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ABOUT
TORCH
was established to promote the work of African American
women. We provide a place to publish contemporary
poetry, prose, and short stories by experienced and
emerging writers alike. We prefer our contributors to
take risks and offer a diverse body of work that
examines and challenges preconceived notions regarding
race, ethnicity, gender roles, and identity.
Within TORCH,
we offer a special section called Flame that features an
interview, biography, and work sample by an established
writer as well as an introduction to their Spark, an
emerging writer who inspires them and adds to the
boundless voice of creative writing by Black women.
TORCH is an
online publication produced by Torch Literary Arts.
MISSION
To promote
the work of African American women by publishing
contemporary poetry, prose, and short stories by
experienced and emerging writers alike.
WE BELIEVE
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We believe that creative writing
by Black women is valuable and necessary.
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We believe in preserving our
literary legacy by working across generations.
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We believe that supporting
creative writing adds to the cross-cultural
appreciation of the arts.
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We believe in utilizing current
technology to connect our work to a broader
audience.
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We believe in meaningful
collaboration based on respect, creativity, and
freedom.
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We believe in conducting
ourselves with integrity and responsiveness in
all our interactions.
STAFF
Amanda Johnston
Editor, Executive Director
Amanda
Johnston is a Cave Canem fellow and Affrilachian poet. Honors include 2003 and 2004 Artist
Enrichment grants from the Kentucky Foundation for
Women and the 2005 Austin International Poetry
Festival's Christina Sergeyevna Award.
Johnston has served on the board of directors for the
National Women's Alliance, is currently an ensemble member of
The Austin Project Performance Company (TAPPCo). She
is the founder of Torch Literary Arts and editor of TORCH: poetry, prose,
and short stories by African American Women.
Metta
Sáma
Blog Editor
Currently
working 2 poetry projects, one (tentatively) titled
Dearest Depresseds, Move & the other (tentatively)
titled And Then (a 2006 Prairie Schooner Book
finalist), Metta
Sáma's work
examines the ways in which the body, the spirit, the
mind, the emotions, the psyche deteriorate, either
by (outside) force, by will, and/or by natural
forces. She lives in Brooklyn, where she's
completing a few (amateur) painting/collage projects
and a fiction novella on pornography actresses. Her
work has appeared in Kestrel, Blackbird, Crab
Orchard Review, Zone 3, The Drunken Boat,
and right here in the inaugural issue of TORCH.
L. Lamar Wilson
Copy Editor
L. Lamar
Wilson has copy-edited and reported for The
Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel & a host of other
newspapers in the past decade. The Cave Canem &
Callaloo fellow and emerging poet has work in or
forthcoming in Rattle, Reverie and Crab Orchard
Review.
Ana-Maurine Lara
Staff Writer
Ana-Maurine
Lara is an award-winning novelist and playwright.
She is a Cave Canem Poetry Fellow and member of The
Austin Project: Experiments in the Jazz Aesthetic.
Currently she is working on a PhD at Yale University
in African American Studies & Anthropology. For more
information about Ana-Maurine, visit her website:
www.zorashorse.com
Editorial board
Nicole Sealey
Nicole
Sealey is an editor and Cave Canem fellow. Her work
has appeared in a number of print and online
journals. She is the Readings/Workshops and Writers
Exchange Program Manager at Poets & Writers, Inc.
Nicole lives in New York City.
Niki Herd
Niki
Herd has been published in forums such as Reverie:
Midwest African American Literature, The
Drunken Boat, Just Like A Girl: A
Manifesta!, From the Web: A Global
Anthology of Women’s Political Poetry,
The Ringing Ear:
Black Poets Lean South, and Autumnal:
A Collection of Elegies on compact disc.
Nominated twice for Pushcart Awards in poetry, she
lives in Tucson, Arizona, and is a Cave Canem
Fellow.
Bianca Spriggs
Bianca Spriggs resides in
Lexington, Kentucky where she works as an
instructor of composition, literature, and
creative writing. She is the creator and
programmer of the Gypsy Poetry Slam featured
annually at the
Kentucky Women Writers Conference. An
Affrilachian Poet and Cave Canem Fellow, Bianca is
the author of Kaffir Lily, and her work may be found
in the anthologies, New Growth: Recent Kentucky
Writings, America! What's My Name? and the journals,
Alehouse, Appalachian Heritage Magazine, and the
Langston Hughes Colloquy.
Remica L. Bingham
Remica L. Bingham, a native
of Phoenix, Arizona, earned an MFA from
Bennington College and is a Cave Canem fellow. Among
other journals, her work has been published in New
Letters, Callaloo, Gulf Coast and Essence. Her first
book, Conversion, won the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry
Award, was published by Lotus Press and shortlisted
for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. A book of her
selected poems, The Seams of Memory, will be
translated into Arabic and published in 2010 in
conjunction with the Kalima Project. Currently, she
serves as the Writing Competency Coordinator at
Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia.
For more information on her
work and upcoming events visit
www.remicalbingham.com.
Board of Directors
Wura-Natasha Ogunji
Chair
Wura-Natasha
Ogunji is a visual and performance artist. She
works with thread, stitching drawings into
translucent sheets of paper. In her performance
videos she uses bundles of threads, measured in
fathoms, as she explores connections to body, land
and power. Ogunji has been an Artist-in-Residence
at Can Serrat in
Spain and Altos de Chavon in the
Dominican Republic. She has received grants
from The Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the Brooklyn
Arts Council. Selected exhibitions include: New
American Talent: The 22nd Exhibition (Arthouse at
the Jones Center,
Austin, TX), and Black Rock: The
Metamorphosis of Home from Isolation to Connection
Task Force (Gallery Aferro,
Newark, NJ). Ogunji received her Bachelor's
degree in Anthropology from
Stanford University (1998) and her MFA in
Photography from San Jose State University. She
lives in
Austin, Texas.
Natasha Harper-Madison
Secretary
Natasha
Harper-Madison is a native resident of Austin,
Texas. An entrepreneurial spirit and Renaissance
woman, Natasha owned and operated a concierge
business for 6 years. Currently, Natasha employs her
professional experience as an Executive Household
Manager in the private sector. A true service heart,
Natasha’s love for helping others starts at home
with her husband and two wonderful children. She is
thrilled to be a part of the Torch family and
appreciates being a part of an organization that
encourages genuine artistic expression.
Andrea Edgerson
Treasurer
Andrea Edgerson has been in the movement to end
domestic and sexual violence for over ten years. In
that time Andrea has had the opportunity to work
directly with survivors of domestic and sexual
violence as well as provide training and education
to various community groups on the dynamics of
domestic and sexual violence. Andrea is currently a
policy analyst at the Texas Council on family
violence where her work is primarily focused on
legal services and immigration. Andrea is also an
actor. She is currently honing her craft and
auditioning where she can.
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