Francisco "Cisco" Covino Deaso is a junior at UMass Amherst. Writing has always been a passion for him. Kurt Vonnegut, among others, serve as inspiration for his stories. He lives in Leverett, MA, and plans to continue to write long into the future.

 

Jane Frankel, contributing artist, is a senior at Mount Holyoke College. She hopes to become a professional writer. Her favorite authors are Shirley Jackson and Katherine Mansfield.

Caitlin Orr, contributing artist, is a senior majoring in Religion with a minor in Philosophy.  She is planning on participating in the JET program and will move to Japan in a few months to teach English.  She wrote “Dessert” as part of an assignment to use a news article to inspire a story; she read about German Brothels giving discounts to the Baby Boomer population and Humbert came straight to her thoughts.  She loved getting a chance to do some of the sketches in the journal, as making weird art is another hobby of hers. Caitlin enjoys aliens, sushi, and drinking port.

Anjali Parasnis-Samar will be graduating this May with a B.A. in English. She does not yet know what she will officially be doing next year, but she knows she will definitely be spending as much time as she can writing. Her story “Burning Bright” came out of an assignment to write a story based on a newspaper article.

Hannah Tello is graduating with a degree in English and a minor in psychology. She has plans to attend a graduate program in education at the University of Massachusetts. She has been a prolific writer since she could hold a pen, and has been published in newspapers, literary journals, and political magazines. Her long term aspirations include moving to the West Coast, publishing a collection of short stories, and buying a farmhouse with Irish Gypsy horses. For now, she is content to move home to New Hampshire and take time to fill up her portfolio.

Sarah Twombly, director and web designer, graduated from Mount Holyoke in December 2007 with a degree in anthropology and a minor in English. She was the winner of the 2007 Kathryn Irene Glascock '22 Intercollegiate Poetry Competition. (Click here to hear Sarah reading her poem "Exsular.") She has spent the past semester assistant teaching in the English department at Mount Holyoke, finishing her novel, and preparing her poetry collection. She has no idea what the future will hold, but hopes it will involve writing and editing.

Mariah Whitbread-Hardman is a member of the (graduating) class of 2008 at Mount Holyoke College.  She is a biology major with an English minor and looks forward to her career as a teacher in the Boston area.  Nose Beans was a story inspired by two objects; the first was a threadbare baby blanket and the second was a dried purple bean her mother sent in the mail. (Don't worry, it's a gardener thing.)  The story was originally set in rural Appalachia during prohibition, but with the help of the English 303 class and Professor Demas, it evolved into a stronger story with a contemporary setting.

Julia Workman, a member of Mount Holyoke’s class of 2008, has enjoyed many creative writing classes at Mount Holyoke.  During her junior year, Julia lived and studied in Heidelberg, Germany.  After graduation, she will teach English outside of Vienna on a Fulbright.