Bios:

Victor E. Blue is a doctoral student in the history department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A former journalist, blue teaches history at North Carolina Central University. He is the Public Relations Director and Membership Coordinator of the Carolina African American Writers' Collective. His poems, essays, reviews, and articles have appeared in the Independent, Raleigh News & Observer, Columbus Dispatch, Fertile Ground, Dark Eros, Catch the Fire, Obsidian II, and Black Issues in Higher Education. He performs regularly throughout the Triangle and also teaches writing in public schools, prisons, and community centers. His first volume of poems is scheduled to be released this fall. read his poem

Beverly Fields Burnette, a Rocky Mount, NC native, is a School Social Worker, poet, author, storyteller, who resides in Raleigh, NC. She is a 1968 Livingstone College (Salisbury, NC). Ms. Burnette finds innovative ways to include and combine her literary interests with the social work needs and services of children and families. Her poetic works appear in several nationally-distributed anthologies, including Catch the FIre!!! A Cross-Generational Anthology of Contemporary African American Poetry, (Riverhead Books NY, 1998). She has also written and self-published a drug prevention activity/coloring book for K-5th graders entitled "KC Takes A Stand". Ms Burnette is a charter member of both The Carolina African American Writer's Collective and the NC Association of Black Storytellers. read her poem

Christian A. Campbell, of The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago, is a doctoral student in English at Duke University. His work has appeared in The Caribbean Writer, Atlanta Review, and Calabash, and is forthcoming in American Literature, Turtle Dreams: An Anthology of Bahamian Art and Writing, as well as other journals and anthologies. He is a member of the Bahamas Association for Cultural Studies (BACUS), the Carolina African American Writers' Collective (CAAWC), and a founding member of Four-Bean Stew. read his poem

Howard Craft is a poet, playwright, arts activist and educator, and a writer-in-residence with Spirithouse. read his poem

Yvette Fannell is originally from Queens, New York. She is a senior at Duke University studying English, Women's Studies, African and African American Studies. Currently, Yvette is working on a collection of poetry entitled, Vibia Perpetua: In the Face of Wild Animals. read her poem

Kahlil Koromantee i'm originally from harlem, ny. i was part of a theater group called the frank silvera workshop. i also did readings at the newyorican cafe, a black/puerto rican poetry theater. i am haitian-american (i prefer fugee), was raised in montreal and france. I'm also in the process of finishing my very first novel, and how i somehow got to winston-salem, i have no idea. i expect it's all fate and chance! read his poem

Mendi Lewis Obadike is a poet, media artist, and cultural critic. She is a member of Cave Canem and Carolina African American Writers’ Collective. Her writing has been featured in numerous publications, including Catch the Fire, The Black Arts Quarterly, and the film Take These Chains. In 2001, her work will appear in the anthology New Sister Voices, PoetryBay, and Collective Jukebox--a sound art exhibition currently touring Europe. Mendi is a doctoral student in Literature at Duke University where she has taught courses on sound and black identity, film sound, and black women's literature. Her dissertation examines 20th century African-American literature and sound theory. read her poem