Contributor’s Notes
Claire Bateman is the author of six books of poetry: The Bicycle Slow Race (Wesleyan, 1991), Friction (Eighth Mountain, 1998), At the Funeral of the Ether (Ninety-Six Press, 1998), Clumsy (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2003), Leap (New Issues, 2005) and Coronology (Etruscan Press, 2010). She has been awarded Individual Artist Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and a Surdna Fellowship. Claire has taught at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville, SC, as well as at Clemson University and Chattanooga State University, and at summer writing conferences such as Bread Loaf and Mount Holyoke.
Elizabeth Ballou is a senior at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School in Richmond, VA. Her work has previously been published in TeenInk, the Claremont Review, and Polyphony H.S., among others. She has won many national awards from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for three consecutive years, including gold and silver medals, the New York Life Award, and a silver medal with distinction for her senior writing portfolio. When not writing, Elizabeth enjoys acting, singing, and making delicious strawberry cheesecakes. She will attend the University of Virginia in the
fall of 2012.
Marigny Collins says “I’m 18 years old and hope to spend the rest of my life helping people. The most meaningful thing someone has ever said to me was “You’re you” because being myself is all that ever really matters to me. I hate cake, I’m in love with the Beat movement and I owe my life to a man named Joe.”
Courtney Cook says “I go to the Chicago Academy for the Arts for writing, so I’m one of the rare kids you’ll find who adores school. All afternoon I get to be in poetry, fiction, and screenwriting classes, inevitably making me the happiest girl alive. More often than not I wish I didn’t have to go home. I have two frogs named Hero and Heroine, and a fat dog named Murphy who’s always smiling. I can be found sailing on Lake Michigan or writing poetry on my roof.”
Kamden Hilliard is currently a senior at Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii. His respect for language has led him to the Easterday prize and a gold medal in the Scholastic Art and Writing program. He was also named a YoungArts national winner in creative nonfiction. Kamden has recently been expanding his writing talents to include a poetry position with the Adroit Journal. He looks forward to the future, in which he’ll be attending Sarah Lawrence College during the fall of 2012.
Zakiyyah Madyun is a 10th grade student at CAPA High School. She loves writing screenplays, and has a crippling fear of insects. She was once the tallest girl in her class (This was the 1st grade. Times have changed.) and is now the #1 (This fact has not been confirmed) Indiana Jones fan in the universe. One day she wants to be a director.
Talitha McGuire says “I live in the cool mountains of northern Arizona. I am fourteen and a freshman in high school. I first discovered my love to write in spring, when I was sitting out on my porch listening to the snow melt trickle off of the roof. I sounded like a song to me, like a poem. I wrote my first poem that day. And since, writing has stayed with me, even when no one else has. I hope to become a professional writer, or to have a career with nature, which is the usual subject of my writing.”
João Felipe Novela recently completed grade 12 at Escola Secundária Padre Gerardo Gumiero de Mapinhane, a secondary school in rural Mozambique. He dreams of living in the capital and using the written word to fight HIV, poverty, and inequality in his country.
Sid Peery says “I was born in Provo, Utah, and spent my Elementary School years moving from place to place, not really sticking anywhere for more than a year. Then I came to Walden, the school of my heart, where my English teacher, Lara Asplund, opened my mind to the possibilities of art
as I’d never imagined before. I never thought I’d be a poet, and it is a surprise most pleasant to receive. Now I live in Orem, and am the author of more poems than I can think of off the top of my head. Thank you Lara, and thank you Crashtest for sponsoring my work!”
Spencer Watson is originally from New Orleans, but now is studying in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is passionate about traveling, languages, and writing.
