Photo by Hayley Graffunder
(Left to right) Top Row: Garrett Vesely, Nick Shipman, Nathaniel Hughes, Kayleigh Dumont, James Fowler, Jamie Walters, M.A. Keller, Elizabeth Rothrock; Second Row: Lexi Lewallen, Mackenzie Oliff, Emma Ostenfeld, Hannah Torma; Third Row: Destiny Price, Rachel Keys, Rachel Rivenbark, Basit Khan, Hunter Lutz; Fourth Row: Moira Snyder, Gracie Tecala, Amel Aksouh, Nicole Milanovic; Fifth Row: Mary Flinn, Rebecca Poynor, Hayley Graffunder, Danielle Kotrla, Brandon Young
Managing Editors
“Lead Associates” prior to 2021
Rebecca Poynor 2021–2022 Hayley Graffunder 2020–2021 Caitlin Wilson 2019–2020 Katherine M. Brooks 2018–2019 Brandie Gray 2017–2018 Victoria C. Flanagan 2016–2017 Jake Branigan 2015–2016 Chelsea Gillenwater 2014–2015 Leia Darwish 2013–2014 Lena Moses-Schmitt 2012–2013 Ross Losapio 2011–2012 Emilia Phillips 2010–2011 Grant White 2009–2010 Matthew Baker 2008–2009 Tarfia Faizullah 2007–2008 Kate Beles 2006–2007 Anna Journey 2005–2006 Steven Collis 2004–2005 Maria Hagan 2003–2004 Tara Moyle 2002–2003 Jamye Shelleby 2001–2002 Blackbird, founded in 2002 as a joint venture of the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of English and the former New Virginia Review, Inc., benefits from the contributions of graduate and undergraduate student interns, as well as from MA and MFA Graduate Assistants from the VCU Department of English. Students from the interdisciplinary PhD program in Media, Art, and Text (MATX) have also worked with us in past years, as have community volunteers and MFA alumni. We are grateful for everyone’s contributions.
Each year, Blackbird awards the coveted managing editor position, previously titled lead associate editor until the 2020–2021 academic year, to a second-year VCU MFA graduate student; to qualify, the student must already have been awarded a graduate fellowship and must have worked as an intern for the journal. The managing editor staffs the Blackbird office in the historic Anderson House, and is at the center of all the journal’s activities, working to coordinate communication between literary and production editors, as well as between the editors and contributors.
Staff listings are by categories.
EDITORS
Mary Flinn, founding editor, began her tenure as the director of the New Virginia Review, Inc. in 1985. She is coeditor, with George Garrett, of Elvis in Oz: New Stories and Poems from the Hollins Creative Writing Program (University of Virginia Press, 1992), and facilitated the editing of The Gazer Within (University of Michigan Press, 2001), a collection of essays by Larry Levis. Flinn served as the poetry and fiction editor of 64 and the editor of New Virginia Review. She has participated on editors’ panels, served as a literature fellowship judge for numerous arts councils, and been a review panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Virginia Commission for the Arts. She was the inaugural recipient of the Theresa Pollak Award for Words from Richmond Magazine, and Style Weekly recognized her as one of their 2016 Richmond Women in the Arts.
Rebecca Poynor, managing editor, is a second-year MFA student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Chestnut Review, Nashville Review, and Rogue Agent. She holds a BA in English from Mississippi State University with minors in creative writing and linguistics.
Hayley Graffunder, managing editor emerita, lead reading group facilitator, and lead photo editor, is a third-year MFA student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Beloit Poetry Journal, RHINO, Salt Hill, Occulum, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of the 2020 Catherine and Joan Byrne Poetry Prize, sponsored by the Academy of American Poets, and the 2018 Lon Otto Prize for poetry. She earned a BA in English with minors in creative writing and linguistics from the University of St. Thomas, where she served as co-editor of the Summit Avenue Review.
Caitlin Wilson, contributing managing editor emerita, is a recent MFA graduate in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth Univeristy. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in ENTROPY, Iron Horse Literary Review, The McNeese Review, RHINO, and Rogue Agent. She is the recipient of Virginia Commonwealth University’s 2020 Graduate Poetry Award. She is also the winner of a 2019 Association of Writers & Writing Programs Intro Journals Project Award in poetry. She earned a BA in English with a minor in creative writing from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she was the recipient of the 2018 Henrietta Spiegel Creative Writing Award and a Jiménez-Porter Literary Prize for Poetry, and served as the 2017–2018 editor in chief of the literary journal Stylus.
M.A. Keller, online and founding editor, is a technologist, web coordinator, and writing instructor for Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of English. His poetry has appeared in New Virginia Review, Runes, The Southern Review, and elsewhere. He has created a number of historical suites in Blackbird’s Gallery, including a four-part 1918 influenza suite of researched and republished material. Keller has taught workshops in poetry and advanced writing, and courses in hypertext and new media. His work centers on issues related to electronic publishing, including materality, multimodal writing and design, and questions regarding the durability of digital archives. Recent teaching and research interests center on the transmission of error in print and digital formats, as well as lay and professional attitudes toward error.
Gregory Donovan, contributing and founding editor, is the author of the poetry collections Torn from the Sun (Red Hen Press, 2015), long-listed for the Julie Suk Award, and Calling His Children Home (University of Missouri Press, 1993), which won the Devins Award for Poetry, as well as the co-editor (with Michele Poulos) of Prismatics: Larry Levis & Contemporary American Poetry (Diode Editions, 2020). His poetry, essays, translations, and fiction have been published in The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, New England Review, TriQuarterly, diode, Crazyhorse, Gulf Coast, Copper Nickel, and many other journals. His work has also appeared in several anthologies, including Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets of Virginia (University of Virginia Press, 2003). Among other awards for his writing, he is the recipient of the Robert Penn Warren Award from New England Writers as well as grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and fellowships from the Ucross Foundation and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Donovan has served as a visiting writer and guest faculty for a number of summer conferences and low-residency programs, such as the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Chautauqua Institution Writers’ Center, the River Pretty Writers Retreat, the VCFA Postgraduate Writers’ Conference, and the University of Tampa MFA program. With the writer/director Michele Poulos, he is a producer of A Late Style of Fire, the feature-length documentary on the life and work of the late Larry Levis. Donovan is a founding faculty member of Virginia Commonwealth University’s graduate creative writing program.
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Brandon Young, lead copy editor, is a third-year MFA student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University where he serves as the 2021–2022 Levis Reading Prize Fellow. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in RHINO and BOAAT. He is the recipient of the Bertolt Clever Poetry Writing Prize. He holds a BA in English and creative writing from Indiana University.
Danielle Kotrla, lead pagebuilder, is a third-year MFA student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has appeared in The Pinch, Moon City Review, and elsewhere. She holds a BA in English creative writing and a BA in philosophy from the University of North Texas.
James Fowler, literary intern and copy editor, is a first-year fiction student in Virginia Commonwealth University’s MFA program. He graduated from Old Dominion University with a BA in English, a concentration in creative writing, and a minor in women’s studies.
Nick Shipman, literary intern and copy editor, is a graduate student in Virginia Commonwealth University’s English MA program. His work has appeared in The Other Herald, Quail Bell, and Whurk. He holds a BA in English and history, and a graduate certificate in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies. He works in the Department of Educational Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Garrett Vesely, literary intern and copy editor, is a first-year MFA student in poetry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Their work has been published in Grub Street Literary Journal. They hold an MA in creative writing from the University of North Texas and a BS in English from Towson University.
Jamie Walters, literary intern and copy editor, is a first-year MFA student in fiction and creative nonfiction at Virginia Commonwealth University. She holds an MFA in creative writing from New York University, is a copy editor at the Washington Square Review, and former editor-in-chief of Stockpot Literary Magazine.
INTERNS
Amel Aksouh, literary intern and copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2022 with a BA in political science with a concentration in international relations and a minor in English.
Lauryn Gilliam, literary intern and copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2022 with a BA in English and a minor in art history.
Nathaniel Hughes, literary intern and copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. He will graduate in the fall of 2021 with a BA in English.
Basit Khan, literary intern and copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. He will graduate in the fall of 2022 with a BA in English and political science and a minor in public management.
Shea Lawson, literary intern and copy editor, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in 2022 with a BA in English and a minor in creative writing.
Lexi Lewallen, literary intern and pagebuilder, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2023 with a BA in English and minors in creative writing and media studies.
Hunter Lutz, literary intern and copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. He will graduate in the fall of 2023 with a BA in English.
Nicole Milanovic, literary intern and copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2022 with a BA in English.
Mackenzie Oliff, literary intern and copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has appeared in LitroMagazine and featured in George Mason’s annual Fall for the Book Festival of 2016. She is a recipient of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. She will graduate in the spring of 2022 with a BA in English and a minor in creative writing.
Emma Ostenfeld, literary intern and copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is an executive board member of VCU HerCampus, where she publishes weekly articles. She will graduate in the spring of 2022 with a BA in psychology and a minor in English.
Peter Powers, literary intern, social media intern, and pagebuilder, is a sophomore undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. He will graduate in the spring of 2024 with a BA in English and a minor in creative writing.
Caroline Putnam, literary intern and copy editor, is a sophomore undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2024 with a BA in marketing.
Elizabeth Rothrock, literary intern and copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2022 with a BA in English.
Moira Snyder, literary intern and pagebuilder, is a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has appeared in The Commonwealth Times, Amendment, and
Pwatem. She will graduate in May 2022 with a BA in English and a minor in social welfare.
Gracie Tecala, literary intern and pagebuilder, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has collaborated with numerous clients and musicians, including Canadian singer-songwriter Michelle Treacy. She will graduate in December 2022 with a BFA in communication arts and minors in creative writing and media studies.
VOLUNTEERS
Kayleigh Dumont, volunteer reader and copy editor, is a third-year MA English student at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she earned her BA in English with minors in creative writing and psychology. She interned at Blackbird in 2016.
Rachel Keys, volunteer social media intern and pagebuilder, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in the spring of 2023 with a BFA in kinetic imaging and a minor in creative writing.
Frank Garcia Marquez, volunteer reader, is a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University and will graduate in May 2023 with a BS in clinical laboratory sciences.
Destiny Price, volunteer copy editor, is a junior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She will graduate in Spring 2023 with a BA in English and a BS in psychology.
Rachel Rivenbark, volunteer copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She worked as a nonfiction writer for Quail Bell Magazine and works as a copy editor for The Commonwealth Times. She will graduate in the fall of 2021 with a BA in English.
Hannah Torma, volunteer reader and copy editor, is a sophomore undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She participated in a creative writing critique group with Sallie Lowenstein and worked as a copy editor and designer for Penman Literary-Art Magazine. She will graduate in 2023 with a BA in English and political science.
B. Luke Wilson, volunteer reader and copy editor, is a senior undergraduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University. His work has appeared in East by Northeast, The Virginia Writers Club, and elsewhere. He won the 2020 Blue Nib Contest for Fiction with the Blue Ridge Writers. He will graduate in the fall of 2021 with a BA in English and a minor in creative writing.
& MANY THANKS
to all the editors, staff members, interns, and volunteers who made Blackbird, volume 20, number 2 possible.
Special thanks to Rebecca Poynor, our managing editor, for keeping us all focused on this big effort, and for bringing the work of the contributors and the Blackbird team to fruition.
Thanks to Hayley Graffunder for her efforts as managing editor emerita, for leading our reading group with poised dedication, organization, and insightful direction, and for always pitching in when odds and ends begin to stack up.
Thanks to Brandon Young and Danielle Kotrla for hard work and generosity at a monumental level. To Brandon Young for running our first ever hybrid copyediting room with nobility, conscientious thoroughness, and much-needed levity. To Danielle Kotrla for leading the pagebuilding team with diligence, always bringing humor, and dedicating much time and energy to building this volume.
Thanks to Jamie Walters for her hard work editing bios.
Thanks to Rebecca E. Jones for her unwavering dedication to social media.
Thanks to Mary Flinn for her many years of commitment to the literary community, continued support of our editorial staff, and substantial contributions to in-house copy.
Thanks to M.A. Keller for supporting our quality and efficacy, and for his extensive effort on Blackbird’s gallery and features.
Thanks to the browse menu team, Amel Aksouh, James Fowler, Destiny Price, and Garrett Vesely, for assisting with the task of creating a thematically engaging reading order for the issue’s content.
And to all others—manuscript readers, pagebuilders, transcribers, and copy editors—our sincere appreciation. Your dedication, ingenuity, and good spirits make it all possible.
~
We note with great sorrow the death of Bennett Nieberg—friend, colleague, and classmate of our graduate student editors. Their passion for literary publishing brought them to Blackbird as an intern in 2019, where they served as a reader and copy editor. They also founded their own journal What Are Birds? and worked as editor-in-chief until their passing in September. An incredible poet, essayist, editor, and friend, Bennett’s loss is immeasurable to the literary community and their cohort at Virginia Commonwealth University, with whom they would have graduated next spring. We continue to remember their humor, compassion, and dedication to the literary community. 
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