Kakalak 2015 Bios
Anthony S. Abbott
(Davidson, NC)
Anthony S. Abbott is professor emeritus of English at Davidson College. His most recent book of poems is The Angel Dialogues, published in 2014 by Lorimer Press.
JS Absher
(Raleigh, NC)
JS Absher has two books of poems (Night Weather, Cynosura, 2010; Buriel of Anyce Shepherd, Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2006) and recent work in Southern Poetry Anthology, VII: North Carolina.
Kathy Ackerman
(Tryon, NC)
Kathy Ackerman, author of Coal River Road (Livingston Press, 2013) and three chapbooks, is the dean of arts and sciences and writer-in-residence at Isothermal Community College.
Margaret M. Adams
(Ladson, SC)
Margaret M. Adams teaches creative writing at The Palmetto School at The Children’s Attention Home in Rock Hill,South Carolina.
Malaika King Albrecht
(Ayden, NC)
Malaika King Albrecht is the author of three poetry books. She’s founding editor of Redheaded Stepchild, an online magazine that only accepts poems that have been rejected elsewhere.
Gilbert Allen
(Travelers Rest, SC)
Gilbert Allen, author of Catma (Measure Press, 2014), is a member of the South Carolina Academy of Authors and has new poems in Miramar and The Southern Review.
Catherine Anderson
(Charlotte, NC)
Catherine Anderson, author of The Creative Photographer (Lark Books, 2011) facilitates workshops and retreats on photography, creativity, the labyrinth, and SoulCollage® internationally and in the United States, www.creativepilgrimage.com
Pam Baggett
(Cedar Grove, NC)
Pam Baggett has recent work in Kentucky Review, San Pedro River Review, Main Street Rag Publishing Company’s Creatures of Habitat, and The Southern Poetry Anthology, VII: North Carolina.
Sam Barbee
(Winston-Salem, NC)
Sam Barbee has had poems in Crucible, Asheville Poetry Review, St. Andrews Review, Charlotte Poetry Review, Pembroke Magazine, and Vox Poetica. He is president of Winston-Salem Writers.
Tina Barr
(Black Mountain, NC)
Tina Barr, a National Endowment for the Arts fellow, has two poetry books, Kaleidoscope (Iris Press) and The Gathering Eye (Tupelo Press Editor’s Prize), and three award-winning chapbooks.
Jennifer Bartell
(Johnsonville, SC)
Jennifer Bartell has an MFA from the University of South Carolina. Her poetry has appeared in Callaloo, PLUCK!, and the museum of americana, among others.
Michael Beadle
(Raleigh, NC)
Michael Beadle is a poet, author, and touring writer-in-residence. He is the author of three chapbooks, a poetry CD, and three books on Haywood County history.
William Jackson Blackley, MD
(Elkin, NC)
William Jackson Blackley, chairman and co-founder of the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series and past president of the North Carolina Poetry Society, is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee.
Cheryl Boyer
(Waxhaw, NC)
Cheryl Boyer has been a contributor to Kakalak, Iodine Poetry Journal, and The Main Street Rag. She often subjects her family to her pen or lens. Find her at www.myfelliswheel.com.
Peg Bresnahan
(Cedar Mountain, NC)
Peg Bresnahan is the author of In A Country None Of Us Called Home (Press 53) and Chasing Light.
Jeannette Brossart
(Durham, NC)
Jeannette Brossart has been a professional mosaic artist since 2003. She facilitates group projects and creates mosaic murals, public art, and sculptural, garden, gallery, and personal mosaics. www.mothernaturemosaics.com
Doris Thomas Browder
(Rock Hill, SC)
Doris Thomas Browder has written four booklets of family history and is the author of a chapbook, Searching for Maypops (Finishing Line Press).
Joyce Compton Brown
(Troutman, NC)
Joyce Compton Brown earned degrees from Appalachian State University and the University of Southern Mississippi, and she taught at Gardner-Webb University. Her chapbook is Bequest (Finishing Line Press).
Les M. Brown
(Troutman, NC)
Les M. Brown, a biologist and a columnist for the Shelby Star, has exhibited art at several galleries and has photos in journals, including the cover for the 2013 Broad River Review.
Beth Browne
(Clayton, NC)
Beth Browne, in addition to writing and photographing, manages a large farm, homeschools her two teenagers, and sails the North Carolina coast with her sweetie, Eric. bethbrownebooks.com
Beth Ann Cagle
(Charlotte, NC)
Beth Ann Cagle is a Kakalak editor, moonShine review senior editor, photographer, poet, and author of First Comes Love (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2015) and The Fearless Tattoo.
Ann Campanella
(Huntersville, NC)
Ann Campanella, author of What Flies Away (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2006) and the memoir Motherhood: Lost and Found (The Bridge, 2013), lives on a horse farm with her family.
Barbara Campbell
(Charlotte, NC)
Barbara Campbell has poems published in Kakalak, Pinesong, Journey Without: Charlotte Writers Club Anthology, and The Southern Poetry Anthology, VII: North Carolina.
Kenneth Chamlee
(Mills River, NC)
Kenneth Chamlee teaches at Brevard College. His poems have appeared in Asheville Poetry Review, Greensboro Review, and others. He is currently writing a collection about western landscape painter Albert Bierstadt.
Kathie Collins
(Charlotte, NC)
Kathie Collins, author of Jubilee (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2011) and Learning to Live in the Layers: Traveling Soul’s Way through Poetry (ProQuest, 2014), is founder of August Moon Creative Co-op.
Russell Colver
(Durham, NC)
Russell Colver has work published in The Sewanee Review, Shenandoah, Kakalak 2014, Rattle, and Blue Heron Review, and was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Barbara Conrad
(Charlotte, NC)
Barbara Conrad is the author of Wild Plums (FutureCycle Press, 2013), and the editor of Waiting for Soup, a collection of art and poetry from weekly workshops with Charlotte’s homeless community.
Julie Ann Cook
(Rock Hill, SC)
Julie Ann Cook, author of Love Like Weeds (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2013), has contributed to Kakalak since its inception, and she is honored to be included again. www.julieanncook.com
Beth Copeland
(Gibson, NC)
Beth Copeland is an assistant professor of English at Methodist University. Her second poetry collection, Transcendental Telemarketer, was runner up in the North Carolina Poetry Council’s 2013 Oscar Arnold Young Award.
Cherie Cox
(Charlotte, NC)
Cherie Cox, a published poet, writer, and journalist, is a past winner in a Charlotte Writers’ Club poetry contest. She has a short story in The Christmas Boug.
Susan M. Craig
(Columbia, SC)
Susan M. Craig has spent thirty-five years as a small business owner in design/communication. The South Carolina Fiction Project and South Carolina Poetry Initiative have recognized her literary work.
Steve Cushman
(Greensboro, NC)
Steve Cushman earned his MFA at UNC Greensboro. He has published two novels (Portisville and Heart With Joy), a short story collection, and two poetry chapbooks (Hospital Work and Midnight Stroll).
Gregory Dailey
(Winston-Salem, NC)
Gregory Dailey is an amateur photographer and former musician currently working in the library at the UNC School of the Arts. See more of his photography at dogseyeview.net.
Debra Daniel
(Columbia, SC)
Debra Daniel is author of Woman Commits Suicide in Dishwasher (Muddy Ford Press) and chapbooks, Downward Turn of August (Finishing Line Press) and As Is (Main Street Rag Publishing Company).
Jeff Davis
(Asheville, NC)
Jeff Davis hosts the radio program Wordplay on AshevilleFM.org. His collections include the chapbook Transits of Venus (Wildwood Press, 2005) and Natures: Selected Poems: 1972-2005 (New Native, 2006).
Ann Deagon
(Greensboro NC)
Ann Deagon, author of Carbon 14, Poetics South, Indian Summer, No Balm in Birmingham, Habitats, The Diver’s Tomb, and The Polo Poems, retired from Guilford College as writer in residence.
Ralph Earle
(Apex, NC)
Ralph Earle works for IBM. His collection The Way the Rain Works won the 2015 Sable Chapbook Competition. He is a runner-up for the 2015 Randall Jarrell Award.
Terri Kirby Erickson
(Lewisville, NC)
Terri Kirby Erickson is the author of four poetry collections. Widely published, her work has won many awards, including the Joy Harjo Poetry Prize and Nautilus Book Award.
Beverly C. Finney
(Hickory, NC)
Beverly C. Finney, retired from careers in education and business, is pleased to have her first published poem in Kakalak 2015 and is working on her first chapbook.
Gustavo Pérez Firmat
(Chapel Hill, NC)
Gustavo Pérez Firmat has published poetry collections in English and Spanish. His latest book of essays, A Cuban in Mayberry: Looking Back at America’s Hometown, was published in 2014.
Patz Fowle
(Florence, SC)
Patz Fowle is an award-winning visual artist and innovative teaching artist. To view more of her original art and techniques, visit www.patzfowle.com.
Hillary Frye
(Fairview, NC)
Hillary Frye is a painting and metal artist. She works in her home studio and lives with her husband, glass artist Shane Smith, and their two daughters.
Janice Moore Fuller
(Salisbury, NC)
Janice Moore Fuller, Catawba College’s writer-in-residence and Weaver Endowed Chair of Humanities, has published four poetry collections. Séance won the Oscar Arnold Young Award for best North Carolina poetry book.
Wendy H. Gill
(Matthews, NC)
Wendy H. Gill is the owner of Professional Communications, a creative video production agency. Together with her trusty Cannon, she captures the sights on back roads and in abandoned buildings.
Mark Gordon
(Wilson, NC)
Mark Gordon works in wheelthrowing, modular assembled sculptures, and specific installations. His work is exhibited regionally and nationally in galleries, colleges and universities, and museums.
Bill Griffin
(Elkin, NC)
Bill Griffin, a family doctor in rural North Carolina, features Carolina poets (and others) at his blog GriffinPoetry.comand is trying to start an Alfred North Whitehead fan club. Any takers?
Tim Harkins
(Ridgeville, SC)
Tim Harkins, author of Chasing the Ineffable (Stepping Stone Press, 2008), is a technical writer by trade and a poet at heart.
Terresa Cooper Haskew
(Greenville, SC)
Terresa Cooper Haskew, author of Breaking Commandments (Main Street Rag Publishing Company Publishing, 2014), writes poetry and short fiction. She and Ben have three children and three grandchildren.
Evie Chang Henderson
(Oriental, NC)
Evie Chang Henderson, a retired visual arts instructor and native of Jamaica, Wisconsin, enjoys writing poems and photographing nature. Her poetry awards include first prize from Carteret Writers (2010). www.artofeviechang.com
Diane Eure Hignite
(Greenville, NC)
Diane Eure Hignite, an acrylic artist, has received numerous awards at various art events. She has created commissioned work for both the public and private sectors.
David Brendan Hopes
(Asheville, NC)
David Brendan Hopes, a previous contributor to Kakalak, is a poet, playwright, and painter.
Sheridan Hough
(Charleston, SC)
Sheridan Hough, professor of philosophy at the College of Charleston, is author of the poetry collection The Hide (Inleaf Press, 2007) and the novel Mirror’s Fathom (Mercer University Press, 2012).
Jenny Hubbard
(Salisbury, NC)
Jenny Hubbard is an acclaimed novelist. Both Paper Covers Rock and And We Stay (Penguin Random House) have earned top honors from the American Library Association.
Justin Hunt
(Charlotte, NC)
Justin Hunt is an International Publication Award winner in The Atlanta Review’s 2015 poetry competition. His work appears in several anthologies and journals, most recently The Freshwater Review.
Ruth Ilg
(Biltmore Lake, NC)
Ruth Ilg, a native of Germany, lives and works on Biltmore Lake near Asheville. She was Kakalak 2014’s cover artist, and she is a painter, photographer, and trilingual poet.
Karen Luke Jackson
(Hendersonville, NC)
Karen Luke Jackson companions spiritual seekers and leads retreats. Her poems have appeared in Alive Now, Ruminate, The Broad River Review, The Great Smokies Review, and moonShine review.
Jeanne Julian
(New Bern, NC)
Jeanne Julian recently won honors in poetry competitions sponsored by The Comstock Review, The North Carolina Poetry Society, Lanier Library, and the Asheville Writers’ Workshop. She edits a photography newsletter.
Anne Kaylor
(Mount Holly, NC)
Anne Kaylor, Kakalak design/copy editor and moonShine review executive editor/publisher, is author of poetry books Floating a Full Boat and Unwilling to Laugh Alone (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2009 and 2015).
Sam Kendall
(Charlotte, NC)
Sam Kendall works in trucking. He is a member of the Sourwood Writers Group in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Steve Lautermilch
(Kill Devil Hills, NC)
Steve Lautermilch has, for many years, worked in the far west, exploring the landscapes of the ancients. Rim, a collection from these years,
won the 2011 Sow’s Ear Chapbook Award.
Susan Lefler
(Brevard, NC)
Susan Lefler is author of Rendering the Bones (Wind Publications, 2011) and is a graduate student in the Queens University MFA program.
Kelly Lenox
(Durham, NC)
Kelly Lenox earned her MFA from Vermont College and has published poems and translations in the US, the UK, and Slovenia. She works for the National Institutes of Health.
Antonia G. Lilley
(Durham, NC)
Antonia G. Lilley, author of I Was a Teenage Werecat (Unicorn Press, 2004) and poetry/prose in local periodicals, works at The Regulator Bookshop and recently received a heart transplant.
Amy Locklin
(Hilton Head Island, SC)
Amy Locklin edited the anthologies Law and Disorder and Altered States (Main Street Rag Publishing Company). She attends a low residency PhD program at Bath Spa University in England.
Gina Malone
(Tryon, NC)
Gina Malone is a freelance writer and owner of The Village Book Shoppe. She writes newspaper and magazine features, poetry, and short stories.
Joshua Lee Martin
(Greenville, SC)
Joshua Lee Martin
has published poems most recently in The Kentucky Review, One, and The San Pedro River Review. He is a doctoral student in creative writing at Georgia State.
Preston T. Martin
(Chapel Hill, NC)
Preston T. Martin has published poems in a number of literary journals, a poetry festival chapbook, and an anthology.
Barbara J. Mayer
(Mooresville, NC)
Barbara J. Mayer has published poems in Plainsongs, The Main Street Rag, and Atlanta Review. Her poetry collection, Peacock, was published by Mount Olive College Press.
Addy Robinson McCulloch
(Wilmington, NC)
Addy Robinson McCulloch is a freelance writer and editor in southeastern North Carolina. Her work has appeared in a number of print and online publications.
Susan Laughter Meyers
(Givhans, SC )
Susan Laughter Meyers is the author of My Dear, Dear, Stagger Grass (Cider Press Review, 2013) and Keep and Give Away (University of South Carolina Press, 2006).
Sally B. Miller
(Charlotte, NC)
Sally B. Miller is an award-winning poet and visual artist who spends her days gathering images and playing with words and paint.
Kathryn Nelson
(Asheville, NC)
Kathryn Nelson is author of Cattails (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2013). Her poems have appeared in The Cortland Review, Switched-on Gutenberg, Wild Goose Poetry Review, and other journals.
Gail Peck
(Charlotte, NC)
Gail Peck is the author of eight collections of poetry. Her most recent, The Braided Light, won the Lena Shull Book Award. Her work has appeared in numerous journals.
Kathleen Pompe
(Seabrook Island, SC)
Kathleen Pompe, professor emerita of art from Francis Marion University, is a practicing photographer who has exhibited in Hungary as the Hungarian Multicultural Center’s artist in residence.
Jerald Pope
(Swannanoa, NC)
Jerald Pope lives with a wife, some chickens, and a pretty good dog. His books include the graphic novel Fetch, and the sci-fi comedy The Elvis Tooth.
David E. Poston
(Gastonia, N.C.)
David E. Poston is the author of My Father Reading Greek, Postmodern Bourgeois Poetaster Blues, and Slow of Study (forthcoming from Main Street Rag Publishing Company).
Arthur Powers
(Raleigh, NC)
Arthur Powers is the author of Edgewater (Finishing Line Press, 2015), A Hero for the People (Press 53, 2013), and The Book of Jotham (Tuscany Press, 2013).
David Radavich
(Charlotte, NC)
David Radavich has published plays, essays, and seven poetry collections, most recently The Countries We Live In (2014). He is president of the North Carolina Poetry Society.
J. Stephen Rhodes
(Charleston, SC)
J. Stephen Rhodes has poems in more than fifty literary journals. “I try to write poems that offer hope for people, like me, who are often
overwhelmed by modern life.”
Pat Riviere-Seel
(Asheville, NC)
Pat Riviere-Seel, author of Nothing Below but Air and The Serial Killer’s Daughter is a former journalist who never lets the facts get in the way of a good poem.
Peg Robarchek
(Charlotte, NC)
Peg Robarchek is the author of Inventing Sex (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2015), her first collection of poetry.
Lucia Walton Robinson
(Wilmington, NC)
Lucia Walton Robinson earned an MA from Duke in 1960. She has poems in The Southern Poetry Anthology and (as Ellae Lawton) in Iodine Poetry Journal, Wild Goose Poetry Review, and others.
Carrah Lee Royal
(Stedman, NC)
Carrah Lee Royal, employed at Methodist University, is at work on her first chapbook of poems.
Leslie M. Rupracht
(Huntersville, NC)
Leslie M. Rupracht, author of Splintered Memories (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2012), is Iodine Poetry Journal’s senior associate editor. Her writing and photography are published here and elsewhere.
Nicole Sarrocco
(Raleigh, NC)
Nicole Sarrocco, author of the poetry book Karate Bride (2006), has two books forthcoming: Lit By Lightning, a novel (Chatwin Books); and her second poetry book, Hot Plate Attenuator.
Ebeth Scott-Sinclair
(Chapel Hill, NC)
Ebeth Scott-Sinclair, a Southern artist, poet, and performer, uses creative expression to excavate untold stories and transform the everyday into other possibilities.
Martin Settle
(Charlotte, NC)
Martin Settle is a writer, a photographer, and an assemblage artist. He taught English for thirty-two years before retiring from UNC Charlotte in 2010.
Maureen Sherbondy
(Raleigh, NC)
Maureen Sherbondy, author of Beyond Fairy Tales (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2014), Eulogy for an Imperfect Man (Brick Road Poetry Press, 2013), and others, teaches at Alamance Community College.
Jane Shlensky
(Bahama, NC)
Jane Shlensky, an English teacher and musician, holds an MFA in creative writing from UNC Greensboro. Her recent work appears in Southern Literature and North Carolina Literary Review.
Amber Shockley
(Rock Hill, SC)
Amber Shockley was born in Greer, SC. A graduate of the Queens University of Charlotte MFA program, she has work published in Reed, Wilde, and Gargoyle Magazine.
Sherry Siddall
(Chapel Hill, NC)
Sherry Siddall has recent work in Tar River Poetry and The Southern Poetry Anthology, VII: North Carolina.
Tricia Sistrunk
(Charlotte, NC)
Tricia Sistrunk lives with her husband and three children. A former attorney, she now enjoys writing, volunteer work, and shuttling her kids around.
Cathy Larson Sky
(Spruce Pine, NC)
Cathy Larson Sky, author of Blue egg, my heart (Finishing Line Press, 2014), holds an MA in folklore from UNC Chapel Hill, plays Irish style fiddle, and writes poetry.
Larry Sorkin
(Taylorsville, NC)
Larry Sorkin has an obsession with falling in love with fields he’ll never quite master, poetry and photography being two of those elusive passions.
Kelly E. Spong
(Murphy, NC)
Kelly E. Spong, author of “Blackmouth Blueface,” is a UNC Asheville 2014 alumna with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature, a Cottey College 2012 alumna, and P.E.O. sister.
Caren Stuart
(Sanford, NC)
Caren Stuart is a joyfully arts-obsessed, award-winning poet/wordsmith/artist/maker whose writings appear in assorted publications and whose artsy creations populate www.convolutednotions.etsy.com.
Ty Stumpf
(Sanford, NC)
Ty Stumpf is the humanities department chair at Central Carolina Community College and has poems appearing in Harpur Palate, Nashville Review, and Passages North.
Elizabeth Swann
(Charlotte, NC)
Elizabeth Swann, author of Port Desire (Finishing Line Press, 2014), teaches high school in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Her work appears in Atlanta Review, storySouth, and Southern Poetry Review.
Lynne Santy Tanner
(Rutherfordton, NC)
Lynne Santy Tanner, author of Where There Is No Night (2004) , Carilee’s House (2006), and The Brown Thrasher (Finishing Line Press, 2013), has painted professionally for thirty years.
Brittany Taylor
(Lancaster, South Carolina)
Brittany Taylor, art instructor and curator of collections at USC Lancaster, received her MFA in visual arts from Union Institute and University, Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Richard Allen Taylor
(Charlotte, NC)
Richard Allen Taylor is an editor of Kakalak, review editor for The Main Street Rag, and author of two poetry books. He holds an MFA from Queens University of Charlotte.
Rachel Trueblood
(Rock Hill, SC)
Rachel Trueblood is an undergraduate at Winthrop University pursuing a BA in English with a minor in women’s and gender studies.
Jenny Van Stone
(Charlotte, NC)
Jenny Van Stone, interior designer, ice cream enthusiast, and travel junkie, has work in The Best of the Final Friday Reading Series, Philadelphia Style, and the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Mark Vogel
(Boone, NC)
Mark Vogel has published short stories and poems in multiple journals. He is professor of English at Appalachian State University, and is married to the writer Susan Weinberg.
Lynda C. Ward
(Fayetteville, NC)
Lynda C. Ward, is a documentary and portrait photographer whose goal is to capture her subjects’ distinctive qualities and particularities in order to reveal their uniqueness and inherent worth.
Chad Weeden
(Charlotte, NC)
Chad Weeden is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill. He is a writer, photographer, and musician.
Cecily Anne Hamlin Wells
(Hendersonville, NC)
Cecily Anne Hamlin Wells has published poems in Wild Goose Poetry Review and The Great Smokies Review. She received honorable mention in the Writer’s Digest 5th Annual Poetry Competition.
Susan White
(Asheville, NC)
Susan White teaches high school English. When she is not grading or writing, she enjoys running on mountain trails with her five dogs.
Libby Swope Wiersema
(Florence, SC)
Libby Swope Wiersema is author of the poetry chapbook The Season of Terminal Cold (Finishing Line Press, 2014). She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University in Charlotte.
Laurie Wilcox-Meyer
(Fairview, NC)
Laurie Wilcox-Meyer writes poetry shaped by living in the mountains of North Carolina and by her upbringing in Louisiana, where she played Chopin as well as dodged alligators while waterskiing.
Emily Wilmer
(Alexander, NC)
Emily Wilmer is co-director of Oasis of Wisdom: Institute for Contemplative Study, Practice and Living (www.oasisofwisdom.net) in Asheville.
Dede Wilson
(Charlotte, NC)
Dede Wilson has five books of poetry, her favorite being Eliza: The New Orleans Years (Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2010) because her non-poet friends actually like to read it.
Nancy H. Womack
(Rutherfordton, NC)
Nancy H. Womack is a retired community college English teacher and administrator. Her poetry has appeared in various journals and anthologies, including The Widows’ Handbook (Kent State University).
C. Pleasants York
(Sanford, NC)
C. Pleasants York, a collage artist and weaver, is former president of the North Carolina Poetry Society, the Lee County Arts Council, and San-Lee Writers.
Lisa Zerkle
(Charlotte NC)
Lisa Zerkle is an editor of Kakalak. Her poems have appeared in The Collagist, Southern Poetry Anthology VII: North Carolina, Broad River Review, Tar River Poetry, Nimrod, and others.
