Vivian Abrams: Cold Blood (2021)
Katie Anderton: I Am a Dream (2022)
Lilyann Bailey has always had a passion for the arts and enjoys writing poetry in her spare time. She is from Easton, Pa and is a biology major who is interested in pursuing a career in healthcare. Her inspiration stems from life events that make for an artistic story within this medium.
Grapes (2023)
Eve Brink is an Early Level Education Major at UPB. She is a junior from York, PA and has always had a passion for writing, especially on topics relating to the analysis of mental health. Her inspiration for writing comes from her own personal experiences and how they can potentially help others. Aside from writing, she enjoys teaching, reading, and watching horror movies. Eve dedicated this piece to her sister, who is the inspiration for her, and the piece itself.
The Monster (2023)
Isaiah (Izzy) Boyce is a Psychology Major at UPB. Originally from Washington state, his family moved to Pittsburgh in 2008 when he was eight years old. His inspiration for writing comes from the complex interactions between a person’s internal and external worlds, nature, and the works of sci-fi and fantasy authors such as Frank Herbert, Tolkein, and Robert Jordan.
Warm Fur (2023)
Reese Brown Jack Fuckin’ Twist, Realizations When Getting Ready (2023)
Kameo Chambers is from Philadelphia, PA. She is a student at UPB majoring in interdisciplinary arts, specializing in writing and graphic design. She has a passion for art, music, and fashion. She aspires to be an art director.
If Not Now Then When, Journey, Out the Fog, Post Heartbreak Bliss, Synchronicity, Trip!, Wanderlust (2021); Don’t Run With Scissors, Going Gooey , Legend, Rainforest, The Rat, Vanitas (2023)
Damian Challingsworth is a student in the social studies education program at UPB.
Engaging the Animal Brain (2022)
Corriehaze Choo recently relocated to Bradford with her family and is a UPB student majoring in psychology and interdisciplinary arts. She enjoys traditional and digital art mediums. She plans on pursuing a career in the art industry after getting a Masters in Fine Arts.
Anomaly (2022)
Maddie Cincala is a Biology major with an interest in art and writing. They are heavily inspired by the works of Junji Ito’s unconventional horror Mangas and Stephen King’s knack for psychological horror. Though writing and art are hobbies, they feel that having a creative outlet is just as important as school and work.
Microagressions: a graphic essay (2022); Lacuna (2023)
Courtney Clever – Featured Cover Artist (2021) – is from Warren, Pennsylvania and has lived there her entire life. She graduated in spring 2020 from UPB with a BA in interdisciplinary arts. She has two cats that she absolutely adores and is planning on bringing a third one into the family.
Leaf (2021)
Rachel Close graduated with a communications major with a minor in writing at UPB. Rachel has passions for music and vinyl record collecting, and she likes to incorporate those passions into her writing as often as possible. Rachel hopes to be able to write about music as part of her future career. She also writes poems.
My Most Favorite Recent Record Purchases, Everyone Hated this Music Legend’s Verse on Travis Scott’s New Song— And it’s Disrespectful (2021); Breathless (2022); A Mindless Task (2023)
Madison Coffman: Anomaly (2022)
Christina Cortes is an artist from Reston, Virginia who has always had a passion for painting. She’s currently a interdisciplinary arts major. She loves playing video games and going on walks.
Lily of the Valley (2021)
Stephanie Delano: Ocean Thoughts (2021)
Wyatt Druckenmiller is from Lewistown Pa, below State College. A chemistry major here at Pitt Bradford, he was recently accepted into the pharmacy program at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) beginning fall 2023.
Dr. Pepper Ad (2022)
Janelis Duran is from Philadelphia, PA. They are a student at UPB, double majoring in History/Political Science and International Affairs. Eventually, they hope to attend law school and work with as many people as possible. However, they also have a passion for art and writing. They are currently writing an anthology about conformity and a memoir called “Letters to Clementia.”
Bathroom Nights, Letters (2023)
Stephanie Eaton is originally from California. She moved to Pennsylvania in December 2016. She has a passion for the arts and recently decided to go back to school. She is pursuing her bachelor’s in interdisciplinary arts at UPB. She enjoys all mediums when it comes to art and likes to try new mediums as often as she can. She appreciates the beauty of the world around her and tends to snap spur-of-the-moment photos.
Moonlit Night, Obscured (2022); Fall, Me, Shadow Contrast (2023)
Dr. Drew Flanagan is a visiting assistant professor of history at Pitt-Bradford. When not researching the history of the Franco-German borderlands along the Rhine River, he plays folk music and watches truly terrible movies in order to make fun of them with like-minded people. He has played the violin for over 20 years and guitar for about 15 years.
Goodbye (2021)
Pat Frantz Cercone has been wrangling and wrestling with words as a professional communicator and quintessential word nerd for nearly 40 years. In 2018, after receiving a camera for Christmas, she assumed another identity: wildlife photographer. When she’s not working as the executive director of communications and marketing at Pitt-Bradford, she’s off into the woods, looking for something beautiful to photograph.
Baby Carolina Wren, Barred Owl, Home-Building Beaver, Mom and Baby Turtle, You Gotta Kiss a Lot of Frogs (2023)
Kellen Gaither – Featured Poet (2021) – is from Cincinnati, Ohio. She is a UPB graduate with a major in psychology and a minor in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies who is also working on her prerequisites for occupational therapy.
Beautiful Black Boy, Businessman, Cantu Bantu, The Hood Isn’t Even Ours Anymore, I Can Feel It, Not Allowed to Hurt, The Talk (2021); Ebony Love (2022)
Dr. Ian Evans Guthrie, an emerging composer, performer, researcher, and collaborator who teaches music classes at Pitt-Bradford, has received the Mile High Freedom Band 2021 Commission, first place in the Noosa-ISAM and Arcady Composition competitions, second for the American Prize, a nomination for a 2020 award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and other accolades for his compositions. Many of his works have been performed publicly around the world by fEARnoMUSIC, the Northwest Symphony Orchestra, Moore Philharmonic Orchestra, VIPA, highSCORE Music Festival, Atlantic Music Festival, Charlotte New Music Festival, and others. His most recent works include Flight for Freedom for band; a fixed media track for dancer Ilana Goldman; tracks for various exhibitions at Venvi Art Gallery (Tallahassee, FL;)and the score for the story ballet The Queen of Nori. As a pianist, Guthrie has won awards from MTNA, the Great Composer Competition, and other organizations. He also actively researches the relationship between harmony and rhythmic cells, and his paper Rhythm as Function has been featured at several past and upcoming conferences across the continent.
Tropical Sabbath (2021)
Grace Heckman is a UPB graduate with a major in psychology and a biology minor with aspirations to be a pediatric psychiatrist. She loves to challenge herself with hobbies and experiences that expand her knowledge and understanding. Poetry has been a hobby throughout her life. She uses it to express emotions that she doesn’t entirely understand until they’re written down on paper. She thinks of it as an outlet and a tool that makes her a better communicator.
Dinner Will Be Ready Soon (2021); Revirgin (2022)
Brianna Henry graduated in 2019 with a degree in creative writing and graphic design. She received the Robert C. Laing Creative Arts Award in Writing for 2018-2019. She also worked on the staff of Baily’s Beads, designing both the 2018 and 2019 issues of the magazine, and now works as a graphic designer in Texas.
Ring of Fire, Who Am I? (2021)
Connor Horton: Hello (2021)
Selese Huth graduated in 2015 with a degree in writing. A former editor-in-chief of Baily’s Beads, Selese spends less time writing these days and more time volunteering at community events in cosplay to bring some much-needed cheer during this turbulent year. She uses art as a creative outlet. Her piece, “My Fur Looks Better on Me Than You,” is part of a wildlife conservation series she’s working on.
My Fur Looks Better on Me Than You (2021)
Kierstynn “Kris” Indermaur was born and raised in a small town in the Poconos called Swiftwater. She started writing poetry for a project in the eighth grade and has been writing ever since. She graduated in the spring of 2021 with a degree in interdisciplinary arts and a minor in psychology.
How to Survive a Broken Heart, Planned Ends (2022)
Max Jensen has taught Spanish and literature at UPB since 2018. His academic research studies the intersections of experimental literature, spirituality, and political engagement in twentieth-century Spanish literature. He writes poems occasionally, enjoys playing guitar and piano, and meditates frequently.
The Moon Is Calling, Notes on a Manager, A Word in the Mouth of a Bird (2022)
Jess Jordan is from St. Marys, Pennsylvania. She graduated in the spring of 2021 with a degree in interdisciplinary arts with a focus in digital art and writing. Along with digital art, she loves trying out new mediums of art as well, like watercolor painting and drawing with charcoal. She also enjoy reading and writing poetry and picture book manuscripts. When she’s not writing or creating, Jess enjoy playing tennis. She is a former member of the magazine staff and my poetry, graphics, and photographs have appeared in previous editions of Baily’s Beads.
Destruction, The End, Photograph, Prison, A Series of Haiku, Shattered (2021); Golden Hour, Peter Penguin: a picture book, Sky High (2022); Trying to Write a Happy Poem, Waves of Feeling Blue (2023)
Pressley Keane is from Limestone, NY, which is super close to Bradford. She is majoring in psychology with a minor in art.
Anomaly, Red Bull Ad (2022)
Kristen Laemmer always loved to write but struggled with learning disabilities growing up. Visual art allows her to express her feelings through her brushstrokes. She graduated from UPB with a psychology major and minors in writing and sociology.
No Title, Plants, Roots, Scenery (2021)
Meredith A. Lang currently lives in Olean, NY, but is from Rixford, PA. While she is a teacher by profession, she is also a writer, photographer, and banjo and mandolin player. When she is not engaged in these activities, she is either perfecting her yoga moves, working on singing on key, or mastering the perfect loaf of sourdough bread. She writes poetry, personal essays, and short stories, some of which have been published online and in print. The rest of her writing can be found on her blog, “Minor Thoughts.”
A Cowboy Contemplates the Shape of Figs (2021); One Piece of the Whole, She Will Take Up Space, The Wise Woman (2023)
Allison Larrabee is originally from Hinsdale, NY. Her major at UPB is interdisciplinary arts. She is very interested in art and plans on becoming a graphic designer. She says that despite being a freshman, she has big plans for her career.
Anomaly (2022); Melting of Color, Pain Behind the Calm, Stuck in Hell, Too Much Emotion (2023)
Jorj Lemay Jorj (Jorj= George) was born in Philadelphia and has eight siblings (he’s number 7). He started making music because of his brother, and branched out with his own music in July 2020 due to COVID. He loves making beats and music and sees the process as a journal, somewhere to express where he’s going with his life. He says, “As passionate as I am, sometimes I wonder what I would do if I didn’t create music, then I remind myself to apply the pressure and just go for it.”
C.D. Interview, March, Quarantine (2021)
Amanda Little grew up in Bradford. She is a graduate of UPB with a major in interdisciplinary arts. Her two focuses are studio art and writing. Writing holds a special place for her, as it has been another way to express thoughts that she couldn’t through studio art. Words, she has found, paint beautiful pictures as well.
Disability Is a State of Mind, Photographs (2022)
Emily Little has lived in Bradford all of her life and graduated from UPB as a general studies major with concentrations in English and writing. The national forests that surround Bradford are what fueled her writing for years. She now lives in Pittsburgh, and her short time in the city has already brought a whole new dimension to her work, but she knows her heart and passion for writing will remain in the hills.
Sweet, Under Summer’s Sky (2021); The Moon Casts Shadows Too (2022)
Gabriel Lyra is majoring in Writing and is originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is interested in fiction pieces and poetry; his dream is to be a professional writer someday.
The Anxious Feeling (2023)
Taylar Mager is an Early Education Major who enjoys baking, skiing, and coming up with creative events for others to participate in on and off campus. This is her first published creative writing piece.
How to Fail at Relationships (2023)
Tigere Mavesere: Anomaly (2022)
Dr. Nancy McCabe directs the creative and professional writing program at Pitt-Bradford and has advised Baily’s Beads for 20 years. She is the author of six books, most recently Can This Marriage Be Saved? A Memoir, due out in paperback and Audible Audiobook. She is a recipient of the Pushcart Prize and her work has made annual notable lists eight times in Best American Essays and Best American Nonrequired Reading. Her website is www.nancymccabe.net.
Bonnie McMillen is a native of Bradford and spent her younger years playing around the Harri Emery airport on Dorothy Lane. While working as Director of Student Health at Pitt-Bradford, she became interested in writing poetry and short stories. This interest has continued into a busy retirement.
Abecedarian, Dear Harri Emery Airport, McKean County 1955, Tales from the Female Crypt (2021)
Nicholas Metzger is from York, in south-central Pennsylvania. He is currently majoring in accounting and management, and his main interests are camping, nature, and reading. He has mostly done writing for school projects since his dyslexia often gets in the way. Lately, he has been writing poems and short stories more regularly.
Armor Behind the Glass, Howling Wind, Water in the Glen (2021)
Michael Minassian is a Contributing Editor for Verse-Virtual, an online poetry journal. His short stories have appeared recently in Impspired, Flash Boulevard, and 10 by 10. He is the author of three poetry collections as well as a chapbook of poems Jack Pays a Visit, released in 2022. For more information: https://michaelminassian.com
Let It Be (2023)
Emily Miller: Kiwi, My Mother’s Eyes (2022)
Natalie Mix is an Interdisciplinary Arts major who enjoys photography and writing using events that are important to her life story.
Colors of Us, Losing Oneself, Sisters, A Year in COVID (2023)
Mik Mortimer is a junior interdisciplinary arts major who is hoping to step into the world of multimedia design. As a non-binary artist, identity and individuality is something very important to them.
The Path of Self-Discovery (2023)
Devin Moultrie (Midas the Don) They are an Interdisciplinary Arts major and History minor looking to create a beautiful world with their art.
Ratz Prologue (2023)
Jake Mott grew up in Bradford, and has always taken the beauty in the world for granted, since Bradford is surrounded by nature, with Allegany State Park a ten-minute drive away. While taking a photography class last year, he started to notice and appreciate the beautiful moments in the world. Now he tries his best to capture as many as he can.
Untitled, Untitled, Untitled, Untitled, Untitled (2021); Anomaly, Boo, End of the Season, Fall, Follow Me, Road to Nowhere, Suggestion, Spookyscaryskeletons, Rock’n’Roll, Vintage (2022)
Mitchell Newara is an IT student from St. Marys, PA. He enjoys writing science fantasy, and is looking to publish the first book in his Chimeric Origins trilogy within the coming year. He hopes to get an IT position in or near his hometown upon graduating from UPB in December 2021. His subversive advertisement, “This is our leader. We are in a pickle, Rick” is a commentary on the opinions of general society toward the current situation America has found itself in.
Pickle Biden Ad (2022)
Carol Newman is a graduate of Pitt-Bradford and St. Bonaventure University who taught writing at Pitt-Bradford for fifteen years. She has published work in Chautauqua, Earth’s Daughters, Ebb, and the online publication Writers Workshop Review. Her poetry has also appeared in the anthologies Written on the Water: Writings about the Allegheny River and Far Out: Poems of the Sixties.
Getting There (2021)
David Nguyen: Hand Mirror, Psychological Space (2022)
Diane Null is from Gifford, PA. She is currently a part-time interdisciplinary arts major focusing on art & music. Her interests include learning new ways to create studio art including painting in different mediums–watercolor, acrylic, oils, and portrait drawings, as well as taking lessons in flute, guitar, and vocals. She enjoys writing, going to the movies, and being part of her church’s praise and worship band.
Europe, Wildflowers on Boards (2022)
Isaac Payne is an English and writing graduate. He is also a graduate of the Alpha Young Writer’s Workshop, and his short story “The Pursuit of Luck” received an Honorable Mention in the 2017 Writers of the Future contest. His short fiction has appeared in The Corvid Review, and he was a panelist discussing Eastern and Western speculative fiction at the 2018 Northeastern Modern Language Association Conference.
Deviation, The Tennis Shoes of Pennsylvania (2021)
Taryn Pecile is from a little town called Drums, Pennsylvania. She graduated in 2020 with a major in psychology and a minor in writing. In her free time, she enjoys singing and hanging out with her friends. She has been writing poetry since she was eleven years old.
The Lost Months, Therapy, Trees/Capillaries (2021)
Hannah Powers: Monsanto Kool-Aid (2022)
Alicia Reese is a student from Lewistown, Pennsylvania with a major in nursing and a minor in gender, sexuality, and women’s studies. She was introduced to writing when taking a course with Nancy McCabe and fell in love with it. Her hobbies include snowboarding, hiking, and kayaking.
The Floral Couch, Gone With the Wind, Swipe (2022)
Ambria Richardson is an English major with a minor in writing who enjoys documenting their world through writing, but also loves drinking coffee, reading, and spending time with their cat.
No (2023)
Jourdan Robbins is a writing major at Pitt-Bradford.
My Father’s Daughter (2022); Caution, Ice (2023)
Amelia Rodriguez graduated from Pitt-Bradford with a writing major in 2021 and is currently a graduate student in creative writing at Spalding University.
Meet Me Through the Fever Dream, The Roses Within, The Yard That Built Me (2022)
Hannah Ruttan graduated with a writing major and music minor from Bradford. She was the editor of the 2021 issue of Baily’s Beads. Hannah began writing at age six and hasn’t stopped since, working on a young adult novel outside of classes and work. Some of her hobbies include collecting records and K-pop albums as well as spending too much time on her Nintendo Switch.
I Stopped Being a Music Elitist and Listened to K-Pop, A Definitive Ranking of My Chemical Romance’s Albums Based on Life Experience (2021); Sauce Packets, Bright Eyes (2023)
Fatima Saccoh was born and raised in West Africa (Guinea and Liberia), but now lives in Norwood, Pennsylvania. Photography, music, and art in general have always been a part of her life and helped her adjust to the culture shock when she moved to the United States. She loves all forms of art and learning about other cultures and languages.
Blue, Genesis, La Couleur Orange, Sakura (2021)
Alayna Seggi is from Erie, Pennsylvania and attended Fort LeBoeuf High School. She majored in English education and graduated 2021. She plans to attend graduate school and earn a degree in school counseling while simultaneously teaching. She played volleyball for three years, and in her sophomore season helped her team secure an AMCC championship and NCAA appearance. This is her first publication. She’d like to continue studying creative writing at some point as well.
High Roller, Santa Date, War Zone, Working with Ameera (2021)
Aubrie Shrubb: Always Walking Away (2022)
Nathan Smith grew up in Bradford and took classes at UPB. He is now pursuing his PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. He hopes to publish a poetry collection in the future and to continue writing through graduate school and onward.
You Will Be a Rainbow (2022)
Jacob A. Soulas: Anomaly (2022)
Aaron Suranofsky graduated from UPB with a major in writing. He plans to pursue a master’s degree and possibly a doctorate with the goal of being a writing professor.
Pepper, Ripples, Simply Kitty (2021); A Beaver’s Life, Depression Meets Dog, Explaining Love As Someone Who’s Never Been in Love, Nature Inspiration, Quad-Seasonal Conifer, Rail Track Vagabond (2023)
Taylor Tarahteeff was the editor of the 2020 issue of Baily’s Beads. He graduated from UPB with an interdisciplinary arts degree.
The Door to Nowhere, Why San Franciscans Like the Fog (2021)
Rebecca Titchner has been the Elk County Recycling Coordinator for over twenty years. Prior to that she was a reporter and editor for two county daily newspapers. She and her husband are musicians and some of their original music has been featured on public radio and internet streaming stations. She resides in Ridgway.
Unfinished (2021)
Pat Tolerico: Chickadee, Chipmunk, Chipmunk 4, Honeybee (2023)
Christine Troll: Identity 1, Identity 2, Identity 3 (2023)
Janis Trubic was born and raised in Sheffield, PA. Her first writing award came when she was in fifth grade, reading and writing about Huckleberry Finn. Many years have passed since she was a nontraditional student at UPB from 2001 to 2003. She says that among other fine teachers, Nancy McCabe shines forth as a fine tutor and friend. She is grateful.
The Storm (2022)
Bill Wilson graduated from the University of Buffalo in 1977, never having learned a thing about writing. He is a member of the Oswayo Valley Writers Guild under the guidance of Cheri Maxson. A hopeless bibliophile, he enjoys gardening, landscaping, and birding with his wife of forty-two years, Jean, a local stained-glass guru.
Black Bear, Procreation, Rituals (2021); Ice Capades (2022); The Quieted Nest (2023)
Clark Zlotchew is the author of eighteen published books, four of which are fiction: a new short story collection (2021) plus two espionage/thriller novels and an award-winning collection of short stories, Once Upon a Decade: Tales of the Fifties (2010). Newer work of his has appeared in Crossways Literary Magazine, Baily’s Beads, The Fictional Café, and many other literary journals in the U.S., Australia, U.K., Germany, South Africa, Sweden, India, and Ireland from 2016 through 2021. Spanish versions of his fiction have appeared in Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, and the state of Colorado. Dr. Zlotchew is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Spanish Emeritus at SUNY Fredonia.
The False Lorrelle (2022); Smoke and Mirrors (2023)