Curtis Whitecarroll

Curtis Whitecarroll was born in Idaho, raised in Eastern Oregon, and although he did not start writing poetry until he moved to Portland at age 21, he lived a life that gave him much material.
He has been published variously here and there, but the accomplishment in poetry he is most proud of is founding the Stone Soup reading series,which became The Ink Noise Review.

Jake Hart

Born and raised in the Willamette valley influenced by sci-fi and failed attempts at romance, Elizabeth “Jake” Hart believes herself to be the underdog of her generations’ poet community. With a languid cadence and naturalistic imagery her goal on the mic is to make any audience uncomfortable.

Hollie Fisher

Hollie Fisher is a loving wife, mother and zombie hunter . As a writer she is like a painter who eschews straight lines instead choosing to give shape to that which she creates by focusing on shades and more subtle definitions , therefore leaving you with a portrait that seems otherworldly and yet remarkably familiar . She is the author of one chapbook  Missing the play

Camille Perry

Camille Perry comes from the mountains of the Big Sky State, but, drawn by the allure of food carts, “the dream of the 90s”, and weirdos like herself, has crept nearer the coast and now calls Portland home. Long, long ago she realized that she would always be a starving artist and never considered any other way to be. She self-published her first chapbook Quaking last fall and is diligently working to make 2013 her “year of poetry”. Her recent work can be read on her Tumblr blog under the name dizzydarling.

Jackson Ward

There’s no use worrying about it though. It’s more important to keep working your craft, to keep telling every truth inside you, to concern yourself with spilling your guts over catering to whichever money men of the day are running the industry you’re interested in. I’m willing to bet two dollars you’re already aware that without artists who mine their resources and churn up all their garbage to turn it into art, the industry becomes stumped and starts warming the leftovers, and civilization forgets that the menu is infinite.

Megan Kruse is a fiction and creative nonfiction writer from northern Washington.  She studied creative writing at Oberlin College and earned her MFA at the University of Montana. Her writing has appeared in Narrative magazine, The Sun, Witness magazine, Wigleaf, Portland Queer: Tales from the Rose City, and the Portland Noir anthology from Akashic Books, among others. Her short story, “Dollywood,” was one of 100 Other Distinguished Stories in Best American Short Stories 2011. This past spring, Kruse completed residencies at the Kimmel-Harding-Nelson Center in Nebraska, and the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center in Minnesota. She is at work on a novel titled Call Me Home, as well as a collection of essays about uncertainty and empty places.

Natalia Burgess grew up in ethnically diverse Detroit, Michigan, where her musical journey started with the beauty and simplicity of traditional Ukrainian folk, Eastern European cabaret, Roma, Jewish and Brazilian music. Right alongside were the joyful sounds of  Detroit’s classic rock  and Motown of the 60′s and 70′s. She  studied piano and took music and voice classes in college. In the last 10 years she has been immersing herself in mandolin, playing in the bluegrass, country and swing genres; wherever mandolin is loved. She often utilizes the healing power of sound  in her  work as a rehabilitation therapist and loves to sing with her husband’s Grateful Dead tribute band.  Currently Natalia is planting seeds in songwriting which are starting to grow well in the nutritious musical ferment of Portland. She performs regularly with singer/songwriter JD Dawson and semi-regularly with The Hot Club of Hawthorne and Kafe Metelyk.