Learning to ride, falling down, getting back on
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John Bargowski’s garden produced a bumper crop last summer in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. His poem in this issue is from his forthcoming book, American Chestnut. His first book of poetry was Driving West on the Pulaski Skyway.
Hanna Bartels recently moved to California, where her newest hobby is watching harbor seals swim the tidal channels. Her fiction has appeared in Moon City Review, and she is working on a novel.
Blessing J. Christopher is a Nigerian writer and food enthusiast. She lives in Blacksburg, Virginia, and is currently creating new recipes while working on her first novel. You can connect with her on Twitter: @delamore001.
Lisa Dordal lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her wife and their retired greyhound. She is the author of two poetry collections, Mosaic of the Dark and the forthcoming Water Lessons. She recently completed a book based on her mother’s letters, titled Next Time You Come Home, to be published by Black Lawrence Press in 2023.
Mohan Fitzgerald lives in Chicago, where he is developing into a first-rate server of Italian food. He’s writing a novel about a criminal video-rental empire.
Robbie Gamble’s forthcoming chapbook is A Can of Pinto Beans. For many years he worked as a nurse practitioner caring for people experiencing homelessness in Boston. He divides his time between Massachusetts and Vermont.
Jonathan Winston Jones is a social scientist and writer who mostly paid for college by working night shifts in a steel-die factory. He lives in Chicago. You can follow him on Twitter: @JWinstonJones.
Norman Minnick came of age in the 1980s punk scene of Louisville, Kentucky, and was the lead singer of the band Bush League. He lives in Indianapolis and is the author of the poetry collection Advice for a Young Poet.
Leath Tonino is the author of two essay collections, The Animal One Thousand Miles Long and The West Will Swallow You. He avoids social media, but a friend drafted a fake LinkedIn profile for him: “Leath is a nature sad-boy. . . . He’d make a great teacher for little kids and celebrities experiencing burnout. . . . You’d be an idiot not to hire him to mow your lawn.”
Danielle Austen is a photographer who lives in New Jersey. When hiking and kayaking she tries to capture what the casual observer may overlook.
Marcia Krause Bilyk earned a photography badge in Girl Scouts and has been practicing ever since. A retired pastor, she lives in Columbia, New Jersey, and works at a residential treatment center for substance-use disorders. You can follow her on Instagram: @marciabilyk.
Sandy Carter is a photographer and grandmother who lives in Bellingham, Washington. She recently started playing the ukulele.
Eric Davidove is a street photographer who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. His past experience as a mime helps him anticipate street moments and take photos without upsetting people.
Gloria Baker Feinstein lives in Portland, Oregon, and enjoys taking her two Havanese pups for hikes in the woods. She is also working on a book, which she hopes to publish this spring.
Gary Matson lives in Sunnyside, New York, and shoots film using rangefinder cameras. His work has appeared in Black & White and The Photo Review.
Steve Patterson is a photographer and playwright who lives in Portland, Oregon.
Cole Thompson has spent the last two years taking care of family, growing his hair long, and earning an honorary degree in social distancing. He lives in Laporte, Colorado.
Ryan Trimble is a writer, photographer, bicycle mechanic, and tobacco-pipe maker who lives in Orem, Utah.
Rex Wilder learned to love photography while working for Playboy in his late teens and early twenties — a long, long time ago. He took the photo of the egret on this month’s cover in the Venice Canals in Venice Beach, California.
Editor and Founder Sy Safransky
Senior Editor Andrew Snee
Art Director Robert Graham
Digital-Media Director David Mahaffey
Associate Editor Finn Cohen
Assistant Editors Derek Askey Nancy Holochwost
Editorial Associate & Photo Editor Rachel J. Elliott
Editorial Assistant Staci Kleinmaier
Proofreader Seth Mirsky
Editorial Intern Anna Gazmarian
Publisher Rob Bowers
Associate Publisher Holly McKinney
Director of Development & Outreach Molly House
Reader Services Manager Chrystal Pitt
Reader Services Specialist Shani Armstrong
With Help From Manuscript Reading Dave Hart Paula Jolin Gillian Kendall Hank Stephenson
Proofreading Erica Berkeley Jill Cooper