Although Kristopher R. Castiglia currently lives in Allentown, Pennsylvania, he is originally from Phillipsburg, New Jersey, where he received his Associate in Fine Arts at Warren County Community College. While pursuing his AFA he studied poetic works from Walt Whitman through James Wright. He first became inspired by the art of literature and the music of language through studying the stylistic evocations of Allen Ginsberg and the genre-defying writings of William S. Burroughs. His main focus is experimental forms that traverse both fiction and poetry. Aside from writing, he specializes as a videographer for Memories Unlimited Videos.
Catherine Chambers is one of Duende’s poetry editors. Born a Texas girl, she now resides physically in Denver while her heart is forever on the road. Although she has a great love of reading poetry, even dabbling in writing some, she primarily writes creative nonfiction and flash fiction. Her work can be found in Constellations Journal of Poetry and Fiction and on her personal blog. Catherine's influences include Nicole Hardy, Natalie Goldberg, Mary Oliver, and Ernest Hemingway. She has two degrees from clown college displayed on her mom’s fridge. Hi mom!
Wendy Call is the Faculty Advisor for Duende. Before she joined the Goddard BFA faculty in 2013, she served as Writer in Residence for twenty institutions, including national parks, colleges, a historical archive and a public hospital. Her current literary projects are supported by 4Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives and works as a writer, editor, educator and translator in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood, where she’s grateful to be within walking distance of life’s essentials: an old-growth forest, brewpub, pho shop, farmers’ market, and public library.
Charity A. Goodrow co-edits Duende’s fiction. She lives in Southern Illinois and was born and raised in central New Jersey. She is currently working on a collection of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry that reflects the female experience. This collection is deeply personal as Charity is on a journey to find her feminist voice. She is inspired by the works of Roxane Gay, Cassandra Dallett, Willa Cather, Charlotte Brontë, Anne Lamott, and Lena Dunham. Charity enjoys traveling and is planning a three month trip to Europe (Summer 2015) where she will visit Paris, Prague, Cologne, Berlin, and Amsterdam.
Ah-Keisha McCants is senior editor at Duende. Her bi-coastal NYC/LA upbringing prepared her well for being married with kids in the city-burbs of PA. A poet, filmmaker, playwright, and songwriter, Ah-Keisha has written for television, film, and for recording artists Olu Dara and Cassandra Wilson. She’s inspired by the work of Lorraine Hansberry, Bertolt Brecht, Tennessee Williams, Toni Morrison, and Amiri Baraka. She has been featured in Source Magazine, Village Voice, Backstage and the Courier Post. Ah-Keisha enjoys mini adventures with her kids, pointed discourse, laughter, and proudly boasts she’s never had a cavity.
Jørn Otte co-edits Duende's fiction. He is the son of a Danish father and an Appalachian mother with Greek grandparents and a spiritual connection to Nicaragua. The father of two amazing children, he is married to his best friend, Kimberly, and they live in the mountains of West Virginia. He has written numerous short stories and poems, and is currently at work on a novel, a memoir, and losing 20 pounds. His favorite writers include Wallace Stegner, Mary Oliver, Annie Dillard, Kurt Vonnegut, Matthew Quick, and Jeannette Walls—generally any author's work that makes him feel alive. He is a helluva chess player, coaches soccer like nobody's business, and is a professional hugger of both trees and people.
Cameron Price is Duende’s design and visual art editor. He is a poet living in Ann Arbor, MI with his partner. Two of his favorite poets are Wisława Szymborska and Ed Roberson. Cameron loves trail running and is hella good at making grilled cheese sandwiches. His experimental video poems and text-based poetry have appeared in Small Po[r]tions, Humble Pie, Sixfold, Mount Island Magazine, Written River, The Destroyer, the 6th Cairo Video Festival, and has work forthcoming in DIAGRAM.
Amy Sterne is a co-managing editor and part of the design team at Duende. She recently returned to her hometown of Crystal Lake, IL after spending several years in Chicago. Her primary genre is creative nonfiction and she loves an entertaining bildungsroman. Lidia Yuknavitch, Anne Sexton, Cheryl Strayed, Kurt Vonnegut and Charles Bukowski knock her socks off. When she has a free night to herself, she is usually listening to Etta James, eating blocks of cheese, and drinking wine out of a coffee mug while baking pie.
Kate Weiss is a co-managing editor of Duende. She has traveled to many countries and has family all over the world, but home has never drifted far from the Ohio River. She writes fiction for middle graders because she learned to love reading at eight and believes many of the best stories are written for children. Her favorite authors are Rachel Carson and E.B White. You can usually find Kate with a tote bag full of books and a knitting project. She is a bookseller by profession and believes one cannot own too many books. She lives with her husband, Michael, and their dog, Perl, in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ilana Wilson is one of Duende's fiction editors. She is a sometimes student and an avid adventurer, and can on occasion be found in her homeland, Massachusetts. When she isn't working, or finding inspiration around the world, she is reading and writing as much as she possibly can. The library often catches her carrying stacks of books almost as large as she is. She loves anything fantasy, especially fairy tales and children's books. Once in a while she reads books that can be found in the "literature" or "nonfiction" section. On occasion she even likes them.
