Contributors
Writers
Carly Miller is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Portland, Michigan. She is the winner of Gold Key for her senior portfolio from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and her work has also appeared in the Red Wheelbarrow. Her favorite place to write is outside; mostly during summer, seldom during winter, although it has been known to happen. Carly is the author of "The Smoker" and "Olivia."
Jazmyne Saltus is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy from St. David’s, Bermuda. She has received Honorable Mention, Third Place and First Place in the Dr. Stanley Ratteray Memorial Christmas Short Story Contest. She also received Honorable Mention in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her senior portfolio. She plans to continue with writing in the future. Her favorite places to work are at the nature reserve by her home in Bermuda and in her dorm at Interlochen. Jazmyne is the author of "Will You Sit With Me Tonight?"
Sojourner Ahébée is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy and Co-Editor in Chief of the Interlochen Review. Though she was born in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa, she currently resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her work has been published in Apiary Magazine, The Best Teen Writing of 2012, Winter Tangerine Review, and she was featured in the March/April 2014 Issue of Poets & Writers. She has received a silver portfolio medal from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and this year she served as one of five National Student Poets, the nation’s highest honor for youth presenting original work. Earlier in September she was received at the White House by Michelle Obama to garner her award. When she's writing, she enjoys listening to the soundtrack from Amelie, a French film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet. She will be attending Stanford University in the fall. Sojourner is the author of "Hidden Americans," "Ahou," & "River Song."
Eleanor Rudnitsky-Brown is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy, and hails from Los Angeles, California. She is the winner of a Silver Medal for poetry from the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She is also a finalist for the Traverse City Young Playwrights festival. While writing, she enjoys listening to Dave Brubeck, and the soundtracks from The Lord of the Rings and The Godfather. Eleanor is the author of "Forty Miles Outside of Phoenix."
Megan Walters is a junior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a city which has more bridges than Venice! She was a 2014 YoungArts finalist for short story, and will be published in the Adroit Journal this coming winter. The place she most often prefers to write in is the library, even though the table she wants is always taken by the time she gets there. Megan is the author of "Crawl Space," & "Whitham-Renova Ghosts & Co."
Nayereh Doosti (نیّره دوستی) is from Shiraz, known as “Iran’s city of Persian literature, wine and flowers!" She is a postgraduate creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy, and a student of the Iranian author, Aboutorab Khosravi. Doosti is the winner of Gold and Silver Kharazmi Medals (the highest honor in Iran for student creative writing), several Gold and Silver Keys from Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and The Cambridge International Playwriting Challenge. Her work has been published in several literary reviews such as Dastan, Bacheha Golagha, Hayat, Front Street Writers Review and Discovered Collection. Her favorite place to write is any loud and crowded room where she can listen to random conversations, unless she’s working on the ending of a story! Neyereh is the author of "Leila! Leila!" & "Iftar with Reza"
McLane Funkhouser is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Oakton, Virginia. She writes mainly poetry and fiction. When she writes, she finds a piece of wordless music and listens to it on replay for hours. Her favorite place to write is anywhere with soft grass to lay down in, but the ants crawling on her laptop make that difficult. McLane Funkhouser has a weird name; point this out to the person sitting beside you as it makes for good conversation. McLane will be attending George Mason University in the fall. McLane is the author of "Allen."
Allen Smith is a freshman creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. He is from Bernardsville, New Jersey. His pieces "Mind Over Matter" and "Snow Angels" both received Editor's Choice Awards from Teen Ink. "Mind Over Matter" was also voted number one by readers in the realistic fiction genre. His favorite time to write is very late at night in his dorm room, typing quickly, trying to get as many words in as possible before the internet shuts off. Allen is the author of "Mind Over Matter."
Emma Metcalf is a senior at Interlochen Arts Academy. After three years studying classical voice with John Bragle, this is her first year as a creative writing major. Emma is from Berkeley, California, but she currently resides in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In her short time in the Writing House, Emma has had her writing published in the Red Wheelbarrow. She draws much of her writing inspiration from travel and is lucky to be able to plan stays in Thailand, Cambodia, Fiji, South Africa, Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexico during her upcoming gap year before going on to college. Emma is the author of "La buona cucina."
Lauren Brindise is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. Born in Elmhurst, Illinois, Lauren moved to Naples, Florida, and now currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. She has had her poetry published in the Red Wheelbarrow. She writes mainly about childhood memories and her two brothers. She likes to listen to Alex Turner and The Maccabees, as well as a variety of classical music while writing. Her favorite place to spend free time is her boat dock. Lauren is the author of "Count to One Hundred."
Samantha Stephens is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Wixom, Michigan. Her favorite place to work is the Writing House and she likes to listen to Bon Iver while she writes. Samantha is the author of "Yellow Is Comfort."
Ashanti Davis is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Peachtree City, Georgia. She is the winner of a Gold Medal and a Silver Medal from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her prose and her script-writing and has been published in the Red Wheelbarrow. Her favorite place to write is somewhere with ample internet and scant light and, y'know, snacks. Ashanti will be attending Hofstra University in the fall. Ashanti is the author of "On the way home from school..." & "No Death Finer than She."
Nani Wachhaus is a junior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. She is the winner of a Silver Medal from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her poetry. Her favorite place to write is near anywhere near a window, because she likes to look outside while she is thinking about what to write next. Nani is the author of "First Circus."
Mattie Graff is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, where she studied creative writing for two years at SCAPA Bluegrass. Mattie's work has been published in The Laurel, the Red Wheelbarrow, and she has three chapbooks available online. She is a frequenter of the HOWL Poetry Series and Gypsy Poetry Slam in Lexington, and enjoys public speaking competitions. She prefers to write at around 2:30 a.m. after about 800 mg of caffeine to the sound of white noise. In the fall, Mattie will be at Knox College. Mattie is the author of "onomatopoeia: the littlest bang," & "We, Cherubim."
Ryan Murray is a sophomore creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. He is from Traverse City, Michigan. He has received two Gold Keys from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. He has worked on the Red Wheelbarrow, Interlochen Arts Academy’s quarterly literary journal, as an editor as well as serving as an Audio and Video editor for the Interlochen Review. Ryan is a huge fan of soccer and loves listening to James Vincent McMorrow while writing and reading. Ryan is the author of "Greenhouse."
Teddy Sovinski is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. He is from Lafayette, Indiana and has been published in the Red Wheelbarrow. When he's writing, he enjoys listening to the Twin Peaks soundtrack and contemporary Macedonian rock/polka. Teddy will be attending Purdue University in the fall. Teddy is the author of "A Lack of Space."
Molly McDaniel is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Alta, Iowa. In 2013, she won the Virginia B. Ball Creative Writing Award. She has been published in the Red Wheelbarrow and Jackalope Magazine. Molly is the recipient of three Gold Keys in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She is the first-place winner of Santa Fe University of Art and Design’s Glazner Prize for Creative Writing and is a third-place winner of Albion College’s Charles Crupi Memorial Poetry Contest. When she writes, she prefers a dark, quiet room, perhaps with depressing music in the background. She will be attending Agnes Scott College in the fall. Molly is the author of "The Things We Knew," & "Candelabra."
Alexandra Stasiuk is a senior creative writing major at Interlochen Arts Academy and Co-Editor in Chief of the Interlochen Review. She is from George Town, Cayman Islands. Alexandra has received a regional Gold Key from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and an Honorable Mention from YoungArts for her work in poetry. Her play As We Lay Dying is a finalist for the Michigan Young Playwrights Festival. Her work can be found in Vademecum Magazine and The Albion Review. Her favorite place to write is under an abundance of quilts. She will be attending Boston University in the fall. Alexandra is the author of "As We Lay Dying."
Exene Karros is a senior Creative Writing Major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from New Jersey. She is a published poet, philosopher and visual artist. Her poetry can be found in BRICKrhetoric, Zenith Literary Magazine, Crashtest and the Interlochen Review. She will be attending Rhode Island School of Design in the fall but hopes to continue taking creative writing classes at Brown University. Exene is the author of “The Caterpillar Conundrum.”
Maya James is a sophomore Comparative Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy from Traverse City, Michigan. As a political multimedia artist, she has found great inspiration in her cultural surroundings, from the bustle of downtown Los Angeles to the cobblestone sidewalks of Florence Italy to the woods of northern Michigan. Her work explores many themes including LGBTQ rights, racism, domestic abuse, feminism and the concept of what it means to be a woman, all the while representing her beliefs as a half-black, half-white female. She has performed her poem “5’5” and 144 lbs” all across the country and was an opener for the Portland Poetry Slam in 2013. Maya is the author of "DRAGON."
Madison Murray is a senior at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where she majors in Creative Writing. She is from Salem, Massachusetts, and yes, she is a Witch. When she's writing, she wears her blue hair up and enjoys listening to James Blake and Schoolboy Q. Madison is the author of "Television."
Paulina Ukrainets is a junior Creative Writing major at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. She lives in Oxford, UK, having moved there from her hometown of Moscow, Russia. She has received an Honorable Mention from the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her fiction. Her favorite artist to listen to while writing has, most recently, been Elliott Smith. Paulina is the author of "Toby."
Maeve Benz is a freshman at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where she majors in creative writing. She currently resides in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. She has won a Silver Key award for her poetry from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and was featured as “Story of the Day” on Cowbird for her rumination on “The Power of Silence.” When she’s not writing, Maeve can be found hiking in the mountains of Vermont. Maeve is the author of "The Pope," & "Winter Nights of '77."
Sofia Haines is a senior at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, where she majors in Creative Writing. She is from Topsfield, Massachusetts. Sofia is a winner of a Silver Key from the National Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her poetry, as well as a commended poet of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year award. She has attended Breadloaf Young Writer’s Conference as well as Juniper Institute for Young Writers. Sofia enjoys watching boxing and swing dance as a way to both center and expand herself. Sofia is the author of "Post Partum," & "Virtues."
Fiora Elbers-Tibbitts is a senior Creative Writing major at Walnut Hill School for the Arts. She is from Sudbury, Massachusetts, and is the author of "Oz" and "In Memory of Emzara." She received a Silver Key for her poetry portfolio in the 2013 Regional Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She was also a Semi-Finalist in 2012 for Smith College's Poetry Prize for High School Girls in New England, and a 2013 Finalist for the The Iowa Review Awards. Her favorite place to write is curled up in bed, with Dry the River blasting in her ears. She will be attending Princeton University in the fall, where she hopes to continue her studies as a writer. Fiora is the author of "Oz," & "In Memory of Emzara."
Visual Artists
Catalina Gonzalez is a senior Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Santurce, Puerto Rico. She has won many awards including a Silver Medal in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, and has been recognized by the National YoungArts Foundation. Her work has been shown in both Miami and New York. Catalina plans to become an independent artist as well as pursuing the career of a kindergarten teacher.
Ryan Yale is a junior Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy. He was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. His piece entitled “Stress” received a Gold Key in the Scholastics Art and Writing Awards, and has also been included in the publication the Red Wheelbarrow, as well as the Juried Student Exhibition. Ryan plans on attending an art school and pursuing art as a professional career. He is interested in the creation of keepsakes that give him the ability to look back, reflect, and relive memories related to finding out, and experiencing, his father’s diagnosis of kidney cancer three years ago.
Ryan Treadwell is a junior Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy. He is from Orange County, California. Ryan has had two pieces featured in the Oliver Art Center located in Frankfort, Michigan, as well as a third piece in the Interlochen Juried Student Exhibition. He has also received three Gold Keys and two Honorable Mentions in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Ryan plans on continuing his work throughout college and either pursuing a career in fashion or industrial design.
Madison Stubbs is a junior Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy. Her achievements include acceptance into the 2013 Juried Student Exhibition, acceptance into the Oliver Art Center Exhibition in Frankfort, Michigan, publication in the Red Wheelbarrow, and a Silver Key and an Honorable Mention from the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Madison plans on pursuing a career in animation in the future due to her love of movement and storytelling. In her spare time Madison enjoys watching animated films, jamming out to classic rock, writing, and babying her pet lizard.
Jenna Trosien is a junior Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Aurora, Illinois. Her achievements include pieces featured in the Red Wheelbarrow, the Juried Student Exhibition, Michigan Legacy Art Park, and the Oliver Art Center Exhibition in Frankfort, Michigan. She has received a Silver Key and multiple Honorable Mentions in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. She loves to work on her art at the Dow Visual Arts Building on Interlochen's campus as well as in outdoor settings. She describes herself as diligent, meticulous, accepting, independent, observant and unrealistic.
Ingrid Matison is a junior Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy from Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Her work has been featured in the Red Wheelbarrow, the annual Juried Student Exhibition (where she received Honorable Mentions) and the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
Weiqi Shao (Vicky) is a freshman Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy from Beijing, China. The work featured in the Interlochen Review (Desolation) is from one of her favorite classes: The Structure of Drawing. This past winter inspired her to explore the feeling of desolation as a state of complete emptiness.
Madison Brownson is a senior Visual Arts major who was recognized in 2014 by the National YoungArts Foundation. She is also one of sixteen 2014 Gold Medal Portfolio winners in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Madison plans on continuing to further her education by pursuing several degrees in nursing with hopes of becoming a nurse practitioner.
Sendra Uebele is a freshman Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy from Champaign, Illinois. She has won two Silver Keys and three Gold Keys in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, as well as receiving the “Mayor’s Choice Award” for Springfield, Illinois. Sendra plans on working on her technique and artistic voice during her next three years at Interlochen.
Ellen Seidell is a senior Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy from Gaylord, Michigan. Throughout the school year she has created an extensive body of work. Her pieces have been shown in the Juried Student Exhibition, as well as the Senior Thesis Exhibition in 2014. In the fall Ellen plans to pursue her passion for the arts at the University of Michigan, where she aims to work within the realms of art preservation or textile design.
Suwan Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea and is a junior Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She has won many prominent awards including "Best In Sculpture" and "President's Choice Award" at the annual Student Juried Exhibition, as well as several other national awards in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Suwan plans on continuing to develop her body of work by collaborating and mixing different genres of art.
Illya Mousavijid is a senior Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy. He is from Isfahan, Iran, where he previously studied at Isfahan Fine Arts School. His artwork has appeared in numerous galleries including in solo exhibitions at the Issa Bahadori gallery and at the Apadana Gallery in Isfahan, Iran as well as in a regional art exhibition at the Oliver Art Center in Frankfort, Michigan. He has also received many awards for his artwork including a National Medal, three regional Gold Keys and three regional Silver Keys in the Scholastic Art & Writing awards; a Presidential Recognition award from Interlochen Arts Academy, and First Place in the Drawing Category in the Visual Arts Olympiad of Iran. Illya's featured portfolio can be viewed here.
Olivia Hagerty is a senior Visual Arts major at Interlochen Arts Academy. She is from Traverse City, Michigan. She has received numerous awards for her artwork including an Honorable Mention from YoungArts and three National Gold Medals as well as a National Best in Grade award for Sculpture in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Her artwork has appeared in numerous exhibitions including the YoungArts group show at MOMA PS1 in New York City, the Art.Write.Now exhibition at the Department of Education in Washington, DC, and at the Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in Palm Beach, FL. She will attend The Cooper Union School of Art in the fall. Olivia's piece, entitled "Shuffle Shuffle" currently graces the Interlochen Review's background banner.