Contributor Bios

Kevin Minh Allen was born Nguyễn Đúc Minh on December 5, 1973 near Sài Gòn, Vietnam to a Vietnamese mother and American father who remain unknown to him. He was adopted by a couple from Rochester, NY and grew up in Webster, NY with his two younger sisters. In 2000, he moved to Seattle, WA to pursue a life less ordinary. Kevin is a freelance writer who has had his poetry published in numerous print and online publications, such as Aileron, Monkey King, HazMat Literary Review, and Chrysanthemum.

Maria T. Allocco is a half-Korean half-Italian writer and educator living and loving out of San Francisco's Sunset district. She is an Academy of American Poets Prize recipient, and her work has been published in Fusion Literary Magazine and Monday Night Literary Review.

Tamiko Beyer’s poetry has appeared in The Collagist, Sonora Review, OCHO, and elsewhere. She serves as the poetry editor of Drunken Boat and has led writing workshops for homeless LGBT youth with the New York Writers Coalition. She is a founding member of Agent 409: a queer, multi-racial writing collective, and is a Kundiman Fellow. She is pursing her MFA at Washington University in St. Louis. Find her online at wonderinghome.com and blogging at kenyonreview.org.

Rebecca Y.M. Cheung is from Hong Kong, the metropolis of Asia. As a Presidential Fellow, she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of Notre Dame. Her research in psychology has taken her to Canada, China, Greece, Spain, and the United States. She enjoys doing research, traveling, reading, and writing. She also loves music, philosophy, psychology, and photography.

Ray Craig was born and raised in Tokyo—he currently resides in San Bruno, California.

Rachelle Cruz is a poet currently living in Los Angeles. A 2009 PEN USA Emerging Voices Fellow, she is working on a collection of poems. She's also the host of "The Blood-Jet Writing Hour" on BlogTalkRadio.

Asterio Enrico N. Gutierrez lives in Manila, Philippines. His poetry and fiction has been published in various print and online publications in the Philippines and abroad.

Luisa A. Igloria is the author of Juan Luna's Revolver (2009 Ernest Sandeen Prize, University of Notre Dame Press), Trill & Mordent (WordTech Editions, 2005), and 8 other books. Originally from Baguio City, she teaches on the faculty of the English Department at Old Dominion University, where she currently directs the MFA Creative Writing Program. www.luisaigloria.com.