Featured Contributors

February 22, 2007

Brett Bevell is the author of two illustrated poetry books, America Needs A Buddhist President (White Cloud, 2004) and America Needs A Woman President (to be released summer 2007 by Monkfish Publishing). He is also the author of the forthcoming book The Reiki Magic Guide To Self Attunement, published by Crossing Press, due to be released this fall. Brett’s work has appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and he is the winner of the 1995 Paul Laurence Dunbar Poetry Prize. His story, “The Tarot of Baseball,” appears here.

Susan Krawitz has written for a diverse group of local and national publications including Country Journal, Practical Horseman, Upstate House, Highlights for Children, Beliefnet.com, and the Blue Stone Press, for which she contributes a monthly essay column and “Our Bounty,” profiles of Rondout Valley farmers. Her current writing projects include a commissioned screenplay and a children’s middle-grade novel. She lives in Stone Ridge with her daughter. Susan’s review of The Long Chalkboard by Jenny Allen and Jules Feiffer appears here.

Chris Ferraro teaches history on the high-school and college levels. A former “city guy,” he holds Masters degrees from Queens College and Lehman College in education, science, and history. In 2006, he was awarded the Raymond J. Sontag Prize for best European history thesis by the history department at Lehman College. He has written short features for Ulster County Press and book reviews for e-journal World History Connected. A native of Long Island, Chris has lived in the Hudson Valley for much of the last decade with his wife, Lisa. Chris’s investigation into the legacy of the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, “Conduct Unbecoming,” appears here. This is his first article for Chronogram.

Peter M. Laffin is a Poughkeepsie native and recent graduate of SUNY New Paltz, where he majored in philosophy. He’s a singer-songwriter who has performed at numerous top venues including CBGB Gallery in New York, the Colony Cafe in Woodstock, and the Cubbyhole Cafe in Poughkeepsie, where he hosts a weekly open- mic night. His debut album, The Still Point of the Turning World, recorded at Young Love Studios in New Paltz, is due out in mid April. Peter is currently interning at Chronogram and constructing a website (www.petelaffin.com) to display his music, published writings, and blogs. Peter’s preview of a lacto-fermentation workshop appears here.