Contributors

Edward Abbey was an American essayist and novelist known for his environmentally conscious writing. He once declined an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters because, during the week of the ceremony, he had plans of “going down a river in Idaho.” He died in 1989.

John Brehm is the author of two books of poems and the editor of The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy: Dharma Poems East and West, forthcoming in 2017. In the category of I-knew-this-would-pay-off-someday, he met his wife-to-be at a poetry reading.

Kim Church lives with her husband in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she divides her time between writing and law. Her debut novel, Byrd, won the Crook’s Corner Book Prize.

Kelly Daniels is the author of the memoir Cloudbreak, California. He currently lives in middle America with his wife and son, and one of these days he’s going to ride a bicycle across this or some other country.

Brian Doyle is a dad, a dad, a dad, a husband, the editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland, a son, a brother, a friend, a citizen, a pro-basketball nut, and a writer, in that order. His latest novel is titled Chicago. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Mary Jane Nealon’s memoir Beautiful Unbroken: One Nurse’s Life won the Bakeless Nonfiction Prize. She lives in Missoula, Montana, with her rescue dogs, Maisie and Cooper.

Ruth L. Schwartz is grateful that she’s able to redeem her youthful and not-so-youthful mistakes in poems. She is the author of five books, including the National Poetry Series winner Edgewater. She teaches creative writing in the low-residency MFA program at Ashland University and lives in Healdsburg, California.

Heather Sellers is the author of the memoir You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know, as well as a children’s book, three volumes of poetry, and three books on the craft of writing. She teaches writing in the MFA program at the University of South Florida.

Sparrow lives in the remote hamlet of Phoenicia, New York. His new book, How to Survive the Coming Collapse of Civilization (and Other Helpful Hints), is forthcoming in May. He is currently running for president of the United States. Follow him on Twitter: @Sparrow14

Leath Tonino is a freelance journalist and a poetry editor for the Afghan Women’s Writing Project. He recently won an award for an essay about hiking eight mountains in a day and then vomiting. He is a native of Vermont.

Chris P. Dougherty learned to take pictures from his father, a combat photographer in Vietnam. He lives in Seattle, Washington.

Rachel J. Elliott lives with her husband and teenage daughter in Carrboro, North Carolina. She is the photo editor at The Sun.

Gloria Baker Feinstein is a Kansas City–based photographer who learned how to use a darkroom in the seventh grade, took time off to run a gallery, and started making photos again on her fortieth birthday.

Robert Graham is art director of The Sun.

Jon Kral spent decades taking photographs for three daily newspapers in Florida. His books feature images of horses, steamboats, cowboys, and motorcycle races. He now lives in the mountains of North Carolina.

Lauren Kroll works in marketing and practices yoga. She lives in Glen Rock, New Jersey.

Kim McAlear lives in Ashland, Oregon, where she gardens and collects unusual seeds.

Tim Mele has been photographing nature for decades. “Progress” has so thoroughly changed the landscapes he’s visited that his images are now records of what once was. He lives in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Carol Messersmith is a retired teacher and school counselor who lives in Rocky Mount, Missouri.

Katherine Minott lives in Prescott, Arizona. She rescues spiders, sleeps a lot, and has a crush on singer Justin Bieber.

Grant Sorenson lives in Santa Clarita, California, where he’s thinking of planting a pine tree in his living room.

Tara Stella is a crocheting fanatic who makes scarves, blankets, and washcloths for family and friends. She lives in Dallas, Texas.

Anna Yeroshenko is a Russian photographer currently living on a sailboat in Boston, Massachusetts.