conte [volume two, issue two

Originally from California, Brian Blickenstaff is a graduating senior and writing major at Northland College, in Northern Wisconsin. "In the Shadow of Jesus" is his first-ever submission for publication. He discovered Conte one winter afternoon while Google-searching his professors and finding one of Cynthia Belmont's poems published in the last issue.

Ester Bloom is a 23 year old aspiring New Yorker and recipient of the Lois Morrell Prize for Poetry. She is currently taking some time off from the entertainment industry to write a book about the entertainment industry.

Louis E. Bourgeois was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1970 and earned his B.A. at Louisiana State University and his MFA at The University of Mississippi. A four time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, he has published hundreds of poems and stories worldwide. His most recent collection of poems, OLGA, was published in September 2005 by WordTech Communications. Currently, he is an instructor of literature and writing at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

Stephanie Marie Chizik currently writes in the Pittsburgh area where she's gaining her Masters in Fine Arts for creative nonfiction writing. Originally hailing from Annapolis, Maryland, her writing deals with life on the Chesapeake Bay. She has written for The Pittsburgh Magazine, The Bay Weekly and The Forum.

Louie Crew, 69, is an emeritus professor at Rutgers University and the author of 1,700+ publications. He is a native of Anniston, Alabama and has taught in London, Hong Kong, Beijing, Alabama, Georgia, Wisconsin, and New Jersey.

Chris Davis grew up in Oakland, California, then moved to Pennsylvania and graduated from Albright College in 2004. Since then he has been produced as a playwright in Boston, performed his poetry at Open Mics in Philadelphia, and will soon be teaching English in Mexico. His poems have appeared in Wabash Review, Curbside Review, Poetry Motel and The Great American Poetry Show.

Robert Demaree is a retired school administrator with ties to North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. The author of a history of Greensboro Day School and a collection of poems called New Hampshire Pond, he has had over 200 poems published or accepted by 70 periodicals, including Aethlon, Cold Mountain Review, Louisville Review, Mobius, Offerings, and Paris/Atlantic.

Robert Klein Engler lives in Chicago and sometimes in New Orleans. Born on the southwest side of the city, Robert taught many years at Richard J. Daley College, until he was banned by the chancellor. After resolving a Chicago Commission on Human Relations complaint against the City Colleges, which he wrote about in his book A WINTER OF WORDS, Robert went on to become an adjunct professor at Roosevelt University. Robert holds degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana and the University of Chicago Divinity School. He has received two Illinois Arts Council awards for his poetry, and can be found online at www.robertkleinengler.com.

Amy Freeman is a free-lance theater artist and writer living in Philadelphia. She graduated from Temple University in 2005, with a BA in Greek/Roman Classics and English. She has had works published by The Philadelphia Theatre Review, Delos, and Hyphen as well as several short plays produced by Philadelphia area theaters.

John Kay has an MFA from the University of Arizona, and he currently lives in Heidelberg, Germany with his wife and son. He works as an Education Counselor and for many years taught writing for the University of Maryland in Europe. He has three chapbooks, and his poems have appeared in many magazines through the years including the New York Quarterly, Kayak, and the Wormwood Review; and recently in the Texas Poetry Journal, Clackamas Literary Review and others.

Poet and essayist Rick Kempa lives in Rock Springs, Wyoming, where he teaches writing and philosophy at Western Wyoming College. Recent work of his has been published or is forthcoming in Confrontation, The Healing Muse, Matter, Pilgrimage, and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Composer, musician, and writer Nick Padron lives in Madrid and Miami. To date, he has published over one hundred musical compositions, including a rock opera based on Carlos Castaneda's Don Juan series www.diablero.com. His writings include comedy sketches for television, interviews, and music reviews. His short stories have appeared in In Posse Review, The Blue Moon Review, Boston's Full Circle - Best of series, The Barcelona Review, New Works Review, Canada's Thirteen Stories Magazine, Twin Cities' The Whistling Shade, Stony Brook University's Rio art magazine and many others. He has completed a novel and a novella It Tolls For Thee, rated number one at Zoetrope All-Story Oct. 2002. He is currently at work on his second novel.

William Saeed is from the Occupied Palestinian Territories, but currently resides in Michigan. His work has appeared and is forthcoming in several publications. His uncle, who worked as a painter of religious iconography for churches across Palestine, nourished his interest in vivid, sometimes taboo imagery. This fall William begins his MFA in Writing candidacy at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

All original works are Copyrighted (©2006) by their respective authors. Authors retain all rights and privileges associated with their work as delineated in our blanket copyright policy, and reprinting, copying, or reproducing in any fashion any of the works contained in this issue without the creator's express consent is strictly prohibited. For information on contacting any of the authors featured in this issue, please email poetry@conteonline.net or prose@conteonline.net.

Conte, a journal of narrative writing.