| MACK DENNIS
Mack Dennis is a performance poet and a storyteller from Vacherie, Louisiana. His grandparents spoke the Creole language, and he started out his career as a working man in the cane fields of the Laura Creole Plantation. He worked in the fields along side people who lived in the former slave quarters. And he saw the civil rights movement up close in New Orleans. Having driven a taxi in San Francisco, he's been around the block a couple of times. |
| JIM WATSON-GOVE
Jim Watson-Gove edited and published Showcase in the sixties, Lemming in the seventies and Minotaur in the eithies and nineties. He's currently publishing chapbooks in partnership with Ed Mycue's Norton Coker Press. As he nears retirement (March of 99) he looks forward to finishing three novels and possibly starting yet another magazine, Baker Street West, that will be centered around the poetry activity in the San Francisco Bay Area. His biggest claim to fame to date was inclusion in the New Geography of Poets, University of Arkansas Press. He has appeared sporadically in little press since the sixties. He earns his bread as a telecommunications engineer. |
| MARK HARTENBACH
Mark Hartenback is editor of Non Compos Mentos Press, in East Liverpool, Ohio, publishing the highly-regarded Wooden Head Review, chapbooks and broadsides by some of today's finest writers. Hartenbach was nominated
for a Pushcart Prize in 1997. His latest chaps include god
monster machine" from Samsara Press, and giants, windmills
& snake eyes from Smiling Dog Press. Web pages of Mark's
work include More
Prayers of an Infidel |
|
| ALAN KAUFMAN
Alan Kaufman's
most recent book is Who Are We?, a collection of poems. His poetry
appears in magazines & anthologies, including Identity Lessons:
Learning American Style (Penguin Books, Nov., '98), ALOUD:
Voices From The Nuyorican Poets Cafe (Henry Holt), Tikkun,
Witness & Long Shot. On-line, his poems and essays currently
appear in Zuzu Petals,
PYROWORDS, Poetry
Cafe, Mindfield
Magazine, Bullhead,
Free Cuisinart
and Thunder
Sandwich. |
|
PAUL DAVID MENAPaul David Mena was born in a nondescript New York suburb on the day "Mack the Knife" first reached number one on the charts. He was raised by wolves, who, contrary to popular belief, make excellent parents. He began writing in his teens, but became a serious poet only after a strange magnetic disturbance mutated his stream-of-semi-consciousness personal journal into a surrealistic smokescreen of vibrant verbosity. It was then that he had discovered his true destiny and decided that it was time to share these ramblings with an unsuspecting world. Since then,Paul's poetry has appeared in numerous magazines, both real and virtual. His first book, tenement landscapes, was published by A Small Garlic Press in 1995. A second book, trainsongs, was published by Double Bunny Press in 1997. Paul's Holy Grail, however, remains an unauthorized autobiography, which will be written posthumously. |
|
| SHEILA E. MURPHY
Sheila E, Murphy's book manuscript Letters to Unfinished J. was selected in last year's open poetry competition sponsored by Sun & Moon Press, and will be published by Sun & Moon. Dennis Phillips was the judge. A Sound the Mobile Makes in Wind: 50 American Haibun was just released from Mudlark (1998). Leaflets (1998) has just appeared from Instress. Falling in Love Falling in Love With You Syntax: Selected and New Poems appeared from Potes & Poets Press in 1997. Additional recent works include A Clove of Gender (Stride Press, 1995), Pure Mental Breath (Gesture Press, 1994), and Tommy and Neil (SUN/gemini Press, 1993). Her work has been widely anthologized, most recently in Danger: Poets at Play (International Friends of Transformative Art, 1998), Fever Dreams: Contemporary Arizona Poetry (The University of Arizona Press, 1997), The Gertrude Stein Awards in Contemporary Poetry (Sun & Moon Press, 1994, 1995), Primary Trouble: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poetry (Talisman House Press, 1996), and The Art of Practice: 45 Contemporary Poets (Potes & Poets Press, 1994). Twelve years ago, she founded and continues to coordindate with Beverly Carver the Scottsdale Center for the Arts Poetry Series Her home is in Phoenix. |
DONALD RAWLEYThis issue's broadside is dedicated to Donald Rawley, a fine writer, mentor and friend. Donald died this year of complications from AIDS, just as his brilliance was becoming recognized worldwide... his first volume of short stories, Slow Dance on the Fault Line, was published by Harper Collins, London, this year. Avon will publish his novel The Nightbird Cantata soon; his novel and several stories, including DeMarco's Jazz, will be made into movies. A second book of stories, and Donald's fifth book of poetry, are planned. Donald received a Pushcart Prize for fiction in 1996. |
|
| BILL SHIELDS
Bill
Shields reports he is "alive in Pennsylvania, dead on my feet. Four
books published by 2.13.61 Publications, the latest --
Rosey the Baby Killer -- which was released in March 1998."
|
| KEN SIEGMANN
Ken Siegmann describes himself as a recovering newspaper reporter. He spent 15 years writing for various newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, where he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Ken lives in Sunnyvale, Calif., where he makes a living as a freelance writer. He also works as an intern at the Giarretto Institute in San Jose, California. See more of Ken's work at Siggy's Web Site. |
|
| GABRIELE STROHSCHEN
Gabriele lives in Chicago. She has lived there for 18 years but grew up in Berlin, Germany. Her daughter says her most successful achievements have been raising her daughter to a soulful and talented painter, musician, and teacher, and her son to a bright and spunky teenager, who just took up drumming, is a math whiz, spikes his hair, and wears a peacesign necklace. Her companion male cat has no particular characteristics outside of talking with her and inviting strange cats in to the backdoor. Gabriele reads theosophical books in the bathroom and Henry Miller in bed. She is most thrilled by watching herbs and wildflowers grow. |
|
| ROBERT SWARD
Robert Sward's books include Uncivilizing (Insomniac Press, Toronto, 1997-98), Four Incarnations, New & Selected Poems (Coffee House Press, 1991), and a novel, A Much-Married Man (Ekstasis Editions, 1996). He teaches for Cabrillo College and the University of California Extension in Santa Cruz. For more information see Robert
Sward Homepage. |
|
| GARLAND THOMPSON
Garland Thompson is Monterey's slammaster and telepoetics director. Known nationally as a performance poet, he has joined with Clebo Rainey on two cross country tours, including the 'Road Poems City Night Tour'. Garland has just returned from the east coast where he did teaching performances in high schools. His one man show 'Swingin' from the Vine' will open the Carmel Performing Arts Festival in October this year. |
| JIM VALVIS
" bio? i'm living, man. what else is there to say? been published around? sure. failure at love. failure at life. failure at everything. i'm living. if you call it that. i'm alive at least. got air in my lungs. all my life i've had air in my lungs. the rest of it, i'm not quite sure about." Jim
Valvis's website: James
Valvis Homepage. |
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