Issue 12

Rosemarie Dombrowski (editor-in-chief) is the inaugural Poet Laureate of Phoenix. Her current projects include Rinky Dink Press, Write On, Downtown: a journal of student and community writing, the Phoenix Poetry Series, First Friday Poetry on Roosevelt Row, the Phoenix Community Poetry Gardens, and New Phx Voices: Teen Poetry Workshop and Open Mic at Burton Barr Central Library. She is the recipient of five Pushcart nominations, a 2017 Arts Hero Award, the 2017 Carrie McCray Literary Award in Nonfiction, and a fellowship from the Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics. Her collections include The Book of Emergencies (2014, Five Oaks Press), The Philosophy of Unclean Things (Finishing Line Press, 2017) and The Cleavage Planes of Southwest Minerals [A Love Story], winner of the 2017 Split Rock Review chapbook competition. rdpoet.com

Ronnie Caswell graduated from ASU in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in literature. He is an aspiring creative writer who also dabbles in photography and occasionally draws. To support his purchases of art paraphernalia and addiction to caffeine he is an assistant manager at Peet’s Coffee located in the airport. Most of his work is done late at night because that is when his procrastination is at its weakest, and when his muse shines the brightest.

John Chakravarty is a writer currently studying English at ASU with a focus in creative writing. His main focus is in writing short fiction and novels. While at Phoenix College he received the President’s honors award and an honorable mention in fiction for the Maricopa County writing contest. His work has recently been featured in Marooned and Arizona’s Best Emerging Poets of 2018. He has interned as an editor for Four Chambers Press, Superstition Review, and Write On, Downtown. John is also a visual artist that works in traditional and digital mediums to create complex illustrations. He coordinated The Edge group art show and has contributed to shows in Arizona and around the country, including the Phoenix Skate Deck show, a stencil art show in Los Angeles, the Bookworms show at the Flame Run gallery in Louisville and others. John lives in Phoenix with his wonderful wife and three dogs.

Jazzmon Cobb has been a Phoenix. resident since 2002. She studied English with a focus in creative writing at Glendale Community College and Arizona State University, earning an associate of arts degree in 2016 and bachelor’s degree as of May 2018. A lover of the liberal arts, Jazzmon is a fiction writer, songwriter, poet, and editor. As a woman of color, LGBQTI ally, and first-generation college graduate, Jazzmon deploys her talents to promote diversity and connect communities through written expression, digital content, and print. For five months, Jazzmon partnered with ASU’s “Pen Project” to professionally workshop pieces from local and national prison inmates, fostering rehabilitation through writing. Her poetry has also been published in Canyon Voices Literary Magazine. In her free time she enjoys creating music and watching 90’s cartoons.

Kylee Hayes was born and raised in Southern California, and she moved to Tempe to pursue a degree in English at ASU. After her graduation, Kylee would like to move back to Los Angeles County to pursue a career in editorial work. She has moonlighted as an editor since high school, editing the papers of fellow students. Kylee has edited papers from undergraduate students as well as documents created by administrative staff. She is passionate about creative writing and writes her own prose pieces in her free time; alongside being an editor, Kylee would like to one day be a published fiction and non-fiction writer.

Ryan J. Krebs is a literature and philosophy student at ASU. He has a thick mustache and likes whistling in the shower. When he grows up, he’d like to be old, but until then he’ll settle for his twenty-something view of the world.

Kailey Monckton is finishing her bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in literature at ASU. She manages her time procrastinating and drinking coffee to make up for it.

Casey Rhode is a 19-year-old junior from Illinois currently studying interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in communications and English at ASU. She enjoys sketching in charcoal and painting as an outlet for her emotions. She is working toward a career in the publishing industry as an editor, due to her love for writing and reading. Casey will be studying abroad in Ireland for the fall 2018 semester to learn more about their culture and how their publishing industry differs from America’s.

Syerra Rodriguez is a journalism major in her sophomore year. She has a strong passion for creative writing and hopes to one day combine her journalistic and creative writing skills to publish a book. She writes flash fiction in her spare time and hopes to get involved with journals across the state. She is an Arizona native and loves to see the beauty of the Grand Canyon State being shared, making her a proud editor for Write On, Downtown.