Michael Spring was the author of numerous poetry books and chapbooks and one children’s book. His most recent poetry book was dentro do som / inside the sound (Companhia das Ilhas, Portugal, 2021). His latest chapbook Kahlo’s Window (SurVision Books, 2023) won the James Tate Prize. Other poetry awards he receoved include The Robert Graves Award, The Turtle Island Poetry Award, runner-up for the Paris Book Festival Award, and an honorable mention for the Eric Hoffer Book Award. He was also a recipient of a Luso-American Fellowship from DISQUIET International. His poems appeared in numerous publications, including: Atlanta Review, Crannog, Flyway, Gavea-Brown, The Midwest Quarterly, NEON, New York Quarterly, Paris/Atlantic, Poetry New Zealand, and Spillway. He was a poetry editor for The Pedestal Magazine and founding Editor-in-Chief of Flowstone Press. Approaching Pianowood Harbor, Michael’s final book of poetry, earned Honorable Mention in the 2024 Sally Albiso Poetry Book Awards.
Sara Backer has lived in Costa Rica, Japan, and both coasts of the United States. She earned an M.A. in English from the University of California at Davis and an M.F.A. in Poetry from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has published a novel, American Fuji (Penguin Putnam), and two poetry chapbooks: Bicycle Lotus (Left Fork) which won the Turtle Island Poetry Award, and Scavenger Hunt (dancing girl press). Her writing has been honored with fellowships from the Djerassi and Norton Island artist residency programs. She lives in the woods of the Merrimack River watershed, teaches at UMass Lowell, and leads reading groups at a men’s prison. Her website is sarabacker.com.
Judith Arcana is a Jane, a member of Chicago’s pre-Roe underground abortion service. She writes poems, stories, essays and books, including a much-loved biography of Grace Paley (Grace Paley’s Life Stories) and several poetry collections: What if your mother, 4th Period English, The Parachute Jump Effect, Announcements from the Planetarium, and Here From Somewhere Else, which received the Editor’s Choice Chapbook Award from Turtle Island Quarterly. Born and raised in the Great Lakes region, Judith has lived in the Pacific Northwest since 1995. For more about, and examples of, her work, visit JudithArcana.com.
Ryan Forsythe is the publisher of Left Fork. Originally from the suburbs of NE OH, when not traveling, he now lives off-grid in the woods of SW OR. He is a writer, editor, teacher, artist, and dad, with an MFA in Creative Writing from San Diego State University. For four years he and wife Kaci ran a hostel in Redwood National Park. You can learn more at RyanForsythe.com.
