In the Silence of this Room
Our Writers and Photographers
NICK BAKSHI was born in the United States but moved, soon thereafter, to India, where he lived for two years. His father, a native of that country, raised him on internationalism, stressing the importance of world travel and open-mindedness. His mother, a former French professor, instilled in him a love for words and language that persists to this day. After spending the last seven months in France, Nick has returned to the United States to finish his studies at Brown University, where he double concentrates in Comparative Literature and Literary Arts. As a freshman, he was awarded the University's Beth Lisa Feldman Prize for his short story, Little Flowers. His fiction has appeared in Johnny America, Eclectica Magazine, Elimae, The Forge Journal, Diddledog, Pocket Change, and Static Movement. His greatest aspiration is to one day “out cool” his older sister Jules, an accomplished dancer and choreographer in New York City.
SITA BHASKAR was born in India and now lives in Madison, Wisconsin. She is the author of Shielding Her Modesty; a collection of short stories set on both sides of the globe. Her reviewers mention “shades of R.K. Narayan.” Sita’s short stories have been published in Crab Orchard Review, GSU Review, Desilit Magazine and TQR Stories. She received an Honorable Mention in Washington Post Magazine’s fiction contest for her story “Touch of Wrinkled Skin,” and placed as a finalist for her story “Safety in These Times,” with the Thomas Wolfe Literary Competition conducted by the North Carolina Writers’ Network. She has included this story in the anthology. Set either in India or America or the space in-between where immigrants resist the tug and pull of both sides, Sita calls her stories ‘a slice of life.’
ALEX BRAVERMAN was born in Lithuania in 1955, resided in Israel, South Africa, and now lives in Texas. Alex is a mathematician by profession, who finally abandoned this exciting career for the benefit of literature and the art of photography. His stories appeared in publications around the world: USA, Israel, South Africa, Ireland, and India. Alex’s photographs are exhibited in New York and Texas. He is currently working on a book dedicated to photography of modern dance. The Cover photograph for our new release, In the Silence of this Room, was taken by Alex Braverman.
A. JEFFERSON BROWN was born in the United States, a southern boy with a penchant for the darker side. He is a member of Cavender’s “Terrible Twelve” with the Horror Library and was published in Our Shadows Speak and Dark Distortions, among others. He is married with two children. Life enjoys him as much as he enjoys it.
RAQUEL CHALFI was born in Tel-Aviv where she lives and works. She studied at Hebrew University, at Berkeley University, and at the American Film Institute. She worked for Israeli radio and television as writer-director-producer, and has taught film at Tel Aviv University. She has published eight volumes of poetry, and is the recipient of numerous awards for her poetry as well as for her work in theater, radio and film. Her collected poems, Solar Plexus, Poems 1975-1999, appeared in 2002; in 2006 she received the Bialik Award for poetry as well as the Israeli Prime Minister's Prize for Hebrew Writers, the Ashman Prize 1999. Most recently, her work has appeared in the American Poetry Review, Zoland Annual, Metamorphoses, and in the anthology: Poets on the Edge –An Anthology of Contemporary Hebrew Poetry (SUNY Press, 2008).
Poet Chalfi’s translator, TSIPI KELLER was born in Prague, raised in Israel, and has been living in the U.S. since 1974. She is the recipient of several literary awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship, CAPS and NYFA awards in fiction, and an Armand G. Erpf award from Columbia University. Her translation of Dan Pagis’s posthumous collection, Last Poems, was published by The Quarterly Review of Literature (1993), and her translation of Irit Katzir’s posthumous collection, And I Wrote Poems, was published by Carmel, Israel (2000). Her recent translation collections are: Poets on the Edge – An Anthology of Contemporary Hebrew Poetry (SUNY Press, 2008); and The Hymns of Job & Other Poems (BOA Editions, 2008).
L. MCKENNA DONOVAN was born in the United States. She has been an editor, writer and writing coach for eighteen years. Although she works freelance writing for various companies and teaches writing courses on “style” and “creative brainstorming,” her current focus is the completion of her Master’s in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Goddard College in Vermont. Her master’s thesis is the first volume of a four-volume, cross-genre novel series. While her passion is writing long fiction, she takes occasional breaks to write vignettes in the flash and short story forms. She writes from her home in the Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina.
MARIE LYNAM FITZPATRICK was born in Ireland. She lives and works in the Irish Republic. Marie is a mother and writer. “Under Christian Crosses” was reprinted from The Binnacle at the University of Maine at Machias, 2006.
MARKO FONG is a fourth generation Chinese-American who was born, raised, and lives in Northern California. He never learned to speak Chinese and has never been to China. He recently completed a collection of short stories about the last Chinatown in America, Paper Ghosts, and set it in a town that never existed. It was once one of his dreams to dunk a basketball.
CLEVELAND W. GIBSON was born in colonial India in an atmosphere of color, mystery and intrigue. In the United Kingdom he has worked for many major companies as well as the government. He’s been involved with charity work, trained as a life guard and was a road race director for over ten years. Since taking up writing he’s published over 200 short stories, poems, articles in over eighty-five countries. Moondust represents his first surreal book of classic short stories, with a fantasy novel: Billabongo, to follow soon. He’s married with one son, teaches ESOL and helps novice writers.
HANNATU GREEN was born in Nigeria and lives in the United States. Hannatu is a born storyteller. She is married with eight children and has been sharing her folk tales with them all her life, as well as the schools and community centers in Minnesota. Hannatu comes from a large, extended family with a strong sense of responsibility and a proud African heritage. She notes, "My family were pioneers in everything; the first from my village to embrace western education, medicine and so much more."
JEFF HAAS was born in the United States, received a BA in English Language and Literature from the University of Chicago, and works as a technical writer in Atlanta. He made his first professional sale of a short story called “Cacophony of the Spheres” to Jim Baen’s Universe in 2008, and has published over thirty stories online and in print. “Spin Degrees of Freedom,” originally published on Eclectica, was named a Million Writers Award notable story of the year by StorySouth, and “Cacophony of the Spheres” and “Immortality Street” were selected as Editor’s Choices by Bewildering Stories. Jeff is currently working on a novel called Sugarville, a psychological thriller about a man whose faith is tested when he becomes the legal guardian of his troubled nephew.
ROBERT HAMPTON was born in the United States. Hampton accelerated his work in poetry the past ten years on a work-in-progress; Ode to An Intelligent Woman. The poetry offered for this anthology is part of that larger work. He’s published a few short stories in the seventies and some poetry in 1980 through 1990. He holds an M.A. in English. Robert has scaled down a career in business consulting and communications to special projects. He believes social, economic and political problems may be solved through a creative and artistic strategic and logistical approach instead of through a fragmentary and analytical approach. Hampton’s cultural heritage includes Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Bavarian and “according to my mother, Chickasaw Native American. My maternal relatives are Cherokee.”
ALAMGIR HASHMI was born in Pakistan. He has published eleven books of poetry and several volumes of literary criticism in the United States, England, Australia, Canada, Pakistan, India and other counties. He has won a number of awards and honors, and his work has been translated into several European and Asian languages. For over three decades he has taught in European, Asian, and U.S. Universities, as Professor of English and Comparative Literature. Although he has little faith in the determinants of birth or death as definitions of cultural life, he cares for people and places. He lived and taught in Cambridge, MA before moving overseas. He has also taught down south and on the West Coast. He began writing at the ripe old age of eleven and has not stopped since. Currently, he lives in Islamabad, Pakistan. ©Kashmir 1987 was reprinted from Inland and Other Poems by Alamgir Hashmi (Islamabad: Gulmohar Press, 1988), reprinted here with the author’s permission.
KYLE HEMMINGS: was born in the United States and holds an MFA in creative writing from National University, California. His stories and poems have been published in Verb Sap, Insolent Rudder, Night Train, Apple Valley Review, Off-Course Literary Review, Rose and Thorn, and others. Kyle confides his biggest aspiration is to draw like R. Crumb and loves the work of Lynda Barry as well. His story "Is There Life on Mars," was nominated for both a Pushcart and a StorySouth Million Writers award.
FRANK J. HUTTON: was born in the United States. Frank is a large format field photographer and fine art printer. His photographic effort centers upon artifacts of cultural history that are vanishing under the rigor of time and the wilderness. His work has been shown in galleries and exhibitions around the Great Lakes. Frank is also an editor of fiction and an author, with essays published in newsprint and works of fiction having appeared in various places, under a variety of pseudonyms.
SHANNA KARELLA was born and raised on a rural Alaskan homestead. Shanna continues to reside in Fairbanks where she makes her living coordinating a social outreach ministry, as a desktop publisher and doing occasional septic system percolation tests. She is a strong advocate of social justice activism and cultural understanding based on the inherent dignity and worth of the human person. Shanna’s poetry and essays have been published in print by local press, Ink Pot and The Ester Republic, as well as online at Right Hand Pointing and The Hiss Quarterly.
CAPTAIN KATHERINE ELIZABETH KENNEDY was born and raised on a farm in Clear Lake, Iowa. BS: Systems Engineering, West Point, MS: Strategic Intelligence, American Military University, completing a Master’s degree in psychology. Katie served in Iraq for two deployments and is writing a book relating to her experiences as the only Caucasian female on an Iraqi base in the Northern part of the country. She left active duty, serving her country in the reserves. She has been redeployed for a third tour of duty in Iraq.
TIFFANY LARSEN was born in 1980 and grew up in the rural community of Clear Lake, Iowa. She graduated from Carleton College, Northfield, MN, in 2003 with a major in geology. In between undergraduate and graduate school, Tiffany spent her time exploring European cultures through travel, practice in multiple artistic media, and working for a satellite imaging company. Outdoor recreational activities serve as a connection to nature, balancing Tiffany’s time indoors doing schoolwork. She completed a Master’s of Geology at the University of Vermont in 2008.
DEAN LAWSON was born in Canada. He is Associate Editor of flash fiction for the Grey Sparrow Journal and is an English Teacher, living in Tokyo with his wife. They are expecting their first child later this year. He has stories and poetry published or forthcoming in Clockwise Cat, Long Story Short and others. Hobbies include music recording and drawing. Two songs from his album Ballet of the Media were used in the film Day of the Carp, a New York International Independent Short Film Festival winner.
KULVINDER SINGH MATHARU was born in Tanzania. His parents moved to the UK when he was only two years old. His early childhood revolved around the wonders of science and the beauty of this planet. With his keen interest in electronics, it was only natural he received a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronic engineering and forged a successful career in telecommunications. Now with a steady income, Kulvinder was able to pursue his interests in travelling which, in turn, ignited a dormant need to capture the places he had visited. Initially using an affordable camera with full manual control, he has immersed himself into the world of photography with an online photographic portfolio. He provided two photographs of a Loatian village and the Mekong River.
ELSIE (STANWOOD) O’DAY was born in the United States and was a native of Maine. Elsie passed away June 17th, 2009. She lived an hour’s drive from the Canadian border, in Cherryfield. Relatively new to writing, she was the author of poetry and short stories. Her poems, “Rainy Night Swim,” appeared in the April edition of The Linnet’s Wings. Two additional poems, “Winter Storm” and a haiku: “Due North,” appeared in the fall issue of Wolf Moon Journal. She favored disciplined poetry and wrote sonnets, prose, and poetry. She had two novels in process.
JAMES S. OPPENHEIM was born in Washington, D.C., raised in Montgomery County, Maryland, schooled in Oxford, Ohio and resident in half a dozen Maryland towns (and, for a summer, Jacksonville, Florida). Jim has published in Equus, The North American Review, The Washington Post and Firehouse Magazine, worked as managing editor of the University of Maryland graduate literary magazine, Ethos. He has also had a life in music, producing one album and playing venues from cabin porches in West Virginia to bars in Florida. James offered the lovely dove that graces the back of the book. Today finds him in Hagerstown, Maryland as a photographer, singer/songwriter, and the editor of a blog: Oppenheim Arts & Letters devoted to the understanding of political conflicts and small wars, also art, culture, and language. The back of the dust jacket has a photograph of Doves for our new release In the Silence of this Room taken by James S. Oppenheim.
AJAY PRASANNAN was born and raised in the UK, where he currently works as a web designer and all-round IT troubleshooter. Regular trips to Kerala allow him to re-connect with his Indian roots and better understand the country he hopes to retire in.
IVAN GABRIEL REHOREK lives in Australia. As he noted, “I was born in the middle of the last century, in the middle of Europe in the middle of a river. That makes me a Gemini Earth Pig Mitsubishi with radiator ascendant, wow. My family is theatre people, writers, scientists, musicians and other disturbers of the peace. I breed saxophones (got four already) and on some nights, the moon comes in for a visit."
BILL FRANK ROBINSON was born near Raton, New Mexico. Billy Frank left school in ninth grade to work as a farm laborer. He joined the Air Force in 1950 for four years and spent one year in Korea as a medic in the war zone, three years at Los Angeles County Hospital in the emergency room, thirteen years as a mail carrier, seventeen years as a claims adjudicator for Social Security in San Francisco. He is retired and helping people with income taxes, Medicare, etc. He wrote a monthly serial for The Voice: a magazine based in Idaho, for thirty-six episodes. The serial was called “Archie Cleebo.”
DIANE SMITH was born in the United States. She retired from child welfare and writes about the homeless, immigrants, the poor, healthcare; those who have little visibility or power in society and has placed in international competition a few times. She is the editor for In the Silence of this Room, a new release which will be launched November 1st, 2009.
RANDY ULLAND granted special permission to include his photographs in this anthology. He said, “The work you've seen of Tibet was from my days living and working in East Asia as a journalist. I now live in Oxford, England and most of my time is thinly spread between my family and psychotherapy work. I am, by the way, from Duluth, MN, where most of my family still lives. I went to university in St. Paul.”
TOWNSEND WALKER was born in Washington, DC. He now lives in San Francisco after sojourns in New York, Paris, London, and Rome. Townsend has been writing short stories since 2005; a dozen have been published. He has also published books and articles on foreign exchange, derivatives, and portfolio management; the products of a thirty-year career in finance. “Mort pour la France” first appeared in Raving Dove and “I Can’t Forget” first appeared in Penguin.
ANN WALTERS: (a pen name,) holds a PhD in physical anthropology and was born in the United States. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two young daughters. Her poetry has appeared in Poet Lore, Poetry International, Cadenza, Orbis, The Pedestal Magazine, and many others. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and was shortlisted for the 2007 LICHEN Tracking, a Serial Poet competition.
MIKE WOOF was born in Scotland. Mike is a full time journalist living and working in the United Kingdom. He confides he’s been to every continent on the planet, barring Antarctica. Mike lived and worked in West Africa for a couple of years and his stories are based on his time there. He mainly travels through Europe and the United States these days. He noted, “A long time ago I was an engineer, but decided I didn’t like it. I write as a professional, then get home and write more, mainly fiction. I’ve got a non-fiction book released.”
N
ENG XIONG was born in Laos. She grew up in a Hmong Village (Meaung) and fled to Thailand when it was destroyed in war. She found sanctuary in the United States and became an American citizen. Neng, a widow, lives with her children in Minnesota; two are attending college. Neng’s stories are true and stand as testimony to courage and strength.
The photograph is of Neng Xiong and baby girl Kao in front of Neng's home in Laos. This is the only photograph she has as a young mother there. A photograph of Neng as a teenager is also included in the anthology. She is with her sister who died in the tall mountains of Laos.
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