Writers

John Bargowski lives in New Jersey and likes to walk in the countryside after sunset, trying to identify planets and constellations. He has written two books of poetry, American Chestnut and Driving West on the Pulaski Skyway.

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Patricia Fancher teaches writing in Santa Barbara, California. She often writes essays about her mother or sex. Occasionally she writes about her mother and sex, which gets awkward. You can follow her on Twitter until the ship goes down: @trish_fancher.

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Camille Guthrie’s most recent book of poetry is Diamonds. She lives in rural Vermont and teaches writing at Bennington College. Her short story in this issue is an excerpt from a novel and her first published piece of fiction.

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Staci Kleinmaier is the assistant editor of The Sun. She enjoys camping, crocheting, and swearing. You can follow her on Twitter: @StaciKleinmaier.

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Kéchi Nne Nomu has worked as a mural painter, a civil engineer, and an editor. She teaches at the University of Virginia. You can follow her on Twitter: @kemnomu.

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Mark O’Brien was a poet and journalist. His books include three collections of poetry and the autobiography How I Became a Human Being: A Disabled Man’s Quest for Independence. He died in 1999.

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Emily Sernaker is a writer and educator who lives in New York City. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Ms., and McSweeney’s.

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Leath Tonino lives in Ferrisburgh, Vermont, and is the author of two essay collections, most recently The West Will Swallow You. He’d say more here, but he has to save something for his essay in this issue.

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Photographers

Shani Armstrong is a reader-services specialist at The Sun who recently moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to North Carolina, where she is enjoying the slower pace. She is grateful to her mother, who taught her the power of blessed quiet and an appreciation for the divine.

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Philip Arnold is a media producer who splits his time between North Carolina and Ohio. You can follow him on Instagram: @pja22.

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Rita Bernstein is a visual artist who used to work as a civil-rights attorney. She has been a long-distance runner for more than forty-five years and is too compulsive to consider skipping a day.

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Semoy Booker is a Buddhist storyteller who lives in New York City and writes film reviews for Incluvie.com.

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Adetolani Davies Jr. is a Nigerian documentary photographer who hopes to be an international filmmaker soon.

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Gina Easley’s perfect day is any day spent on the Oregon coast with her husband, beachcombing and taking photos while her dog, Dolly, chases sea-foam and makes friends with everyone she meets.

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Doug Frantz is a photographer who lives in Brattleboro, Vermont, where he helps grow fruit and nut trees, flowers, and vegetables for an environmental-education center.

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Holly Harris is a wedding photographer who lives in Tucson, Arizona. After being bullied as a child for wearing orthopedic shoes, she began photographing other people’s shoes to work through her feelings. Today she is proud to be able to get to the top of very tall mountains on her very flat feet.

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Suzanne Pedersen (Lopez) became interested in photography when she was raising her two daughters. Now she spends her time doing portrait photography and managing a gym. She lives in Arvada, Colorado.

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Laurie Minor lives in Pelham, Ontario, Canada, and is the author of seven books of photography including Jump and Moments with Max.

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On The Cover

Cornell Watson is a photographer who lives in Durham, North Carolina. His work has been published in The New York Times and The Washington Post, including his photography project “Behind the Mask,” about the Black experience in the United States. He took the photo on this month’s cover at Livingstone College, a historically Black college in Salisbury, North Carolina.

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Staff

Editor and Founder
Sy Safransky

Senior Editor
Andrew Snee

Art Director
Robert Graham

Associate Editors
Derek Askey
Finn Cohen
Nancy Holochwost
David Mahaffey

Editorial Associate
& Photo Editor

Rachel J. Elliott

Assistant Editor
Staci Kleinmaier

Manuscript Reader
Hank Stephenson

Proofreader
Seth Mirsky

Outreach Coordinator
Anna Gazmarian


Publisher
Rob Bowers

Associate Publisher
Holly McKinney

Director of Development
& Outreach

Molly House

Reader Services Manager
Chrystal Pitt

Reader Services
Specialists

Shani Armstrong
Andrew Gleason

With Help From
Manuscript Reading
Dave Hart
Paula Jolin

Proofreading
Erica Berkeley
Jill Cooper