published in magazines including the Paterson Literary Review and the Hiram Poetry Review. She is Program Director of the summer Writers' Center at Chautauqua, NY.
Lisa MB Simons (X) is a writer and a teacher. She has published articles, essays and book reviews, writes a column for her local paper, and is working on several projects, including her memoir. She lives in the defrosting state of Minnesota with her husband, twins, and dogs.
Edward Smallfield (Barcelona) is the author of The Pleasures of C and One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, a book length collaboration with Doug MacPherson. He lives in Barcelona with his wife, the poet Valerie Coulton.
Margrit Eichler (Touching Down in Knoxville) is the singer/songwriter/piano-player/ bandleader for the San Francisco group True Margrit. True Margrit has four releases: Peut-etre la Fenetre, Sympathetic Magic, Deceptively True and the forthcoming, Seaworthy. To find out more about True Margrit CDs, tour calendar, or other trivia, check out: www.truemargrit.com
Laura Walker's (circumference) work has appeared in various journals, including 26, Five Fingers Review, syllogism, and Bird Dog. Her book swarm lure was published by Battery Press in 2004. She currently teaches creative writing at San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley Extension.