OPENING LETTERS > FROM THE EDITORS
Just a couple of weeks ago, Jason and I returned from our annual trip to the spiritual home of Sky Island Journal: the Florida Mountains and the welcoming city of Deming, New Mexico. The time always evaporates, like morning dew in the sweltering sun, but this year we carved out a few extra days to explore the enchanting landscape that has become a second home to us. Early in the trip, we spent a calm Sunday evening scoping out the next morning's hike in a portion of the mountain range we've never seen or touched before. From the vantage point of our truck a few miles away, we saw what appeared to be a clear path leading up the mountain to a summit that would allow us to peer down to the eastern side of the valley, where we had set up camp. When the sun rose the next day, we drove closer to the mountain itself, found a suitable place to park, and started out on foot, using the paths originally blazed by free range cattle and perhaps the elusive ibex. To our astonishment, the trails developed in ways we couldn't have expected. We never did get to the seemingly distinct path we thought we saw from the road, but every twist and turn created fulfilling challenges and led to beautiful vistas beyond our imagination.
So it is with this journal. I can hardly believe that we're celebrating the release of our 20th issue, which signifies over five years in the life of Sky Island Journal. Along the way, we've followed paths that surprise, challenge, and delight us. Each step is carefully chosen, yet we continually find incredible joy in the uncertainties and unforeseen revelations that arise with each passing day. We've been moved by literature in ways we hoped, but never dared to actually dream possible, and met remarkable people (readers and writers) who form the vibrant community that we cherish in this shared experience of life's journey.
Whether you are new to Sky Island Journal or have been with us since our inception in 2017, we are thankful that you are here. Like the Florida Mountains, there will always be more to discover in the literary worlds created by our tremendous contributors. We know that you will be transported in your minds and hearts as you traverse the paths of the poems and narratives found within Issue 20. Stroll along with us, fully immerse yourself, and enjoy!
Respectfully,
Jeff Sommerfeld, Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief
As an international literary journal, our positive energy, rugged independence, and relentless tenacity have kept us strong—and publishing—through a global pandemic, a world at war, and personal tragedy closer to home. We believe in the power of the written word to save lives and change the world for the better; so pausing has never been an option.
As we grow, we draw on this same strength to ensure that every step we take into the always-uncertain future is made with kindness and humility. Reading and responding to every submission—then being able to share the work of writers from around the world, with readers from around the world—are privileges beyond the telling. We could not be more grateful for our beautiful, diverse family of over 600 contributors and our constellation of over 100,000 loyal, engaged readers in 145 countries.
We’ve elected to leave the "scroll-through experience" and pop-up ads to other literary platforms. By design, each published piece of writing in Sky Island Journal opens as a protected Word document for an authentic, focused, and immersive experience that encourages a close, intimate, distraction-free reading of the work. Readers, we want your experience with the work of our contributors to be singular: just as it would be on the printed page, with crisp white paper between your collective fingertips. Without advertising, you can fully engage with the worlds of words our contributors have so carefully crafted for you. Without subscription fees, you are welcome to read and enjoy whenever you like, wherever you like, regardless of your means. We believe in removing barriers between readers and access to high quality literature, especially in regions of the world that have traditionally been underserved by English language journals or completely ignored by the literary establishment.
We understand that all this is a radical departure from how many literary journals present writing to their readers online, but we think it is a refreshing change for the better. It’s okay to slow down here; it’s okay to take your time. It’s okay to think new thoughts and feel new feelings—to be transported emotionally and challenged intellectually. It’s okay to simply be present and savor—to reflect, to gather strength, to be inspired or called to action.
Here, you are one of us, and we are strong.
Welcome to Sky Island Journal, where the desert meets the mountains—where the indigenous meets the exotic and the old ways meet the digital frontier. Of the 1,539 individual pieces that we received from around the world for Issue 20, we found these 53 to be the finest. Enjoy.
Respectfully,
Jason Splichal, Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief
Andrew Cusick > Flash Fiction > New Jersey, USA
Andrew Cusick lives and teaches on the Jersey Shore. He’s been published in trampset, Flash Fiction Magazine, Blood Lotus, and Underground Voices. He’s currently working on what is hopefully his debut novel.
Anshu Choudhry > Poetry > India
Anshu Choudhry lives in New Delhi, India. She holds master’s degrees in Mathematics and English and currently works for the government. When she is not working on economic crimes, she often contemplates on human/feminist conflicts and earthly apathies. Her short stories and poems have been published in Indian and international journals, and her first book with a collection of short stories is soon to be published by Hawakal Publishers, Kolkata/ New Delhi.
Bracha K. Sharp > Poetry > Israel
Bracha K. Sharp’s education in English Literature and Psychology informs her writing in poetry, as well as a series of children's books, on which she is currently working. She has been published in the American Poetry Review and The Avocet Journal, among others, and placed first in the national Hackney Literary Awards for her poem; it subsequently appeared in the Birmingham Arts Journal. She was a finalist in the New Millennium Writings Poetry Awards and received a 2019 Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards Silver Medal for her debut children’s picture book, “The Challah Girl.” As her writing notebooks seem to end up finding their way into different rooms all over the house, she is always finding both old pieces to revisit and new inspirations to work with. When not writing, Bracha loves to spend time with her family and friends, while thinking fondly of her former literary-named guinea pigs. A former resident of New York and its various environs, she now resides in Jerusalem. Her poem, “A Question” takes its main inspiration from the wonderfully innate, G-D Given gift of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change itself, and to transform lives.
Christian Knoeller > Poetry > Indiana, USA
Christian Knoeller is Professor Emeritus of English at Purdue University. His first collection of poems, Completing the Circle from Buttonwood Press, was awarded the Millennium Prize. A Past President of the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature, he also received their Gwendolyn Brooks Prize for Poetry. His most recent book, Reimagining Environmental History was published by the University of Nevada Press (2017). Current projects included a sequel on environmental history, Revisiting Wild America, and a collection of poems entitled Time Signatures.
Christina H. Felix > Poetry > New Hampshire, USA
Christina H. Felix is a writer from the seacoast area of New Hampshire. Her poetry and articles have appeared in CALYX Journal, Sky Island Journal, The Café Review, Common Ground Review, First Traces, The Boston Globe, among others. She works for an educational company but can often be found with dirt on her hands helping plants grow in the community garden.
Claire Scott > Poetry > California, USA
Claire Scott is an award-winning poet who has received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations. Her work has appeared in the Atlanta Review, Bellevue Literary Review, New Ohio Review, Enizagam, and The Healing Muse among others. Claire is the author of Waiting to be Called and Until I Couldn’t.
David Axelrod > Poetry > Montana, USA
David Axelrod's ninth collection of poems, Years Beyond the River, appeared in 2021 from Terrapin Books. He is the author of two collections of nonfiction, most recently, The Eclipse I Call Father, published by Oregon State University Press. Recent work appears or is forthcoming in Willow Springs, Terrain, bracken, Weber--The Contemporary West, saltfront, and others. The director of the Eastern Oregon University low residency MFA and Wilderness, Ecology and Community programs, Axelrod makes his home in Missoula, Montana.
Dick Altman > Poetry > New Mexico, USA
Dick Altman writes in the high, thin, magical air of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where, at 7,000 feet, reality and imagination often blur. He is published in Santa Fe Literary Review, American Journal of Poetry, riverSedge, Fredericksburg Literary Review, Foliate Oak, Blue Line, THE Magazine, Humana obscura, The Offbeat, Haunted Waters Press, Split Rock Review, The RavensPerch, Beyond Words, Sky Island Journal, and others here and abroad. A poetry winner of Santa Fe New Mexican’s annual literary competition, he has in progress two collections of some 100 published poems. His work has been selected for the forthcoming first volume of The New Mexico Anthology of Poetry, to be published by the New Mexico Museum Press.
Elaine Fowler Palencia > Poetry > Illinois, USA
Elaine Fowler Palencia, from Champaign Illinois, has authored four poetry chapbooks. Her most recent chapbook, How to Prepare Escargots (Main Street Rag, 2020), presents poems about writers and writing. She is the book review editor of Pegasus, the journal of the Kentucky State Poetry Society. Her poetry and fiction have received seven Pushcart Prize nominations.
Erin Sandberg > Creative Nonfiction > New York, USA
Erin Sandberg lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she spends her days writing for a public health organization and her nights crafting essays and short stories. When she's not writing, she's probably taking a very long walk or listening to pop culture talk radio in the kitchen. Her work has appeared in The Writer's Rock Quarterly and Sky Island Journal.
Feiya Zhang > Poetry > Australia
Feiya Zhang lives in Melbourne, Australia. She is a science graduate and writes policy submissions for a nonprofit organization by day. By night, she writes, sometimes whilst watching Korean dramas. Her poetry work first appeared in Sky Island Journal in 2020.
Gary Carter > Poetry > North Carolina, USA
Gary Carter believes that pushing words around until they perhaps make sense sometimes seems to make sense. His short fiction and poetry have appeared recently in Nashville Review, Deep South Magazine, Steel Toe Review, Dead Mule, The Voices Project, Silver Birch, Live Nude Poems, Real South, Delta Poetry Review and Read Short Fiction. Forthcoming is a collection of short fiction entitled Kicking Dante’s Ass, and a new novel, Not Dark Yet, is making the rounds. Based in North Carolina, he also writes for print and online pubs, and sells a little real estate on the side.
Grant Chemidlin > Poetry > California, USA
Grant Chemidlin is a queer poet living in Los Angeles. He is the author of two collections of poetry, He Felt Unwell (So He Wrote This) and Things We Lost in The Swamp. He's been a finalist for the Gival Press Oscar Wilde Award, the Philip Levine Prize for Poetry, and is currently pursuing an MFA at Antioch University-Los Angeles. Recent work has been published or forthcoming in Tupelo Quarterly Review, Santa Clara Review, Arlington Literary Journal, and Nixes Mate Review, among others.
Ian Golub > Poetry > Pennsylvania, USA
Ian Golub grew up in Maryland, attended Miami of Ohio University and received his MBA from Georgetown University. During his career in finance and commercial real estate, he has lived in Mexico City, New York City and Cincinnati. He is proud to be a founding member of The Bros & Prose poetry group, and his poetry has appeared in Connections magazine. He loves the outdoors and works as a ski patrol and CPR instructor at a great little ski mountain in Pennsylvania.
James Barnes > Poetry > New Zealand
James Barnes is a freelance writer and a high school English teacher in New Zealand, after having immigrated from Oregon in 1988. Married with two grown sons, he acquired a bachelor’s in literature in 1974 and a master’s in theology in 1986; he began teaching in Oregon that same year. He accepted a job offer in New Zealand in 1988 where he taught for ten years, returned to teach in Colorado for six years, and then back to New Zealand where he has remained since 2003. Throughout his years of teaching, his muse remained with him. He’s created plays, poems, short stories, and a major fantasy novel that is with publishers now. Over the years, his writing has evolved into an integrated expression of both Oregon and New Zealand landscapes and experiences. He is a citizen of both countries. His background growing up on the coast of Oregon was steeped in the forests and rivers of the land. His father was a logger and fisherman, his mother a lover of fine literature and film. He’s always had a passion for exploring myth and the worlds built from mythology. His poetry arises from his inner discoveries and experience of the natural world.
Jen Gayda Gupta > Poetry > Connecticut, USA
Jen Gayda Gupta is a teacher, an avid hiker, and a horse lover. She is currently on the run from responsibility, living nowhere at all with her husband and their dog. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Anti-Heroin Chic, Dodging the Rain, Jellyfish Review, Sledgehammer, The Shore, and others.
John Muro > Poetry > Connecticut, USA
A lover of all things chocolate, John Muro is a graduate of Trinity College, Wesleyan University and the University of Connecticut. In the Lilac Hour, his first volume of poems, was published in 2020 by Antrim House and it is available on Amazon. A two-time, 2021 nominee for the Pushcart Prize, John’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous literary journals and anthologies, including Barnstorm, Grey Sparrow, Mobius, River Heron, Sky Island Journal, Writer Shed and the French Literary Review. His second volume of poems, Pastoral Suite, will be released this spring.
Julie Weiss > Poetry > Spain
Julie Weiss (she/her) is the author of The Places We Empty, her debut chapbook published by Kelsay Books. She was a finalist in Alexandria Quarterly´s First Line Poetry Series, a finalist for The Magnolia Review´s Ink Award, and she was shortlisted for Kissing Dynamite´s 2021 Microchap Series. A two-time Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominee, her recent work appears in Orange Blossom Review, Minyan Magazine, Sheila-Na-Gig, Sky Island Journal, and others. Originally from California, she lives in Spain with her wife and two young children.
Karen Poppy > Poetry > California, USA
Karen Poppy has work published in numerous literary journals, magazines, and anthologies. Her chapbooks CRACK OPEN/EMERGENCY (2020) and OUR OWN BEAUTIFUL BRUTALITY (2021) are both published by Finishing Line Press. Her chapbook, EVERY POSSIBLE THING, is published by Homestead Lighthouse Press (2020). An attorney licensed in California and Texas, Karen Poppy lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Kripi Malviya > Poetry > India
Kripi Malviya is an existential psychotherapist and poet from India where she runs an emotional wellbeing practice combining psychotherapy, social justice and the creative process. Her work has been published notably in Muse India, Nether Quarterly, World Literature Review, and Black Warrior Review. She is the winner of the 2017 Rhythm Divine International Poetry Chapbook contest for her first poetry collection, ale(theia).
Lana Lehpamer > Poetry > Croatia
Lana Lehpamer is an MA art student at the Academy of fine arts in Zagreb, Croatia. She is interested in working with words and poetry but also illustrations and abstract paintings as well as performances, audio and video art. She made a small local poetry zine titled F23, and her poetry has recently been published in Grime Prophet Mag and Ugly Duckling Presse.
Laura Morris > Flash Fiction > New Jersey, USA
Laura Morris has been an actor, singer, chef, teacher, producer, and screenwriter. She’s hiked in the Himalayas, scaled the walls of the Roman Coliseum on a dare, crawled on hands and knees to spot Rhinos in the African bush, and sat on the Queen’s throne at Buckingham Palace. (She’s sure MI6 tracks her to this day.) Her work has been published in several anthologies and recently in Hobart and Amethyst Review.
Linda Michel-Cassidy > Poetry > California, USA / New Mexico, USA
Linda Michel-Cassidy lives on a houseboat in Northern California and in an old adobe in rural Northern New Mexico. Her writing appears or is upcoming in Rattle, Tahoma Review, Painted Bride, Catamaran, Tolsun Books’ The Book of Life After Death, and others. She is a senior reviews editor at Tupelo Quarterly, an installation artist, and a teacher.
Lisa Molina > Creative Nonfiction > Texas, USA
Lisa Molina is a writer/educator in Austin, Texas. Her digital poetry chapbook, Don't Fall in Love with Sisyphus, (Fahmidan Publishing & Co) launched in February 2022, and she has another chapbook to begin pre-sales in November 2022, and launching in March 2023. Recently, The Ekphrastic Review named her flash fiction piece as a finalist in the Fifty Shades of Blue competition. Molina's creative nonfiction, flash fiction, and poetry can be found in numerous publications, including Flash Fiction Magazine, Bright Flash Literary Review, Epoch Literary Journal, Beyond Words Magazine, Sparked Literary Magazine, and Neologism Poetry Journal. When not writing, she enjoys reading, singing, playing the piano, and spending time with her family. She now works with high school students with special needs, and loves sharing with them the joys of reading and writing.
Lorrie Ness > Poetry > Virginia, USA
Originally from Indiana, Lorrie Ness currently lives and writes in Virginia, where she takes her inspiration from the outdoors. When not writing, she can be found hiking, birding and otherwise digging in the dirt or disappearing into the woods. Her work can be found at numerous online journals including Palette Poetry, THRUSH, Typishly, The Shore, and Sky Island Journal. Her chapbook, Anatomy of a Wound was published in 2021 by Flowstone Press.
Maggie Showalter > Creative Nonfiction > Colorado, USA
Maggie Showalter is the pen name of a writer and teacher in Colorado.
Maryam Imogen Ghouth > Poetry > United Arab Emirates
Maryam Imogen Ghouth leads a quiet life in the leafy suburbs of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where she collaborates with artists to make poetry films that explore psychological constructs such as envy and existential crises. Her "Journey of Becoming" series was showcased in Dubai’s arthouse cinema, Akil. Her poem, "Under the Sun," was featured in Alla Dulh’s short film and is premiering worldwide. Her latest work focuses on written poetry, deriving metaphors from nature, science, and the inanimate to help her reconcile some of life’s intimate complexities, including selfhood, love, and the coincidence of opposites. Maryam's first chapbook is forthcoming.
Megan Merchant + Luke Johnson > Call and Response Poetry > Arizona, USA + California, USA
Megan Merchant (she/her) is the co-owner of www.shiversong.com and is the author of four full length collections. The latest, Before the Fevered Snow was released at the start of the pandemic with Stillhouse Press. Her most recent awards include a drawing of a mermaid from her son for being the World's Best Mom and the Inaugural Michelle Boisseau Prize with Bear Review.
Luke Johnson lives on the California coast with his wife and three kids. His poems can be found at Kenyon Review, Narrative Magazine, Florida Review, Frontier, Thrush and elsewhere. His manuscript in progress was recently named a finalist for the Jake Adam York Prize, The Levis Prize through Four Way Press, and The Vassar Miller Award.
Michelle McMillan-Holifield > Poetry > Mississippi, USA
Michelle McMillan-Holifield is a recent Best of the Net and Pushcart nominee. Her work has been included in or is forthcoming in Boxcar Poetry Review, Nelle, Sky Island Journal, The Collagist, The Main Street Rag, Whale Road Review, and Windhover among others. She hopes you one day find her poetry tacked to a tree somewhere in the Alaskan Wild.
Nicholas Trandahl > Poetry > Wyoming, USA
Nicholas Trandahl is a U.S. Army veteran, poet, newspaper journalist, and outdoorsman. He lives in Wyoming with his wife and three daughters. His poetry collections are Pulling Words (Winter Goose Publishing, 2017), Think of Me (Winter Goose Publishing, 2018), and Bravery (Winter Goose Publishing, 2019). His novel Good Brave People was published by Winter Goose Publishing in 2020. Trandahl’s poetry collection Bravery was the recipient of the 2019 Wyoming Writers Milestone Award, and his poem “Francis and Sistani” has been nominated for the 2021 Pushcart Prize. His poems have been published in various literary journals and anthologies, including but not limited to the James Dickey Review, The Mountain: an Anthology of Mountain Poems, Sky Island Journal, The Dewdrop, Deep Wild Journal, Duck Head Journal, and in a forthcoming anthology from the New York Quarterly themed around spirituality and faith. Additionally, Trandahl serves as the Chairman of the annual Eugene V. Shea National Poetry Contest and is the poetry editor for the literary journal The Dewdrop.
Patrick Dawson > Flash Fiction > United Kingdom
Patrick Dawson spent nearly three decades as a broadcast journalist at NBC News, ABC and CNN, during which he was nominated for three Emmy Awards and was twice the recipient of Emmy awards for Outstanding Writing in News. His short story, “The Language of Rivers,” was the recipient of the 45th New Millennium Writings prize for fiction in 2018. His story, “Threesome,” was a finalist in Narrative's Fall 2018 contest and longlisted for the Virginia Woolf Award for Short Fiction. He was a semifinalist for the 2021 Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize and his story, “Purgatory,” was longlisted for the Pulp Literature Press Hummingbird Flash Fiction Prize. He was selected as a participant in the 2021 Bread Loaf Writers Conference and the 2022 Sirenland Writers Conference in Italy. His work has been published in New Millennium Writings, Cowboy Jamboree, and Sky Island Journal. He is currently at work on a novel and a collection of short fiction.
Philip Kuan > Flash Fiction > California, USA
Philip Kuan is an aspiring writer with a passion for befuddling readers. Some of his favorite authors include Charles Dickens, Tolkien, and Franz Kafka, among others. He has been published in several short story magazines and is always looking for constructive feedback.
R.B. Simon > Poetry > Wisconsin, USA
R.B. Simon is a queer writer of African, Native- and European-American descent. She has been writing poetry since teenage angst first hit at age eleven but sincerely hopes it has improved with age. She has been published in multiple journals, among them the Terra Preta Review, The Green Light Literary Journal, Blue Literary Journal, Electric Moon, Cutleaf Journal, and Literary Mama. Her chapbook, The Good Truth, was released in July 2021 from Finishing Line Press. She is currently living in Madison, Wisconsin with her spouse, young adult daughter, and four unruly little dogs.
Rebecca Ressl > Poetry > Wisconsin, USA
Rebecca Ressl is a professional grant writer for community nonprofits and a volunteer at several conservation organizations in Madison, Wisconsin. She is an emerging creative writer with work forthcoming in Second Chance Lit.
Robert Rinehart > Poetry > New Zealand
Robert Rinehart holds a master’s degree in English (creative writing) from CSU, Sacramento, and a doctorate in sociology of sport. Raised in California, he's lived in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2008. Publications include poetry in Mayhem, emerge, and Chelsea, fiction in Aethlon, and many scholarly articles about sport—mostly extreme sport.
Ruchka Ghulati > Poetry > India
Ruchka Ghulati is a native of India and resides in New Delhi. She is a versatile writer. Her work has been applauded by and published in Train River Poetry Fall 2019 Anthology, Ink Gladiators Press—The Fall and Rise of Chimeras: Autumn Seasonal 2020 Anthology, Ink Gladiators Press—Capsized: The Pandemic Lockdown: Summer Seasonal 2020 Anthology, Ink Gladiators Press—Gray Volume 1: We Hide Our Colors Within Anthology, and Ink Feathers Publishing—Lost and Misunderstood (short fiction). Ruchka is an art enthusiast who enjoys dabbling in watercolours. Her quest is to visit the places made famous in the yellowing pages of English literature.
Samantha Liu > Flash Fiction > New Jersey, USA
Samantha Liu is a high schooler from New Jersey, medalist in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and graduate of the Adroit Journal Summer Mentorship. Her work appears in The New York Times, trampset, Polyphony Lit, and elsewhere.
Sarah Kartalia > Flash Fiction > France
A native of Westminster, Maryland, Sarah Kartalia moved to France at 21 where a six-month contract turned into three decades and counting. Today, she coaches multicultural teams and teaches Leadership and Business Storytelling in companies and MBA programs in France and Europe. She was the Grand Prize winner for Short Fiction in INKWELL Magazine and her flash fiction appeared in Kerning, Toad Hall Editions literary magazine.
Sarah Normandie > Creative Nonfiction > Connecticut, USA
Sarah Normandie lives in New England. A former teacher and government attorney, Sarah currently negotiates multi-million dollar deals for a Fortune-500 Company by day and writes by night. Married to her high school prom date, she is the proud mom of two amazing children. Sarah has studied writing under the UCLA Writers’ Extension Program and has been a longstanding student of several writing and philosophy classes led by Hollywood story structure guru, John Truby. She recently completed her novel, Monsters Like Us and is working on her next book.
Sarah Xu > Poetry > California, USA
Sarah Xu is a poet, writer, and musician who hails from San Diego, California. She is currently earning her B.A. in Psychology and minoring in Philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles. When she’s not writing, Sarah can be found teaching piano lessons and taking long walks along the beach.
Sera Gamble > Poetry > California, USA
Sera Gamble is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in Tinderbox, Washington Square, Nerve, The Wall Street Journal, and in various anthologies. She co-created the television series You and The Magicians. Sera is a first-generation American living in Los Angeles, where she likes to grab coffee across the street from the movie lot where The Wizard of Oz was filmed, because they erected a permanent rainbow over the soundstage.
Vali Hawkins-Mitchell > Creative Nonfiction > Hawaii, USA
Vali Hawkins-Mitchell works and writes from her office across the street from the Honolulu Zoo. Former professor at Washington State University, International Disaster Responder, and award- winning artist, Vali holds a Doctorate in Health Education, a Master of Science in Psychology, and a Master of Expressive Arts Therapy. Her books, poetry, essays, non-fiction, and creative fiction have been published in numerous literary and professional trade journals, such as Star82Review, Blink-ink, and The Disaster Recovery Journal. Her art and other works can be found on her website.
William R. Stoddart > Poetry > Pennsylvania, USA
William R. Stoddart is a Pushcart nominated poet and fiction writer who lives in Southwestern Pennsylvania. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in North Dakota Quarterly, Autumn Sky Poetry, Litbreak Magazine, Adirondack Review, and Ruminate Magazine.