Contributor’s Note
“My full name is Sajia Alaha Ahrar but everyone knows and call me Alaha Ahrar. I am an International student from Kabul, Afghanistan currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights, Political Science and International Affairs at the University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia. I was born during Afghanistan’s war, graduated from Istiqlal high school, in Islamabad Pakistan.”
“I have participated in many interviews as a featured speaker in Islamabad, Pakistan and Kabul Afghanistan. From 2003 till 2005, I was the represented Afghan Youth in Islamabad, Pakistan. From 2005 to 2008 the National Television and Radio of Afghanistan, Radio Voice of America Washington DC Dari Service (VOA) and many other radios and TVs inside and outside Afghanistan interviewed me frequently for my knowledge of languages, computer programs, poetry and writing skills. Each media outlet honored her with the award of Most Talented Afghan Youth.”
“Besides continuing public speaking and language skills, I received the Ambassador of the United States and Afghanistan Youth Peace Awards and Youth Poet medallion this past May, 2011, for a collection of my written poems with their English translations, from International World Poetry Festival, Canada.”
“Currently, I am a board member of Afghan Womens Writing Project and an active member of Youth Team of International World Poetry, Canada.”
WORKS
Wanderlust
Contributor’s Note
Sydney Bernstein-Miller is pursuing a double major in English and Communication at George Mason University. She has a passion for playing with words and still surprises herself when jumbled thoughts manifest in this world through lead and paper. Her goal, in both poetry and photography, is to find means of presenting the familiar in new and surprising ways. She does this by making a habit of never falling asleep without a notebook and pen by her side.
WORKS
Tor
Contributor’s Note
Erin Berry is a senior English major at the University of Mary Washington. She hopes to attend graduate school for a masters degree in Library Science. Erin likes to spend her free time reading, kayaking, being a Girl Scout, and petting dogs.
WORKS
hunger
Contributor’s Note
“I was brought up by a family of readers, and everything I read stays in my mind as a snapshot of emotion. the words inside a poem called hunger came to me after reading a large section of Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass and I found myself wanting more of the weightless feelings Whitman’s poetry gives me. I am a geology major, with a passion for poetry and a dream of being an architect. I try to build homes for emotions with my words.”
WORKS
Lucy's Bobby Pin
Contributor’s Note
Christina Crockett is an English Major at George Mason University. This is her first published poem.
WORKS
Berlin Reflection
Contributor’s Note
New York based Sophia Le Fraga is finishing her B.A. Linguistics and Poetry at New York University. Her work has appeared in The Last Romantics, The Stolen Island Review, The Broome Street Reviewand Lemon Hound, and was exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, the Corcoran Gallery, and in 2011, throughout Berlin.
WORKS
Dwelling
Contributor’s Note
Alexandra is a junior at George Mason University majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing. She particularly likes to write poetry and fiction, and to explore themes of identity, ethics, and mortality. As an amateur photographer, she enjoys taking images that subvert expectations of beauty and culture. She captured Church 9th Ward New Orleans while she was a disaster relief volunteer after Hurricane Katrina.
WORKS
I am
Contributor’s Note
Christine is a junior at the University of Mary Washington double majoring in English: Creative Writing and Asian Studies. In her spare time she loves to write, play the piano, and hang out with herfriends. One day she hope to be an author of young adult fiction. I am was inspired by summers she spent with her cousins in Marion, Virginia.
Contributor’s Note
Amy Maddox holds a Bachelor of Liberal Studies in English from the University of Mary Washington. She is currently an Editor for Apropos Literary Journal. She recently judged the 2011 Virginia Writers Club Golden Nib Contest. In her free time she enjoys writing, photography, and spending time with her family. She really hopes her mom doesnt locate this publication with Google.
Contributor’s Note
Allie Marini first started kicking ass in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. She is a 2001 alumna of New College of Florida, which means she can explain deconstructionism, but cannot perform simple math. Her work has appeared in numerous publications her parents have never heard of. She has lived in Maine, Washington State and all over Florida, but has called Tallahassee home for the past decade. Allie is a research writer and part-time hairdresser when shes not playing with her make-believe friends. She is pursuing her MFA degree through Antioch University and is curious to see whats behind door #2.
WORKS
Everything That Is Deep
Contributor’s Note
Irne Mathieu is a medical student at Vanderbilt University, where she is embarking on a career in global public health, activist medicine, and social justice-oriented primary care. Irne has been writing ever since she was able to talk, and her published work can be found in The Lindenwood Review, The Caribbean Writer, Muzzle Magazine, Damselfly Press, Magnapoets, Haven Magazine, and 34th Parallel. She was a finalist in the Janes Press Stories Foundations 2010 poetry contest and in qarrtsilunis 2011 poetry chapbook contest. Irnes photography and a painting have also appeared in print, in 34th Parallel, The Meadowland Review, and Hinchas de Poesa.
WORKS
Ask Me on a Breeze
Contributor’s Note
Amanda Montell grew up in Baltimore, MD and is now a 19-year-old Linguistics student at New York University, where you may often see her brooding on a park bench eating chocolate chip cookies. She loves Augusten Burroughs, iced lattes, and the show Six Feet Under. Amanda has poetry published in The Stone Hobo, Edgepiece, and the Analectic Online Journal, as well as fiction in Mouse Tales Press. A collection of her short fiction can be found at www.american wordplay.blogspot.com.
Contributor’s Note
The pair of Micro Poems selected for publication in Soles inaugural edition are dedicated in memory of Frank ecoy Maracha, who was gathered to his wife and people the week of 11/11/11 at around 8PM EST, upon notification, surrounded by their son, daughter, and grandchildren nearby, accompanied by my sister, Mercy and our Eema present to bid him, Adio Francisco.
Contributor’s Note
An Award Winning Poet, Educator, community organizer, and published author, Aaron Samuels has performed his work for the last six years, consistently ranking among the top poets in the youth, collegiate, and national competitions. For more on Aaron, visit AaronSamuelsPoetry.com.
WORKS
Some of My Parts
Contributor’s Note
Emily Shearer is a graduate student in the Creative Writing Program at George Mason University. With her poetry, she elongates the moments found within her own stories about motherhood, loss, love, and even the act of writing itself. She was born with a damaged left foot. Some of My Parts is true.
WORKS
Wounded Knee, 1890
Contributor’s Note
Manda is a senior English major at UMW from nearby Spotsylvania, Virginia. She has been casually writing since she was old enough to hold a pen, and hopes to work in publishing after graduation. She also hopes to one day write a novel that has nothing to do with vampires or teen angst.
Contributor’s Note
“I was born where the Sun sets. I followed West in the day, and East to meet it each night. As I’ve found with so much of the same as it moves, it shines a little differently everywhere.”
Contributor’s Note
George Such is an English graduate student at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. In a previous incarnation he was a chiropractor for 27 years in eastern Washington. Besides the delights of reading and writing, he enjoys hiking, cooking, and traveling, especially to India and Southeast Asia. His poetry has been published in Arroyo Literary Review, Blue Earth Review, Cold Mountain Review, Dislocate, and many other journals.
WORKS
The Reply
Contributor’s Note
Ryann Tanap is a senior at the College of William and Mary. Her work encompasses diversity, identity, relationships, political concerns, and mental well-being. She is presently working on a poem-a-day project until she graduates; at press time, she is on Day 214 (out of 389). Her blog posts and personal essays have been published on her university’s website and The FilAm.
Contributor’s Note
Kelsey Torstveit was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and is now a New York City based poet and performer. She is completing her B.F.A. at New York University, and plans to have her first chap book of poems entitled Sympathy for the Boll Weevil released at the beginning of the New Year.
Contributor’s Note
Laura Madeline Wiseman has a doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where she teaches English. She is the author of five chapbooks including, BRANDING GIRLS (Finishing Line Press, 2011). Her sixth chapbook, SHE WHO LOVES HER FATHER, is forthcoming from Dancing Girl Press. Her work has appeared in Margie, Arts & Letters, Prairie Schooner, Mississippi Review, Cider Press Review, Blackbird, and 13th Moon. Recently, she has collaborated with the artist Kate Johnson to create a limited edition series of broadsides that combine graphic acrylic paintings and poetry.
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