CONTRIBUTORS

Jerome Amster is a junior studying Philosophy and Creative Writing. He has just arrived home after a semester in Nagasaki. He likes spending his time reading books by Japanese authors, especially Haruki Murakami. His favorite novel is Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

Lily Acevedo is just your friendly neighborhood Spider Man.

William Ballner is a graduating senior, having majored in Creative Writing and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. They are passionate about tabletop roleplaying games, fantasy, and supporting student services. They plan on continuing to write while working in Higher Education Student Affairs.

Olivia Biederman is a sophomore studying English with a concentration in Creative Writing.

Haley Carlisle is a Creative Writing major, children’s librarian, avid reader, self-published children’s book author, and self-taught artist.

Ananda Cash is twenty years old and a junior majoring in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and minoring in Film and Video Studies. She is aspiring to have a successful career as a screenwriter and novelist.

Bri Castagnozzi is studying English in the 4 + 1 program. She enjoys writing interstitial fiction that explores the connections between ethnic, spiritual, and environmental narratives. In addition to writing, she likes to draw and play violin, and is an avid falconer.

Caitlyn Castro is a violinist, writer, and creative, pursuing an interest in deep listening as a healing practice. She was Montville High School’s 2015-2016 Poet Laureate, as well as concertmaster at SUNY New Paltz’s College Youth Symphony. In 2018, she took first runner-up at the Hudson Valley CYS Concerto Competition.

Katie Cavallucci is a senior majoring in English Adolescent Education. She loves to write about her beautiful family and friends, her dogs, and her cat, and can usually be found playing piano, watching Game of Thrones, fretting over her neglected succulents, or hiking somewhere that has a nice view.

Taylor Dinardo is a second-year student pursuing a major in Linguistics with a minor in Creative Writing, while also working toward her Master’s in Computer Science. She enjoys writing prose in many different forms, often infusing serious topics such as addiction and mental illness with humor and levity.

Luciano Salem Dumola is graduating in May with a major in Psychology and minors in Studio Art and Evolutionary Studies, but always a writer at heart. He mostly enjoys reading and writing poetry and short stories, as well as writing and illustrating comic books.

Nicole Ecker is a junior with a major in English Adolescent Education and a minor in Creative Writing. She has been writing for a few years but most recently found a drive for creative nonfiction. Nicole looks forward to sharing her passion for reading and writing with her future students.

Reid Elliott is a senior studying Creative Writing and Music. He looks forward to attending Syracuse University for graduate studies in the fall. Above all, Reid is grateful for the creative climate New Paltz works so hard to foster.

Jacob Fraser-Gilbert is a writer and poet from upstate New York. His work varies from surreal to romantic in its style and tone while remaining consistent in its characteristic use of vivid imagery and focus on human experience. When sitting down to write, his intention is always to, hopefully, communicate an illuminating perspective and leave the reader with something they did not possess before.

Eliza Gentry is a junior studying English with a minor in Sociology. She grew up in Montclair, New Jersey, and has also lived in Tallahassee, Florida and Claryville, New York. She enjoys rock climbing, backpacking, reading, and playing the ukulele.

Kate Gervey is a junior. She has been writing since she found out it was a thing people do. She likes birds and going outside when it’s stormy. Her career goals include retiring to a bog, where she will good-naturedly menace the nearby townsfolk.

Robyn Hager is a Creative Writing major currently in her junior year. She is an avid writer who has recently published her first book, Sewage Flowers, which is a collection of her poetry, and has also been published by Greenkill Art Gallery in their monthly newsletter.

Keira Hulihan is currently in her last semester here at SUNY New Paltz, which she wants to enjoy as much as possible before becoming a starving author. Much of her free time is dedicated to reading and writing, and as she continues to study, the influence of language and words becomes more and more relevant. Writing, she thinks, is one of the most powerful and effective media, and she never wants to stop exploring it.

Skyler Jones is a senior majoring in History. He likes the fiction of John Updike (and Don Delillo), the criticism of Wendell Berry, and the poetry of Philip Levine. This is his first time submitting to a literary magazine.

Kerri Kolensky is a sophomore from Long Island, New York majoring in journalism. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading, knitting, adventuring with friends, or watching the latest episode of The Bachelor. She hopes to keep writing the stories of her life and the world around her.

Emily LaSita is a senior studying Creative Writing and English and pursuing minors in Art Studio and Art History. She is an active contributor, copy editor, and graphic designer for the New Paltz literary and arts magazine, The Teller.

Luci is gay, Latinx, formerly from Washington Heights, a lover of coffee, and out to make formal poetry sexy again.

Carly Madden is finishing up her college career this spring as an English Major with a minor in Music. She plans to continue writing creatively both in and out of her career after graduation. A special thanks to her family for always encouraging and supporting her writing endeavors.

Bella Mauro is a sophomore majoring in English with a creative writing concentration and considering minors in philosophy and French. Aside from writing, she is very passionate about environmental issues and spirituality, which she tries to use in her work.

Michaela Monahan is originally from Millbrook, New York, and is currently a junior with a concentration in Creative Writing and a minor in Sociology.

Emma Elisabeth Murphy is a 23-year-old Creative Writing major. She fell in love early with attuning to the voice of the natural world and relating it to her emotional landscape. Her favorite subjects to ponder are cycles of time and the subtleties of relationship dynamics.

Isaac Murphy is a creative writing major. He is in his junior year and is currently studying the crafts of memoir and the illustrated essay.

Michelle Nedboy is a sophomore studying English with a concentration in Creative Writing, as well as minoring in Music. She plays the violin in the school’s College/Youth Symphony and writes for the school’s student magazine, The Teller.

Neoma is an English major with both Creative Writing and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minors. She uses writing to help work through personal traumas while also finding the romantic within herself.

Anna Nikolić  is a poet from the city majoring in pigeon studies.

Michael O’Brien lives in Hyde Park, New York, with his partner Brisa and their dog, Sausage Boy. He enjoys reading and writing, and is in the process of teaching Sausage Boy to speak English.

Maria Pauer is currently in her second year at SUNY New Paltz. She is studying English (with a concentration in Creative Writing) and Theatre (with a concentration in Performance). She loves all kinds of writing and is always striving to improve.

Zach “Yogi” Percy learned to write at a young age and finished his first short story—a riveting tale about a cowboy penguin—when he was five. Hailing from upstate New York, Zach plans to graduate in May.

Emma Philippas is a junior studying English with a concentration in Creative Writing. She minors in Spanish. She is an avid writer and reader, and listener of music.

Jay Porcelli is an English major and Philosophy minor in their second year of college. They enjoy hiking, reading, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Olivia Rodriguez is currently a Visual Arts major and loving every moment! She’s recently discovered Visual Language and she’d love to do more with it since it combines both drawing and writing. She hopes to inspire others with her work now and in the future.

Jadae Rose is a creative soul, reliable friend, and profoundly wise college student from the Bronx.

Jack Silver is a senior Creative Writing major. His writing is reflective of his emotional state—he uses abstract imagery as a means of translating his feelings into language. He prefers songwriting as his central mode of creative expression, but is experimenting with poetry and short story writing.

Irene Tapert is a writer from New York City. Before she could write herself, she was constantly telling stories and acting them out. Irene began studying theater and realized that, though she loves telling other people’s stories, she needed to share her own. This led her to New Paltz to study Creative Writing.

Rusty Watts is a devoted father of four and currently a Psychology major. He is also involved in community theater and enjoys singing. He only writes in his spare time and has never considered pursuing writing as a profession, though he does enjoy it.