:: ReadFive :: - Our Contributors

Issue 36

Caitlin Legere writes, designs and edits for Five. She considers it a creative outlet but would rather be basking in the glory of Taos Fall, dyeing fabrics, sewing, writing, photographing or watercoloring. cmlegere.com

Maeve Nevins, a lifelong resident of the mountains, brings an invaluable high country perspective to her career as a landscape architect and planner. Whether tackling a mountain on bike, foot or skis, this Renaissance woman is all about the outdoor lifestyle. Painting it, writing about it, preserving it, and enjoying it to the fullest.
maevenevins@gmail.com.

Annette Stoner works as a Marketing Consultant for KTAOS, Luna and Five. She craves tickle torture with her daughter Jasmine, the warm oceans of Hawaii and the
powdery snow at TSV. She can be seen living, loving, and laughing.

Judith Rane, known as Dame Judith, a name bestowed upon
her on The Great Peace March, a nine and a half month Peace
Walk across the US in 1986, has been a part of the Taos art scene for over thirty years, working as Executive Director at the Taos Center for the Arts and as Owner/Director of RANE Gallery on Historic Ledoux Street. As a grandmother, she says of her family, “Most of my family are Anglo with the beautiful exception of a few Guatemalans”.

Jane Jeffries, known as Lady Jane, a name bestowed upon her by the late R.C. Gorman, has been a part of the Taos art scene for over thirty years, working at various galleries including Navajo Gallery. You may recognize her in her bright purple and turquoise outfits with her walking cane and large sun hats covering her radiant red hair. As a great great grandmother, she says of her family, “Most of my family are Mexican except for the few that are black.”

Electra Taisia Rich not only writes, but also recently returned to school for web design in Minneapolis. She plans on moving to Santa Fe when she graduates. Keep up with her at <a href="http://electra-writing.blogspot.com"electra-writing.blogspot.com

Bill Nevins practices writing poetry and playing the Irish bodhran drum during the winter months in Albuquerque. He teaches English for UNM Valencia in Tome, New Mexico. Bill has written about brewing and brewpubs for FIVE, Celtic Mirror and other magazines and he continues his selfless research on the subject.bill_nevins@yahoo.com

Dora E. McQuaid is an award-winning poet, activist, speaker, and teacher, whose blend of art, emotion and service has earned her awards, multiple publications, and opportunities to perform internationally. Dora’s latest book, SEVEN: Poems of The Interim, is forthcoming. doramcquaid.com

Lenny Foster, acclaimed photographer/Taos Arts Living Master, creates exquisite images that honor the healing power of Spirit. Foster has traveled internationally to develop his bodies of work, on display at his Living Light Gallery, Ledoux Street, Taos. lennyfoster.com

Issue 34

Lia Carter Martin, writer, photographer, artist, world traveler and Santa Fean born in Bristol, Virginia was weaned on the Carter Family’s country music at Rose Carter’s pawn shop, otherwise known as her grandmother and confidant. newmexicoeditor@gmail.com

Sonja Dewing is a freelance writer with a degree in communications and professional writing.
You can contact her at write@sonjaydewing.com

Caitlin Legere is back to work after 10 days of peace and wilderness.
cmlegere.com

Maeve Nevins is a landscape designer who resides in Crested Butte, Colorado. She is passionate about “walking the talk” when it comes to a reducing her carbon footprint and spreading the word about how to make positive change on the earth.
For info, maevenevins@gmail.com.

Electra Taisia Rich writes in St. Paul, Minnesota and daydreams of moving to Santa Fe. Contact her at Electra.Rich@gmail.com or view her LinkedIn profile at linkedin.com/in/electrarich

Joel Mockovciak is a student at Sarah Lawrence College, interning at KTAOS for the summer. He is an obsessive collector of music, lover of old things and a terrible writer.

Bill Nevins writes often for_ Five _and other magazines and practices writing poetry and playing the Irish bodhran drum during the winter months in Albuquerque. He teaches English for UNM Valencia in Tome, New Mexico. bill_nevins@yahoo.com

Issue 32

Richard Oyama has a Master’s degree in English: Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. His work has been published in the Albuquerque Journal, the Local IQ, the San Francisco Chronicle/Examiner, San Francisco Bay Guardian, the East Bay Express and Downbeat Magazine. His first volume of poetry, The Country They Know (Neuma Books) was recently published. He currently lives in Albuquerque.

Caitlin Legere celebrates art and life in the Taos Valley. She creates Five, and with her leftover time she works on her personal art career and new business ideas while enjoying her beautiful home and family.
cmlegere.com

Jane Glenn is an artist specializing in nature photography. Her creative macro focus offers unique, intimate, and evolving perspectives on her artistic subjects. Jane’s art is regularly exhibited at YART, 1325 Merchant Road in Taos, New Mexico.
taosgardenstyle.com

Maeve Nevins is an architect and extreme skier who wears many hats. For info, maevenevins@gmail.com.

Electra Taisia Rich writes in St. Paul, Minnesota and daydreams of moving to Santa Fe. Contact her at Electra.Rich@gmail.com or view her LinkedIn profile at linkedin.com/in/electrarich

Greg Rach is striking out into the exciting world of custom bicycle building after a dozen years of general tinkering. With his trusty torch and his visor he plans to enjoy his retirement from a rigorous snow skiing career.grach@taosnet.com

Damon Scott is a freelance writer based out of Albuquerque. You can contact him at damon-scott@hotmail.com

Issue 31

Roanne Lewis, whole food chef and nutritional counselor, co-authored The Taos Whole Foods Cookbook and has taught whole food cooking classes throughout the United States and Canada. For consultations and classes, roannelewis@hotmail.com.

Greg Rach enjoys being chased by stick dogs and carrot sticks. He also enjoys gardening, bikes and adventures.grach@taosnet.com

Damon Scott is a freelance writer based out of Albuquerque. You can contact him at damon-scott@hotmail.com

Dana Herrera is an award-winning writer based in Albuquerque. When she isn’t writing, Dana is running after her 16-month old son, attending book clubs, playing with her cats and spending time in her husband’s hometown of London, England.

John Rehorn is the Executive Director of the Colorado Straw Bale Association. Please visit coloradostrawbale.org to learn more and to join the association.

Richard Garriott-Stejskal was born in Anacortez, Washington and has been a resident of Albuquerque since 1968. He worked 25 years as a creative arts therapist and artist. His work can be found in Ceramics Monthly. Richard’s favorite food is peanut butter (freshly ground) and jelly and fresh whole wheat bread.

Lucy McCall is an herbalist/astrologer for 40 years. She keeps an extensive herb garden on her land in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. She makes herbal medicines and sells them at market. She teaches Herbology 1 at UNM Taos. avalamesamiracles.com, avala@zianet.com

Scott Pittman has been teaching and designing permaculture ecosystems for 22 years, six of those years was teaching with Bill Mollison. He lives and writes in Jacona, New Mexico between watching chickens and collecting apples, he teaches permaculture, and works on international design projects and seminars.

Arina Pittman is a farmer, designer, gardener and sustainability practitioner. She runs “Lots of Life in One Place”, a permaculture demonstration farm near Santa Fe with focus in Sustainable Living in Drylands. You can learn more about the work and upcoming permaculture events, classes, and permaculture applications on the website, permaculture.org

Issue 30

Maeve Nevins is an architect and extreme skier who wears many hats. For info, maevenevins@gmail.com.

Sally Russell, A natural expressionist, uses multi-layered oils to create dazzling abstract flowers, reminiscent of Georgia O’Keefe. Sally is represented in Taos, New Mexico by Farnsworth Gallery Taos

Richard Mahler is a free-lance writer in Silver City. Among his 11 books are New Mexico’s Best and Insider’s Guide to Santa Fe. His columns have appeared in the Albuquerque Journal, Crosswinds Weekly and Desert Exposure. Read more of his work at RichardMahler.com.

Geraint Smith grew up in South Wales and in Yorkshire, England. He has lived in Taos for the last 20 years, photographing Taos and the southwestern states. See more at geraintsmith.com.

Priscilla Baca y Candelaria lives in Atrisco, an ancient pueblo and land grant in Albuquerque’s South Valley, in a large adobe home which has housed her family for generations. She is a painter, bilingual poet, recording artist, farmer and mother and a retired public school teacher. sisoy2003@yahoo.com

Mackenzi Frederick continues to frolic her days away interning at Five, when she’s not off adventuring on the snowy slopes of the Southern Rockies. Meanwhile, she prays for precipitation.mackenzi.frederick@gmail.com

Roanne Lewis, whole food chef and nutritional counselor, co-authored The Taos Whole Foods Cookbook and has taught whole food cooking classes throughout the United States and Canada. For consultations and classes, roannelewis@hotmail.com.

Damon Scott is a freelance writer based in Albuquerque. When he’s not writing you can find him pouring buckets of sweat at Bikram’s yoga, or playing with his doggie named Bleu. His writing interests include social issues and the environment, and Asian travel and New Mexico culture.damon-scott@hotmail.com

Bill Nevins writes often for Five and other magazines and practices writing poetry and playing the Irish bodhran drum during the winter months in Albuquerque. He teaches English for UNM Valencia in Tome, New Mexico.
bill_nevins@yahoo.com

Elaine Peabody is a freelance writer with a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Mexico. She currently lives in Albuquerque with her husband and three young daughters.

Issue 29

Dana Herrera is an award-winning writer based in Albuquerque. When she isn’t writing, Dana is running after her 13-month old son, attending book clubs, playing with her cats and spending time in her husband’s hometown of London, England.

Jon Pitt is a writer and musician currently living in Santa Fe. He holds a degree in Japanese Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Jon has been involved in numerous musical projects. He currently runs Salty Attic Records in Santa Fe, and has written for Dusted Magazine and Foxy Digitalis.
shiosai@hotmail.com

Richard Garriott-Stejskal was born in Anacortez, Washington and has been a resident of Albuquerque since 1968. He worked 25 years as a creative arts therapist and artist. He currently works at Home Depot providing him with a steady income. His work can be found in Ceramics Monthly. Richard’s favorite food is peanut butter (freshly ground) and jelly and fresh whole wheat bread.

Jeff Berg is a freelance writer based in Las Cruces who scours the countryside for film ideas to share with audiences in his little corner of the world. He has also written for New Mexico Magazine, True West, and Silver City’s Desert Exposure.

Greg Rach enjoys being chased by stick dogs.grach@taosnet.com.

Issue 28

Bill Nevins writes from Albuquerque for New Mexico and national magazines and serves on the New Mexico Music Commission (nmmusic.org). His work as an educator, poet and journalist has been the topic of two documentary films. bill_nevins@yahoo.com

Eva Avenue plays accordion, piano, ukelele and stand up bass. Her musical compositions have been featured on KUNM. She has just returned from France making goat cheese, meeting famous writers and sleeping in bookstores. eva_incognito@gmail.com

Sterling Lane is a pen name for Kimberly Morgan who is too convinced that everyone will know Sterling Lane is a pen name so she’s revealing her true name. She lives in New York, loves art, miniature sized everyday objects and animals and humans with disabilities.

Marjorie Faes is a freelance writer with a wide range of interests. She has written for The Family Digest, Stroke Connection, Bas Bleu, Church Educator and the National Aphasia Association.

Elaine Peabody is a freelance writer with a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Mexico. She currently lives in Albuquerque with her husband and three young daughters.

Caitlin Legere is a dreamer.
cmlegere.blogspot.com

Issue 27

Elizabeth Burns is spending all her time filling out visa applications for a trip to Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. She is a photographer and a golfer, but she is not taking her clubs on this trip.

Bill Nevins writes about music, art and literature from Albuquerque. He is a poet, a member of the New Mexico Music Commission (nmmusic.org) and consulting editor of Albuquerque ARTS monthly. bill_nevins@yahoo.com

Peggy Staley has loved living in the Enchanted Circle for the last 16 years, currently working for Fusion Marketing and writing articles on her favorite subjects as life presents the opportunity. As we let our own light shine, we allow others to do the same.

Jessica Miraldi is a freelance writer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is a travel nut and spends all of her free time planning the next big trip, which would be much easier if only she were independently wealthy. You can reach her at jessica.miraldi@gmail.com.

David Pérez considers the number five to be magical. There are five letters in both his first and last name. He was born in 1955. In May, the fifth month of the year. He has five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot. David is a writer, editor, actor, researcher and father.
Five occupations!

Elaine Peabody is a freelance writer with a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Mexico. She currently lives in Albuquerque with her husband and three young daughters.

Mike Millspaugh was born in Amsterdam, New York. He attended Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York, The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York as well as the Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Madrid, Spain.

David Jean Schweitzer explores the world, absorbing the exquisiteness of the colors and contours with adoring purpose, which he tries to share with others through images and music. His creations blend film, digital imagery, sound and computer generated art. He lives in his casita North of Taos with his dog and 2 cats.

Stephen Siegel lives in Albuquerque, where he enjoys all the time he gets to spend wearing his Patagonia gear. He and his wife intend to reduce their footprint by becoming a one-car household when they move to New York later this summer.

Issue 26

Ross Burns is the editor of Five and a rehabilitated educator. Contact him now at editor@readfive.com

Laurie Falconer works in PR and advertising in Albuquerque but writes freelance to “keep it real.” You can find her daily hiding under her desk in the office, or by emailing lauriesloft@yahoo.com.

Michelle Cooke’s current work involves graphite on paper and panel, glass installations, and steel mixed media sculpture. Her work is being shown in Santa Fe at the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Box Gallery, and in Taos at the Fenix Gallery. She lives and works in Arroyo Seco, New Mexico.

Pito Villegas was born in Cajamarca, Peru, became a man in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and now lives in Palo Alto, California. No matter where he is the Wild West is always on his mind.

Issue 25

Peggy Staley has been living and gardening in New Mexico for 16 years. For 12 of those 16 years, she owned and ran a high-altitude tree and shrub nursery.

H. Warren Kelly “The real subject of any kind of work is simply the intersection of people and the world. Saying of a picture, ‘that works,’ means that it captures a slipping glimpse of permanence in flux, and that it changes our outlook on the whole.”

Ross Burns is the editor of Five and a rehabilitated educator. Contact him now at editor@readfive.com

Mackenzi Frederick explores the possibilities of livelihood and wonders
how to align her diverse interests into a life devoid of nine-to-fives and the necessity to be something in particular. Meanwhile, she revels in the bliss of spring and green things growing.

Heather Ashare holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of California and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan. She currently lives in Michigan with partner Matthew Darling and their daughter.

Jeff Berg is a freelance writer based in Las Cruces who scours the countryside for film ideas to share with audiences in his little corner of the world. He has also written for New Mexico Magazine, True West, and Silver City’s Desert Exposure.

Elizabeth Burns is a wannabe. A wannabe photographer, a wannabe writer and a wannabe teen idol, although she knows she’s too old to be the last one.

Issue 24

Christy Schwathe is a painter/printmaker/seamstress living and working in Costilla, New Mexico. Her art is inspired by the relationships, questions, and contradictions of modern human life. cschwathe.com

Stephen Siegel lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife and two dogs. Whenever possible, he lets the dogs take him backcountry camping so they can reconnect with nature and actually see stars instead of spotlights. You can reach him at sigwell2@yahoo.com.

Josh Liberles is based out of Albuquerque but he spends the majority of the spring and summer traveling in search of the next bike race. Josh is the editor and head writer of Carectomy.com, a regular contributor to Mountain Flyer magazine, and he hosts an online column for Cyclo-CLUB.

Heather Ashare holds a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of California and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan. She has written for a number of newspapers, magazines and websites across the country on health, wellness and holistic healing. She is also an asthanga yoga practitioner and instructor. She currently lives in Michigan with partner Matthew Darling and their daughter.

To keep his hens warm and toasty, Five editor Ross Burns is insulating his Taos, New Mexico, chicken coop with padded CD mailers that flood the offices of Five and world famous solar radio KTAO.

Bill Nevins spits poetry in Albuquerque, where he teaches English for CNM. He appears in the documentary film Committing Poetry in Times of War, due out on DVD soon. Bill also writes for Z and albuquerqueARTS. bill_nevins@yahoo.com

Issue 23

Jeremy Hance came west for intellectual gold: The Great Books graduate program at St. John’s College in Santa Fe. He is a regular reporter for the environmental news website Mongabay.com. He’s been lucky enough to see endangered species on three continents.

Crystalynn Nicole Cornevin is a Travel Agent by day and freelance writer by night. Based in San Antonio, Texas, she enjoys crafty projects, a healthy Blackberry addiction and Googling her own name. Contact her at ncornevin@sbcglobal.net.

Ross Burns is the editor of Five, and like Ralph Bronner, was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Praise, complaints and story ideas can be sent to him at editor@readfive.com

An avid admirer of gliding and high velocity, Mackenzi Frederick enjoys days spent amongst the mountains of the southern Rockies, coaching skiing and playing as much as she can. Meanwhile, she contemplates how to conjure a living from the craft of writing.

Pito Villegas was born in Cajamarca, Peru, became a man in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and now lives in Palo Alto, California. No matter where he is, New Mexico is always on his mind.

Geraint Smith is inspired every day here in the Southwest. In particular, the Sangre de Cristos are familiar to him as the mountains of Wales where he grew up. To see more of Geraint’s photography please visit geraintsmith.com

Alan Mitchell is a New Mexico photographer who finds inspiration in the local culture, landscape, and objects observed in his travels to various locations around the world. Alan’s eye sees beauty in the unusual and the unexpected. See more of his work at alanmitchellphotography.com

Issue Twenty-Two

Kristen Graser is a Licensed Midwife who recently spent two years working at the Northern New Mexico Midwifery Center. She currently resides in Berkeley, California, with her husband and her beautiful new daughter.

Josh Liberles is currently piloting a waste vegetable oil-powered school bus around the US in support of the CLIF Bar Development Cyclocross Team. Josh finds time to race the country’s biggest cyclocross events and is growing his hair out to keep warm.

Mary Ratzlaff is a photographer raised all over the Southwest. Her art has always been inspired by nature. She is proud to call Taos, New Mexico, home. myspace.com/marymeaghanphotography

Stephen Siegel is a freelance writer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he lives with his wife and two dogs. He insists drinking Pinot Noir while listening to Al Green is only enhanced by a dimly lit room. You can reach him at sigwell2@yahoo.com.

Lara Alspaugh is a freelance writer based in Michigan. She is an adjunct faculty member at Lansing Community College in the nursing department. Teaching childbirth education classes fills the time that her three sons don’t.

Jeff Berg is a freelance writer based in Las Cruces. His hope for this year is that Brian Moore is elected president on the same day that The New Yorker buys one of his story ideas. Other fantasies help him pass the time of day.

To keep his hens warm and toasty, Five editor Ross Burns is insulating his Taos, New Mexico, chicken coop with padded CD mailers that flood the offices of Five and world famous solar radio KTAO.

Jennifer Wright is an English major who has spent a great deal of time reading over the slush pile and making very mediocre coffee at a New York literary agency. She proudly displays her “This is Not a Plastic Bag” bag every time she goes to the grocery store.

Kent Page McGroarty is a freelance writer who contributes to several sections of EDGE Publications, an online GLBT magazine. She also performs with Philadelphia-based improv group The Ninjas. Contact her at kentmcgroarty@yahoo.com

Issue Twenty-One

Marc Schoder is a Public Relations major at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico. He has been a freelance reporter and writer for seven years and his work has appeared in various newspapers in New Mexico as well as different online publications.

Bela Krushnek is a writer and mathematician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Even though he chose mathematics over the family business, he is an ardent supporter of the buy local movement.

Cynthia Lechan Goodman is a contributing writer to several magazines, previously a painter of portraits and murals, writer and editor of schoolbooks, and lover of gourmet entertaining and exercising energy. Upon becoming a mommy of a daughter, observing the world has become amazing.

Jerry Schwartz is an organic gardener, Dj, photographer, techno-peasant and erstwhile writer based in Taos, New Mexico. Please surf over to his website, globalisite.com, for more images, video and musings from the road less trodden.

Ross Burns is the editor of Five and a rehabilitated educator.

Danny Brown has been a freelance writer for the past 15 years. Originally from Scotland, but now living in Toronto, Canada, he’s a keen music lover and enjoys pestering his two cats as much as they pester him. If you ever want to butter him up, just offer a nice glass of red wine and compliment him on his cap.

Mackenzi Frederick continues to frolic her days away interning at FIVE, when she’s not off adventuring on the snowy slopes of the Southern Rockies. Meanwhile, she prays for precipitation.

Josh Liberles is currently piloting a waste vegetable oil-powered school bus around the US in support of the CLIF Bar Development Cyclocross Team. In addition to schlepping bikes and gear coast-to-coast and spreading the team’s environmental initiative, Josh is finding time to race the country’s biggest cyclocross events and is growing his hair to keep warm.

Issue Twenty

Artist Lee Lee’s work is a powerful social commentary. Strong influence from Theravada Buddhism results in passive acceptance; perfect breeding grounds for mass exploitation and extermination.“Cusp of Genocide: Myanmar” showed at the International Conference of Genocide Scholars in Sarajevo, 7.07. The Intha Cotton Weavers were placed in global context in “Weave” at Weilworks in Denver, 6.07. painterleelee.com

Jerry Schwartz is an organic gardener, photographer, and dj based in Taos, New Mexico. For uncommon photos and video of our beautiful and endangered planet, go to globalisite.com.

Joshua Liberles is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He splits his time between working as a freelance writer, editing the carectomy.com blog, and competing as an elite level cyclist. For this fall’s adventure, Josh will be driving the Clif Bar Development Cyclocross Team (bike racers aged 13 to 22) around the US in a waste vegetable oil-powered school bus.

Sabrina Goldsman is an avid hot air balloon enthusiast who moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, with the hopes of one day owning and operating her own fiesta balloon. Hailing from the small island of Kaua’i in the middle of the pacific, she has always been enthralled with things that float. She likes adventure, broccoli and sand. Reach her at sabrinemily@hotmail.com.

Mackenzi Frederick – writer, massage therapist, ski coach and river guide – is a recent addition to Five magazine, as their new editorial intern. A seven-year resident of New Mexico, she is about to embark on an off-grid adventure in the Taos environs. mackenzi@readfive.com

Ross Burns is the editor of Five. He has been practicing his hypermiling skills on the roads around his hometown of Taos, New Mexico. He can be reached at editor@readfive.com

Stephen Siegel lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife and two dogs. He still daydreams often about Iceland and is attempting to learn French so that he can better communicate with his trekking companions. You can reach him at sigwell2@yahoo.com.

Bill Nevins spits poetry in Albuquerque, where he teaches English for CNM. He appears in the documentary film Committing Poetry in Times of War, due out on DVD soon. Bill also writes for Z and albuquerqueARTS. With partner-in-verse Priscilla Baca y Candelaria, Bill will join Professor Arturo in NYC performances this November, and he hopes to bring the N’awlins Prof to visit New Mexico soon. bill_nevins@yahoo.com.

Pito Villegas was born in Cajamarca, Peru, became a man in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and now lives in Palo Alto, California. No matter where he is, New Mexico is always on his mind.

Daniel Bradley describes himself as a cross between Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, Woody Allen and a handful of dust. Je suis de race inferieure de toute eternité. He can be reached at danielbradley82@hotmail.com.

Issue Nineteen

Alexa Schirtzinger , having abandoned her lucrative rafting career in Taos, now spends her days exploring the urban jungle of Manhattan, where she attends the Columbia School of Journalism. She also enjoys taunting city pigeons.

A relative newcomer to the freelance writing world, Kara Pound is utilizing her Journalism degree from Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, to break into regional and national markets. Her work can be seen at kpoundfreelance.homestead.com or she can be reached at karapound111@aol.com.

Ross Burns was born with a crumpled ear which in no way affected his idyllic upbringing in the American heartland. He currently edits Five Magazine, raises three children and battles gophers on his land.

New Mexico-born and raised, Robert Medina Cook is a fine art photographer whose interpretation of light, texture, and color has evolved into a unique style of capturing the voice and essence of his native New Mexico. He currently resides in Albuquerque.

Caitlin Legere lives in the offices of Five Magazine four days a week and enlivens the work place with her playful shenanigans, ever ready digital camera and whimsical paper cutouts, oh – and she also keeps the magazine running among other integral duties. She loves creative people and can be reached at cat@readfive.com

Laurie B. Falconer writes in her upstairs of? ce in her house next to the Bosque in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She takes inspiration for her environmentally-focused stories from the hummingbirds outside her window. Email her at lauriesloft@yahoo.com.

Josie Lenwell is a psychotherapist, multimedia artist, photographer and member of Code Pink, Women for Peace. While appreciating the beauty of Taos, New Mexico, Josie runs off to cities whenever she can. She carries her trusty camera everywhere, just in case. If you see her dressed in pink, flash her a peace sign.

Jeff Berg, is a freelance writer based in Las Cruces who scours the countryside for film ideas to share with audiences in his little corner of the world. He has also written for New Mexico Magazine, True West, and Silver City’s Desert Exposure.

Lane Davey is an extreme surfer who resides on the Northshore of Oahu. She owns and designs a clothing label called Us Girls which strives to create a new ideal image for women in the 21st century. She writes a monthly column for Oceanic Cable, has her own daily surf blog and is a freelance writer for several magazines.lanedavey.com

Crystalynn Nicole Cornevin is a travel agent by day and freelance writer by night, neither of which sustain her shopping habits. Currently calling San Antonio home, she enjoys cats, long walks on the beach, and googling her own name. Contact her at ncornevin@sbcglobal.net.

Issue Eighteen

Alexa Schirtzinger has been writing since she was eight, when she started her autobiography. (The manuscript was lost to a vicious bout of carsickness.) She has lived in New Hampshire, California, El Salvador, and Taos, New Mexico, where she currently enjoys spending time outside.

Carl Cunningham is a freelance writer and music journalist from Texas. He lives with his wife, their three kids, three dogs, and two cats near Houston. While not interviewing rock stars and celebrities, he’s pounding away on a vintage set of Rogers drums and drinking Big Red sodas.

Katy Farber is a teacher and freelance writer from the mountains of central Vermont. She writes about the environment, parenting, and education, and can be found running the dirt roads of her town, or playing in the yard with her two spirited little girls. She is available for assignment work at farbud@comcast.net.

New Mexico-born and raised, Robert Medina Cook is a fine art photographer whose interpretation of light, texture, and color has evolved into a unique style of capturing the voice and essence of his native New Mexico. He currently resides in Albuquerque.

Ross Burns is the editor of Five, and he lives in Taos, New Mexico. He believes if the world does take a change for the better, the Ditty Bops will probably have something to do with it.

Northern Californian Elicia Whittlesey just graduated from Pomona College with a degree in Environmental Analysis. She lives in Santa Fe at the moment and spends time pondering suitable ways to describe her delight in New Mexico’s afternoon thunderstorms.

Morse Taylor, UC Berkeley ‘59, UCLA Law ‘62, PhD Arctic studies ‘83, has traveled a lonely path from cynic to curmudgeon, coming to rest in Taos, New Mexico.

Elizabeth Burns is a Taos, New Mexico-based photographer, writer and reader who spends as much time as possible traveling the world.

Stephen Siegel lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and finds it easier to ride a bike, hike with his dogs, go skiing and camp in the mountains when it’s always sunny. You can reach him at sigwell2@yahoo.com.

Laurie B. Falconer is a communications professional in Albuquerque who does freelance writing on the side as a way to stay in touch with her life’s aspiration of writing the great American novel and retiring to Maine. You can email her at lauriesloft@yahoo.com.

Jeff Spicer is not your average bear. He spends his days on his Dixon, New Mexico farm picking up trash and converting it into works of art. He enjoys evenings dousing himself in homemade cider. He can be tapped at jeffs@readfive.com.

Bill Nevins, a frequent contributor to Five, has been dodging that magic bullet since the Kennedy administration. Bill lives, loves and writes in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Issue Seventeen

Lane Davey is an extreme surfer who resides on the Northshore of Oahu. She owns and designs a clothing label called Us Girls which strives to create a new ideal image for women in the 21st century. She writes a monthly column for Oceanic Cable, has her own daily surf blog and is a freelance writer for several magazines. lanedavey.com

Since leaving the confines of academia, Mary Magray has been devoting her time and energy to freelance writing and editing an historical novel, the beauty of the natural world, and teaching her puppy William to behave. She can be reached at fishermagray@tds.net.

Elizabeth Elliot is a graduate of Creighton University where she studied music and journalism. She will be attending the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, NE for paralegal studies and will continue writing as much as possible.

Michael Mason is a freelance writer and former college educator living in Southern California. He is a transplanted New Yorker who constantly yearns for that good slice of pizza.

If you think there’s too much about surfing in this issue of Five, blame editor Ross Burns, who two years ago traded the beaches and reef breaks of San Diego, California, for the mountains of New Mexico. Complaints should be directed to editor@readfive.com.

Carl Cunningham is a freelance writer and music journalist from Texas. He lives with his wife, their three kids, three dogs, and three cats on a 210-acre farm near Houston. While not working on his debut novel and accompanying screenplay, he’s guarding his organic tomatoes against horned green caterpillars.

Jake Thomas is a country bumpkin originally hailing from southwest Colorado. His work has appeared in the Utne Reader, Willamette Week and others. He blogs at jethomas.blogspot.com. Portland, Oregon, is currently his home.

Sean Davey is a Hawaii-based photographer who specializes in photography in and around the water. His work appears with great regularity in magazines all over the world. He can be contacted at seandavey.com.

Chris Jordan is an internationally recognized photographic artist whose work focuses on the unconscious side of American mass culture. His large-scale prints have been exhibited extensively in the US and Europe, and his images have been featured in print media worldwide.

Alexa Schirtzinger was a wilderness guide in Alaska and farmed tomatoes in Central America before moving to Taos for the snow, sun and general spirit of adventure. Her next journey will take her to New York City where she will pursue a Master’s in Journalism.

Issue Sixteen

Jimmy Ogonga is a Kenyan multi-media artist. Born, 1977 in Nairobi, Kenya, Ogonga opened up to fine arts by drawing portraits of African individuals and personalities who made the news. He honed his skills under the close guidance of his mother, an art teacher and a musician. See more work at jimmyoganga.com.

Shery Koch, a former teacher, moved to Taos 23 years ago. She fell in love with the beauty of Taos, and 16 years ago, with Taos native Rey Deveaux, opened Gearing Up Bicycle Shop in Taos. She is often bicycling or hiking with her chocolate lab, Liberty. Join her every Thursday morning for a group road bike ride.

Bill Nevins teaches English for CNM in Albuquerque and writes for albuquerqueARTS and Z Magazine. His own strange New Mexico adventures with spoken words and peace are the subject of the new documentary film Committing Poetry in Times of War. bill_nevins@yahoo.com.

Laurie B. Falconer is a freelance writer in New Mexico. She has a background in marketing, communications and writing of all types and can be reached at lauriesloft@yahoo.com.

Ross Burns meant to write lucid, not lucent, in his piece about Soylent Green in issue 15 of Five. As editor, he should know better. He can be reached at editor@readfive.com.

Stephen Siegel lives in hot and sunny Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife and two dogs. He hopes to go on vacation soon to someplace out of the ordinary, but his plans currently do not include a trip to the South Pole. You can reach him at sigwell2@yahoo.com.

Pito VIllegas is in the graduate program for cultural anthropology at Stanford University in Menlo Park, California. Born in Peru and partially raised in Maine, he has made the trip to the Taos Solar Music Festival for six years in a row.

Sena Christian grew up in Sacramento, California, and now works as a reporter for a small-town newspaper in the Bay Area. She lived in the green city of Eugene for a while and wishes she were still there.

Russell Scot Coleman is a Taos resident who strives to spark the imagination. He instructs courses in woodworking at UNM Taos. He can be reached at 505.770.7265.

Crystalynn Nicole Cornevin is a travel agent by day and freelance writer by night, neither of which sustain her shopping habits. Currently calling San Antonio home, she enjoys cats, long walks on the beach, and Googling her own name. Contact her at ncornevin@sbcglobal.net.

Issue Fifteen

Ron Gervason is a geologist/hydrologist retired from the maze of California bureaucracy to the quiet joys of northern New Mexico. His interests include cooking, organic foods and sustainable agriculture, but his passion is water and keeping it clean.

Jesse Hasko’s pictures feature American farming in the late 19th century. “They could be anywhere, anytime in history. I don’t agree with child labor, but the world doesn’t care about what I agree with. Labor is a human experience, it is survival – no retirement plan for the Johnny Apple Seed, no playground for the kindergartner.” Jesse resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He creates art, music, and food for local humans. He can be contacted at mapsandnumbers@aol.com.

Laurie B. Falconer is a freelance writer who recently escaped the chains of Silicon Valley. After months of intense therapy, she is now emerging back into the real estate world. She has an extensive background in marketing, communications and writing of all types. She can be reached at lauriesloft@yahoo.com.

Although Laura Nesbitt is not used to thinking about herself in the third person, she has rooted in the soils of windy Edgewood, New Mexico, with her furniture-making husband, Earl, where she is profiting from her freelancing opportunities. Contact her at rose.buddy@comcast.net.

Ross Burns grew up in an environmentally-aware family and has always tried to increase his knowledge of the subject, but admits he has much to learn about environmental issues. If you can help with his edification or would like to contribute a story or story idea, contact him at editor@readfive.com.

Roanne Lewis is a published poet, co-author of the Taos Whole Food Cookbook, nutritional counselor and cooking teacher. She currently lives in Taos, New Mexico.

Richard Hasbrouck, photographer, world traveler, and retired California electronics engineer, now calls Truchas, New Mexico, home. Having given numerous slide shows of his extensive travels, Hasbrouck now uses Giclée prints to share some of his 35-mm slide and digital images of northern New Mexico and the world beyond. A collection of his prints is on display at the Sugar Nymphs Bistro in Peñasco, and he will again participate in the annual High Road Art Tour in September.

Sena Christian grew up in Sacramento, California, and currently works as a reporter for a small-town newspaper in the Bay Area. This past summer, she spent a month living in Honolulu, learning about Hokule’a and the beautiful way it has touched the lives of so many people. Contact Sena at sena_christian@yahoo.com.

Stephen Siegel lives without a local currency in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife and two dogs. Despite the extra hour of daylight bestowed upon us by Congress and the warm, sunny weather, he is still having a hard time coming up with the right words to describe himself. You can reach him at sigwell2@yahoo.com.

Bill Nevins has been fueling his writing in unusual ways since the last century. He is a big Black 47 fan, and he writes for Z, albuquerqueARTS and Five. Bill is in the film Committing Poetry in Times of War, which will screen for free at The KiMo in Albuquerque on June 16.

Debbi Mack is a freelance writer and researcher who practiced law in a previous life. She has published a mystery novel, Identity Crisis, and hopes to someday publish the sequel. She also has a short story in the Chesapeake Crimes I mystery anthology. She currently lives in Maryland, but has high hopes of moving to the Southwest after her husband retires. debbi@debbimack.com.

Janet Noll owns and operates 10,000 WAGS Pet Resort & Bow-WOW-tique in Taos, New Mexico. For the past seven years, she’s dedicated all of her free time to STOLA, the national Saluki rescue organization, and currently serves as president. Being involved in rescue work along with the heartbreak of losing two of her dogs to disease prompted Janet to do extensive research on the types of dog foods on the market today.

Issue Fourteen

Larry Mapes has been installing solar hot water systems in New Mexico for almost 30 years and has lobbied professionally in the New Mexico State Legislature for renewable energy since 1999. In 2002, he formed Valverde Energy, licensed for electrical and mechanical contracting with emphasis on renewable energy. He‘s an adjunct professor and Program Coordinator for Sustainable Curriculum at UNM Taos. valverdeenergy.com

Jeff Mugleston is a third generation New Mexican who has lived in Taos for a quarter of a century. In the winter he runs the ski school at Taos Ski Valley; in the summer he works with the United States Forest Service. Most of his passions involve the great outdoors. This is his first time contributing to Five.

Mark Reid has devoted his love of the arts to a single focus – the photograph. He continues to endeavor in this visual dialogue by interacting with the external world, and eloquently viewing his surroundings. markreidphotography.com

Laura “Bogey” Davis lives in total amazement of New Mexico’s stark beauty, the joys found in domesticity and the amount of good fortune she is granted on any given day. A singer and guitar player, she has released two CDs and is busy working on a third. Her song “Love is Coming” appears on Revolution Records’ Taos compilation. imaginerevolution.com

Ross Burns is the editor of Five. He encourages all writers with environmental story ideas to email him at editor@readfive.com.

The Grand Trine in fire and air keeps Ruth Fahrbach balanced in massage therapy, music and the hemp industry. As the Hopi say, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.” She is a contributing writer to publications that endorse hemp and sustainability.

Sena Christian lives in Sacramento, California. She recently graduated with a master’s in magazine journalism from the University of Oregon. She spends most days drinking vanilla lattes at coffee-shops with free Wi-Fi, analyzing awkward human interactions, writing emo blogs and hoping to make a positive impact on the world.

Stephen Siegel lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and finds it easier to ride a bike, hike with his dogs, go skiing and camp in the mountains when it’s always sunny. He spent entirely too much time coming up with that one sentence. You can reach him at sigwell2@yahoo.com.

Bill Nevins sips organic brew in moderation in Albuquerque establishments, when not writing for FIVE, Z and Albuquerque ARTS. He also scribbles poetry, appears in the movie Committing Poetry in Times of War, and loves the environment of the wondrous West. He teaches English for Central New Mexico Community College.

Morse Taylor is a native Californian who abandoned the wreckage of the Golden State for the wilds of northern New Mexico in 2004. He is the father of the precocious Zoey Taylor, who functions as his research assistant and spiritual guide.

Laurie B. Falconer is a freelance writer who recently escaped the chains of Silicon Valley. After months of intense therapy, she is now emerging back into the real world. Her works run the gamut from marketing materials to features stories to poetry. But even if you ask, she won’t read her poetry aloud.

Issue Thirteen

Justin R. Romine is a poet, writer and film student. He is employed at a television station and is a full time student at UNLV. He’s published two books: A Bard’s Tale: A Collection of Poetry Inspired by Ireland and Her People and Short Stories for People with Short Attention Spans. Justin is an advocate for peace and justice worldwide.

Erin Currier uses trash from the streets of the 30-odd countries she’s traveled to create collages, portraits and murals that comment on the global political climate. Erin is based in Taos, New Mexico, and is represented by the Parks Gallery. erincurrierfineart.com

Ross Burns is the content editor of Five. He lives in Taos, New Mexico, with his wife and three children. He may be contacted at editor@readfive.com.

Currently residing in Scottsdale, Arizona, Judy Keane graduated with a MBA in International Business in 2004 and is working on her first book. Her greatest passions in life are God, family and friends near and far, our beautiful country, and taking the road less traveled to unique and not so luxurious parts of the world.

Miriam Madrid works three menial and monotonous jobs in order to pay for her education at Metropolitan State College in Denver, where she is a full-time student. She cares for her younger siblings and plays the role of mama bear to her four kittens and still finds time to write and occasionally sleep.

Lynette Carrington is the staff and features writer for Valley Publishing in Mesa, Arizona. A native of the Valley of the Sun, she’s never found reason to leave and now lives in Gilbert with her husband and three children. When she’s not frantically meeting publishing deadlines, she enjoys collecting Hollywood memorabilia. Contact her at lynettecarrington@hotmail.com.

PJ “Groovie Bamboo” Hruschak, who wrote the story on Second Life, can be found flying across the virtual landscape, sipping virtual White Russians and dreaming about electric prims while trying to earn real world $L.

Bryden Bullington, L.A. born artist, has followed his passion for painting to New Mexico, via Mexico, where he showed, taught and painted murals with the help of the youth of Jalisco. Currently showing in Taos, Bryden and wife Joan enjoy their many children and grandchildren and the Taos scenery. Meet Bryden at his art opening March 1 at The Taos Cow in Arroyo Seco. brydenbull@hotmail.com

Bill Nevins is hoping that Ray Wylie Hubbard will play Puccini’s Golden West Saloon in Albuquerque in 2007 and that GW Bush will go back to Texas like LBJ did, sooner rather than later. Bill writes for Z and Rootsworld and is in a movie. See committingpoetry.comfor details.

A native New Mexican, Michele Alexandra Padberg is head of marketing and publicity for Vivác Winery. She is a certified executive sommelier from the International Wine Guild and is working on her Master Sommelier Certification. She teaches classes, consults for wineries, restaurants and private collectors.

Issue Twelve

Al Wilson lives in Denver, Colorado, and enjoys writing with fountain pens.He has a particular weakness for German motorcycles and Danish audio equipment. One of his personal heroes is Franz Kafka and he’s considered an authority on Hegel’s theories of punishment. He can be reached at id4810@aim.com.

Josh Johnson is currently working on a novel, which he hopes will put him through film school. Not knowing who he is has made it easy for him to relate to everyone. When he is not soaking up life through the vacuum of his mind, you will find him at his desk, recreating it in words. JoshJohnson@austin.rr.com

Michael F. Cosentino lives in Cottonwood, Arizona, within bucket-hauling distance of the Verde River. He does not teach English any more and occasionally wonders if he ever did. He closed his art gallery last year and now is trying to build some good karma by helping feed meals-on-wheels to people even older than he is.

Todd Pierson is a frequent contributor and staff photographer for Five. For this issue he had the privilege of photographing Denver artist Bob Ragland, an incredible artist and art promoter. Todd freelances for the largest Spanish-language news agency in the world, EFE, and has a long list of commercial and editorial clients. He resides in Denver with his wife and two children. toddpiersonphoto.com

Shawna Renee Williams is a burgeoning writer in northern New Mexico and a mother to many. She naïvely believes in peace, justice, and the goodness of man. She can be reached at shawna@unm.edu.

Ross Burns finds it difficult to describe himself, but knows better than to leave it up to someone else. He is Five’s content editor and lives in Taos, New Mexico, with his wife and three children. Gripes, complaints and rants can be sent to editor@readfive.com.

Dallas Petersen is a web designer, writer and guitarist from Denver. He lists Pat Metheny, Benjamin Franklin and Hermann Hesse high on his list of role models. He considers himself a member of Newcastle United’s Toon Army and hopes to see his team reclaim past glory.

A native of Cajamarca, Peru, Pito Villegas recently moved from Maine to Menlo Park, California, to enter the graduate program for cultural anthropology at Stanford University. He has a great love for ancient artifacts, Rimbaud and strong coffee.

Caitlin Legere is a graphic designer for Five and a fine artist with a focus on painting, batik and photography. She has a wonderfully loving family, but spends most of her time with her good friend Mac. A graduate of Union College in New York, she resides in Taos, New Mexico, creating art inspired by life in the high desert. cmlegere.blogspot.com

Jeff Berg is a freelance writer based in Las Cruces who scours the countryside for film ideas to share with audiences in his little corner of the world. He has also written for New Mexico Magazine, True West, and Silver City’s Desert Exposure.

Tara King is the person who makes sure Five gets to the printer every month. She loves running through the sagebrush desert near her home in Taos, New Mexico, but prefers logging the miles on hard museum floors in cultured cities around the world.

Bill Nevins’ interview with London reggae poet Linton Kwesi Johnson appears in the December 2006 Z Magazine. Bill appears in the feature film Committing Poetry in Times of War. He teaches for Central New Mexico Community College and reads poetry at Albuquerque open mics and at Poetic Justice events. He hates this war.

té zins’ image from the series of life-sized canvases called “The Paint People” can be experienced at the Rane Gallery in Taos, New Mexico. Late master Bill Rane left behind his paints; artist té zins perceived them as a reflection of life in the ordinary object too poignant to be ignored. billrane.com

Issue Eleven

Renee Fajardo lives in Arvada, Colorado, where she raises kids, critters and the souls of the dearly departed. Most of her friends are starving artists, musicians and dancers and her family homestead is a graveyard of sculptures, paintings and performance flyers.

Miriam Madrid attends Metropolitan State College in Denver. Always steering clear of stereotypes, she ran and won high school Prom King.

Chip Simons is a funny, spritely kind of guy who lives in New Mexico. He has been published in every magazine on earth and is very innovative.... and just a bit... weird. Check out his website at chipsimons.com.

Officially categorized as a sports writer for the Amory Advertiser, Aberdeen Examiner and Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Brandon Speck is also a freelance writer covering everything from the NFL to local and national music scenes. He lives in Guntown, Mississippi, with his wife Jessica. speckbr@hotmail.com.

Hina Khan was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. A recent graduate of Pepperdine University School of Law, she likes to explore her creative side apart from the legal world. KhanLaw1979@yahoo.com.

Bill Nevins lives in Albuquerque where he plays untuned bodhran in the underground raggle-taggle rock ensemble Moloney’s Rattail Hooligans, which mostly does bad covers of Patti Smith and Joe King Carrasco tunes. He drinks in O’Niell’s on the odd night. He also writes for albuquerqueARTS, Z and Green Left Weekly.

Caitlin Legere is a graphic designer for Five. She is also a fine artist, keeper of house and finder of lost socks. Coaching soccer and hiking around northern New Mexico with her family keep her happy and healthy. A graduate of Union College in New York, Cat said “see-ya” to the cloudy East Coast life. catlegere@hotmail.com.

Five editor Ross Burns is not an award-winning journalist. His only claim to fame is winning a safety poster contest in third grade, the residuals from which continue to roll in over 30 years later.

Bela Krushnek is working on a biography of an 19th century Indian mathematician. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Morse Taylor is a native Californian who abandoned the wreckage of the Golden State for the wilds of northern New Mexico in 2004. He has written several stories for Five.

Daniel C. Bradley is a journalist from Omaha, Nebraska. He describes himself as a cross between Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, Woody Allen and a handful of dust. Je suis de race inferieure de toute éternité. He wrote a story on Sound of America Records in issue 10. danielbradley82@hotmail.com.

Due to an inexplicable obsession with all things French, Renée-Marie Thompson is called Frenchy by her friends. She works for a software company by day and writes screenplays in the wee hours of the morning. Between the two, she meanders the streets of downtown Denver in search of live music.

Issue Ten

PJ Hruschak, a Cincinnati-based freelance writer and web designer, has a rich Nigerian uncle (a member of the Nigerian Royal Family) who won the International Lottery and passed away the next day. Only with your financial help can he claim the vast inheritance. Yes, even you can be a part of this amazing opportunity! Contact PJ at pj@hruschak.com.

Bill Nevins is an Albuquerque writer who publishes in abqARTS, HyperActive, Z and other magazines. He teaches English for Central New Mexico Community College and serves as an appointed member of the New Mexico Music Commission. He is featured in the forthcoming independent documentary film Committing Poetry. bill_nevins@yahoo.com

Lisa Oshlo lives in the mountains of Colorado’s Front Range with her two dogs and one cat. This time of year she is winding down from festival season and gearing up for ski season. She’s a freelance writer and an acupuncturist, neither of which pay her bills.

Ruchell Alexander’s work reflects the aspects of “cubism” as well as the cultural influences of growing up in Lama, New Mexico. He has been in numerous shows, most recently at the “Counter Culture Cafe” in Santa Fe. Lately Ruchell has produced a series of giclée prints. ruchellalexander.com

Although William Beam lives in New Jersey, he paints in the Taos area whenever possible. He attended Cooper Union in NYC and has worked for 43 years as a graphic designer. Most artists will recognize his logo design for the Art Bin tote box. William shows his landscape, still life and figurative paintings at several galleries and exhibitions in the New Jersey area. wbeam@optonline.net

Chronically unemployed, Ross Burns has found stability as the content editor of Fivei. When he has time, he travels to Peru for the great waves and the best mangos in the world.

Nick Hagen admires the character Ponyboy from S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. He studied Creative Writing at Beloit College and lives in Wisconsin. During the summer he hosts a local radio show and he writes newspaper sports features.

Crystalynn Nicole Cornevin works in real estate by day and freelance writing by night. Currently calling San Antonio home, she enjoys cats, coffee and encouraging all of her fellow Texans to vote this November. ncornevin@sbcglobal.net.

Daniel C. Bradley is a budding journalist from Omaha, Nebraska. He lives the minimum amount of what can be considered an existence. He is a cross between Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, Woody Allen and a handful of dust. Je suis de race inferieure de toute eternite. danbradley82@hotmail.com

Mary Hamilton is a leading authority on 19th century English architecture. She frequently travels to the American Southwest, but avows to never live anywhere else than her native London.

Charlie Murphy recently began his year off from investment banking. He and his family are leaving their Chicago home and moving to Greece, where he will write and care for his daughters while his wife lectures at the University of Athens.

Erin Di Paolo is a freelance writer who lives in Denver. She graduated with a degree in technical journalism from Colorado State University in 1985. She is married to John (17 years) and has three children: Joseph (14), James (11), and Alessandra (8). Her greatest passions in life are writing, traveling, running, and spending time with family and friends.

Issue Nine

Ralph Prata resides in the Adirondack mountains of upstate New York. He has been creating handcarved concrete sculpture since 1978. He exhibits his carvings at fine arts and crafts shows, as well as select galleries throughout the United States, Japan and Singapore. ralphprata.com

Heidi Allstop has Badger Blood even though she’s from Minnesota. With intentions to become a journalist, she will attend University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall. She’s passionate about writing, feel-good music and chocolate chip cookie dough. Contact her at heidiallstop@hotmail.com.

Jim Grady has long tried to combine two of his main passions: music and writing. He loves live, improvisational music, and he loves to write about it. New Jersey is his home state, but he currently resides in Boulder, Colorado.

Lisa Oshlo lives with her two dogs in the mountains of Colorado’s front range, where she practices acupuncture and writes about music (in her spare time). She loves living in one of the best parts of the country for seeing live music and for being outdoors.

Christine DiPaolo is a recent graduate of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and lives in New York City. All her life she has wanted to do nothing else than write about music. She has a great sense of humor and loves to laugh, especially at herself. She can be reached at christinedipaolo@yahoo.com.

PJ Hruschak is a freelance writer and web designer in Cincinnati, where his Player1 video game column appears each week in CiN Weekly magazine.Like every other writer in the galaxy, he is simultaneously working on a kid’s book, a novel and a screenplay. He also enjoys warm bread, decent wine, fresh olives and stinky cheese. pj@hruschak.com.

Rose Gardner is a regular correspondent for Opera Now, Audience Today and Tatler. She writes for You Magazine, Easy Living, The Daily Telegraph and The Independent. Her book ‘Inside Out’ was published by Michael Joseph. Her poetry is in the 2005 Chokecherries (S.O.M.O.S. anthology). Currently, she is working on a novel.

Bela Krushnek is pursuing a PhD in Mathematics with a focus on Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations. To escape the world of numbers, he likes to write about books and music. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Renee Fajardo lives in Colorado and cranks out stories of the weird and wonderful. Her advice to all her children and yours too is, “Life is good, eat your beans and chili, go to school and stop complaining!”

David Lubotsky escaped the rest of the world ten years ago when he landed in Taos. He’s creating an artist’s paradise incorporating his abstract sculptures and paintings along with green architecture, organic gardening and family life. See his work at lubotskyart.com.

Ross Burns has written for television, radio and the Los Angeles Times. He is Five’s content editor and lives with his wife and two children on a gopher-infested lot just north of Taos, New Mexico.

Morse Taylor is a native Californian who abandoned the wreckage of the Golden State for the wilds of northern New Mexico in 2004. He is the father of the precocious Zoey Taylor, who functions as his research assistant and spiritual guide.

Issue Eight

Crystalynn Nicole Cornevin is a “bi-coastal” Houston and San Antonio based freelance writer who grew up under expansive West Texas skies, hence her affinity for the subject. She is also an admitted “crazy cat lover” and recovering “Wheel of Fortune” addict. ncornevin@sbcglobal.net.

Photographer Todd Pierson believes we should all treat each other with respect. “Politeness is infectious. A little goes a long way. If we all treated each other with kindness, the world would be a better place.” He lives with his wife and two children in Denver, Colorado. toddpiersonphoto.com

Jodie Slack, natural person with freeborn inalienable rights to contract, liberty, property and freedom, unencumbered by oppressive government, as guaranteed by law and the Constitution.

Liz Burns is a photographer from Taos, New Mexico. An avid traveler, she is looking forward to photographing Bhutan this fall. A disproportionate amount of her income is spent on books and she makes a darn good cheesecake.

Renee Fajardo of Colorado writes for several newspapers about weird and wonderful artists, musicians, and creatures she meets in her travels. She recently traveled for a month in the Southwest, collecting fish tales and yarns of the super-natural.

Zoey Taylor is a 14-year-old home schooler who lives in Taos, New Mexico. She migrated to the mountain hamlet from the megalopolis of Los Angeles. She plans to become an Indiana Jones-style archaeologist.

A native of Iowa, Charlie Murphy received an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and works for an investment bank in Chicago that specializes in the health-care industry. He is married and has four beautiful daughters.

Stationed in Las Cruces, New Mexico, freelance writer Jeff Berg agrees with author Charles Bowden’s statement that ”We have a simple reality we live with each and every day: Our way of life is killing us.”

Geraint Smith grew up in South Wales and in Yorkshire, England. He has lived in Taos for the last 18 years, photographing Taos and the southwestern states. You can read more and see his photography on his website at geraintsmith.com.

Scott Trauner is a freelance writer from Connecticut. He is the outdoors columnist for the Sunday Herald Press and has contributed to a variety of publications such as the New Haven Register and Natural New England. He’s working on a book about his recent travels through Lebanon. scotttrauner.com

Nikesha Breeze is a Taos, New Mexico, photographer who works with light, breath, elegance and the surreal. She hopes to achieve a reflection of peace and silent mystery. dreamravenfinearts.com.

Bela Krushnek is a writer and mathematician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who was raised on a steady diet of bratwurst and beer. He’s grouchy when it’s not football season and unbearable when it is. In his basement is a shrine to Brett Favre.

Alejandro Moralez was born and raised in Anthony, New Mexico and currently resides in Albuquerque, where after much art education and two degrees, he has tended lovingly to his craft over the past 20 years. aemoralez@hotmail.com

Morse Taylor, UC Berkeley ’59, UCLA Law ’62, PhD Arctic Studies ’83, has traveled a lonely path from cynic to curmudgeon, coming to rest in Taos, New Mexico.

Ross Burns is the content editor of Five. He lives in Taos, New Mexico with one wife, two sons and a lot of chickens. An under-achiever since birth, he would rather surf or ski than make an honest living.

Tara King leads the production team at Five. She leads a full life at home as well and is fond of chasing her son and husband around the rivers and canyons of the Southwest.

Issue Seven

Jessamine Chan writes fiction and poetry, and she knits. After completing her bachelor’s degree in English/Creative Writing at Brown University, she returned to her hometown of Chicago where she works as an editor at the University of Chicago. Jessamine was born in Mesa, Arizona, and is happy to return to the Southwest via writing.

Todd Pierson Raised in Alaska, Todd Pierson received a hand-me-down Kodak instamatic at age 7. From those early photographs to the present, he has remained impassioned and enthralled with photography. He has been published in numerous Colorado newspapers and freelances for the Spanish news agency, EFE. He balances his photojournalism and editorial work with his commercial photography in Denver, Colorado. He can be reached via his website at toddpiersonphoto.com.

Pito Villegas was born in Cajamarca, Peru and now lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine where he writes and works as a lobsterman. He lives for music and good cheese.

Jeff Berg is a freelance writer freelance writer who lingers in blissful repose in Las Cruces NM. He scours the countryside for story ideas to share with audiences in his little corner of the world. He has also written for NM Magazine, True West, and Silver City’s Desert Exposure.

Renee Fajardo is a fifth generation Colorado mountain girl. Having grown up with a wild family of Mexican, Indian, Irish, Philipino and French artists, musicians and painters, she comes by her propensity for good storytelling naturally. She is a professional performance artist, writer and teaches creative writing workshops in the schools. She lives in Denver Colorado with her husband and tribe of wild young “uns” and critters. You can reach her at reneefaja@hotmail.com

Glendale, Arizona-based Joel Lyons dreams of one day finishing up a master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and moving to New York City. Until then, he’s enjoying the hot Arizona sun and working as a copy editor and freelancer.

Paddy Mac is the assistant program director and music director for KTAOS Solar Radio in Taos. A recovering television sportscaster, he left behind his coat, tie and, most importantly, his blowdryer for the laidback Southern Rockies lifestyle and the opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream of identifying and cataloging various firewood splinters.

Liz Burns is a Taos, New Mexico based photographer who spends as much time as possible traveling the world. She can be contacted at ecbee@newmex.com

Julie Cozzo a.k.a. Vintage Vixen, lives in Queen Creek, Arizona with her handsome hubby, 7 year-old son and two black-and-white mini schnauzers. She worked in the music industry for all her life until recently and now loves being a “cool mom” and Arizona Derby Dame rollergirl. She’s into retro culture, punk rock, drag queens, decorating her home in a retro martini lounge style and wild-girl poker parties.

Angus Jameson, Angus Jameson’s career dreams were dashed when his parents told him that under no circumstances would there be an attorney in the family. Both his mother and father are proud of his decision to become a starving writer.

Ross Burns raises naked neck chickens and is the content editor of Five. He lives with his beautiful wife in Taos, New Mexico and is the proud papa of two boys. When he’s not working, he spends most of his time eating and driving his kids to and from soccer games.

Peter W. Knox is a recent graduate of Washington College in Maryland. He was the editor-in-chief of a monthly student-run features magazine and a staff writer for the weekly newspaper. He now plans to pursue a career in journalism upon graduation.

Issue Six

Brent Nelson is a physician who recently completed his internship at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale. He’s into film and literature, trail running, vegetarian cooking and music. And, he says, contrary to myth, death metal will make your plants grow better.

Jeff Berg is a freelance writer based in Las Cruces, who scours the countryside for film ideas to share with audiences in his little corner of the world. He has also written for New Mexico Magazine, True West, and Silver City’s Desert Exposure.

Jenn Young is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Mt. Clare, West Virginia.

Jim Grady is an aspiring music journalist from the South Jersey/Philly area who specializes in covering the jam-band scene. Though too young to have caught a Grateful Dead show, he is Dead to the core.

Jodie Slack is an independent contractor writer living in Taos, New Mexico who urges all people to become informed and accept personal responsibility for their own rights, freedoms and privacy while we still have some to protect.

Glendale, Arizona-based Joel Lyons dreams of one day finishing up a master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and moving to New York City. Until then, he’s enjoying the hot Arizona sun working as a copy editor and freelancer.

Ricardo Perez is a Texan who wonders whether Congress was listening when millions of people in the US rallied in favor of fair treatment for immigrants this past month.

Tara King lives in Taos, New Mexico on a swath of burnt dirt and sagebrush. On her list of favorite things are road trips and museum visits with her insatiably-curious son Canyon.

Melanie Sidwell is an unbiased observer, daydreamer, teaser, luftmensch, paper tiger, sugarbee, mommie, sugar momma.

Robert Arellano is the new English program coordinator at the Taos campus of the University of New Mexico and the secretary of the Dixon, New Mexico Plaza Association.

Julie Cozzo, a.k.a. Vintage Vixen, lives in Queen Creek, Arizona with her handsome hubby, 7-year-old son and black-and-white mini schnauzers. She worked in the music industry until recently and now loves being a “cool mom” and Arizona Derby Dame.

Frank Caso is a freelance writer from Hartford, Connecticut who has been globalized in a good way. He holds dual US/Italian citizenship and spends a lot of time in Moscow.

When Taos artist Lisa de Burlo is not photographing oddities, she is making them. Or doing freelance anything, fixing Macs and playing guitar. See her eclectic hats and her Pure Randomness photography at her websites, lisajoycedesigns.com and web.mac.com/lisajoydb/iWeb/Pure_Randomness.

Susan Masri resides in Taos, New Mexico. She received her BFA from the California Institute of the Arts and completed a studio internship in New York City with notable artist Lucio Pozzi. Masri, who also signs her paintings “Aisha Sam,” returned to painting fulltime in 2005.

Walter Hatke is a highly acclaimed and collected painter with roots in Kansas. He is a professor of Fine Arts at Union College in Schenectady, New York. He is represented in the Southwest by the Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico. gpgallery.com

Issue Five

Tereasa Nims is not a “Texan” by birth, but does deem Granbury, Texas home. She is a cops/courts reporter for The Holland Sentinel who is freezing her ass off in the Midwest and nearly certain that it will never be warm there again. You can read more about her at intrepidreporter.com.

Jenn Young is a freelance writer, photographer and part-time DJ based in West Virginia who likes people (most of the time) and is a proponent of fighting the good fight. She has written for a number of newspapers, websites and magazines – currently her favorite is Five.

Justin Morrow is an award-winning writer and filmmaker from New York. He is currently at work on his first feature film, and can be contacted at justin.morrow@gmail.com. Check out his latest short at SandwichManMovie.com

Roe Ziccarello is a singer/songwriter, poet, children’s playwright, who also doubles as a kindergarten teacher in Taos. Her first book, A Mother’s Guide to Healing After the Loss of Her Child, is being published and released as an e-book this June. Her next venture will be to publish children’s plays for educators.

Slim Shady, er, Jim Grady, is a young, aspiring music journalist from the South Jersey/Philly area who specializes in covering the jamband, or improv-based, scene. Though too young to even have caught a Grateful Dead show, he is Dead to the core and loves to talk about music of all kinds. He attempts to combine his main passions in life – music, writing and sport – whenever he is creating work.

Kevin Cassell teaches English at the University of New Mexico where he serves as coordinator of the Spoken Word Studies Initiative. His poem, “Still Your Wife,” will be published in the 2006 issue of the Harwood Anthology.

Jeff Berg is a freelance writer based in Las Cruces who scours the countryside for film ideas to share with audiences in his little corner of the world. He has also written for New Mexico Magazine, True West, and Silver City’s Desert Exposure.

As an artist, activist and independent producer, Dawn Teufel has created projects for Aid to Artisans, the Environmental Protection Agency and InTheFray.com, an online magazine focused on community and diversity. After completing her master’s degree at Parsons School of Design, she moved to northern New Mexico where she shares her time with DreamTree Project, the local animal shelter and her own design company venture.

Lee A. Taylor is an award-winning author from El Paso, Texas, who currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona. She enjoys balancing multiple careers, but her passion is writing, especially about the Southwest.

Christina Erb, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a business reporter with The Corridor Business Journal. She has reported for The Gazette and The Des Moines Register, and she was an editorial assistant for the Washington, D.C.-based online magazine The Globalist. Her passion to see and understand other parts of the world led her to travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories and lead a six-day newspaper series on the decades-old conflict in March 2005.

Peter Knox is a senior at Washington College in Maryland. He is the current editor-in-chief of a monthly student-run features magazine and a staff writer for the weekly newspaper. He is planning to pursue a career in journalism upon graduation.

Erin Stagg was born and raised in Taos, New Mexico and is currently a ski instructor for Taos Ski Valley as well as an aspiring author and journalist.

Larry Torres has been a teacher of foreign languages and cultures for 31 years. He is currently working as a full-time professor at UNM-Taos and broadcasting daily on KTAOS Solar Radio 101.9 FM. He is the author of several books and over 3,000 articles.

Nicholas Frank is an award-winning, nationally recognized, um, passionate, involved, politically aware, globe-trotting intrepid dashing reporter/photographer, who, uh, who has earned the respect of his peers, over a long career, etc., etc.

L.A. Daneman has been a photographic fixture in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico since 1995. His private studio is the fifth Floor of a downtown office building where he specializes in portraiture and weddings. Daneman was born near Chicago and graduated high school in Pennsylvania. After living in Iowa, Texas and downtown Philadelphia, he now calls New Mexico home.

Paul Pennington studied Photography at Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs, Colorado and Art and Education at Fort Lewis College. He is a professor of photography at Fort Lewis College. His hobbies include mountaineering, kite-flying, reading great books and making camera obscuras and pinhole cameras.

Richard Solomon, the “Seed Shaman,” creates artwork using natural elements to represent the beauty and encompasing power of nature. In the early 1980s, suffering burnout from his marketing firm in New York City, he decided to take a walk around his land in upstate New York. He saw a clump of dried grasses he hadn’t noticed before. He held it up to the sky and asked, “How can I make my way in the world using this beauty?” He hasn’t been the same since.

H.W. Moss is a freelance journalist and novelist in San Francisco. Contact him or read some of his fiction at NetNovels.com.

Issue Four

Jane Stuehling is the associate producer of Art of the Song (ART). She also works for Community Against Violence in Taos and can often be found walking with Hobo the dog, napping and learning to make jewelry – all without guilt – in pursuit of the muse.

Dulbert R. Yazzie has been attending the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, New Mexico, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and fine arts. Recently, he and his wife, Velencia Tso-Yazzie, were awarded the 2006/2007 Truman Capote Scholarship for their writings.

“The mood I’m in, the place I take myself in my mind, and my beautiful people of my culture is the base of my photographs. My name is Velencia Tso-Yazzie of the Navajo tribe from Cottonwood/Chinle, Arizona. I am currently attending IAIA, majoring in creative writing and fine arts along with my husband, Dulbert Yazzie.”

Jodie Slack is an independent contractor/writer living in Taos, New Mexico who urges all people to become informed and accept personal responsibility for their own rights, freedoms and privacy while we still have some to protect.

Raven Pearce is synonymous with music – it’s his deepest passion. He is involved with artist management, event production and music production on a global level and is starting his own entertainment company, which will focus on facilitating the production of good music, alternate realities, and promoting earth consciousness by example.

Douglas Larsen is a writer and chef who lives in Colorado’s San Luis Valley. He is currently working on a collection of food essays.

Babetta is a double major in theatre and English at Northern Arizona University, but never far from the road, good Thai cuisine, and live entertainment. Systematic desensitization by the irony of collectivist society finds her a new age recluse... only to surface through words and notes.

Justin Morrow is an award-winning writer and filmmaker from New York. He is currently at work on his first feature film, and can be contacted at justin.morrow@gmail.com. Check out his latest short at sandwichmanmovie.com.

Susan Lahey has been a newspaper reporter, assistant magazine editor, college lecturer, corporate hack, and is now working on a spiritual autobiography with the working title of Taos Skies. She lives in a tiny straw house in Questa, New Mexico with her three kids.

Allison Sturms is a writer who specializes in reviews, critiques, and trying to find deeper meaning in independent and blockbuster films, schlock network and cable television shows, filmmakers and their spans of work, screenplays, writers, et al.

Dana Herrera is the editor of abqARTS Magazine in Albuquerque, New Mexico and a frequent contributor to New Mexico Woman Magazine. A Lena M. Todd award winner, Herrera’s work has appeared in various publications, including Mirage Magazine. For more information visit abqarts.com, or e-mail dana@abqarts.com.

Alex Scaff, Jr. was born in New Jersey and now lives in Livingston, Montana with his wife, two children, two cats, one dog and three chickens. He’s a writer and singer-songwriter for his band Escandar.

Melanie M. Sidwell is based in northern Colorado. She is a news junkie, advocate for the underdog and fan of puns and bad jokes. Her hobbies include reporting about religion and education in Boulder County, online window shopping and making lists.

Frank Caso is a freelance writer from Hartford, Connecticut who has been globalized in a good way. He holds dual US/Italian citizenship and spends a lot of time in Moscow.

Ricardo Perez is a freelance author who lives in Texas and dreams of someday going hunting with the vice president.

Robert Arellano lives in Dixon, New Mexico with two dogs and two people. His novels Fast Eddie, King of the Bees and Don Dimaio of La Plata were published by Akashic Books. Read more at havanarama.com.

Jim Frain is an artist/writer living in Providence, Rhode Island. He has recently been working with Trutheatertheater and preparing for upcoming shows at the Alice Space Gallery and Glaciers of Nice.

David Jean Schweitzer has a lengthy career in documentary, music, commercial and feature films. He flies himself throughout the Southwest taking in the beauty, which he tries to share with others through images and music. David has been a resident of Taos for over 8 years. new-papyrus.com/schweitzer/my_images

Issue Three

Erin Griffith just finished a three-month RV tour of the country. She aspires to edit by day and design clothing by night, but she’s currently enjoying the adventures of freelance and “funemployment,” which includes sleeping in and avoiding consumer culture.

Paddy Mac is the assistant program director and music director for KTAOS Solar Radio in Taos. A recovering television sportscaster, he left behind his coat, tie and, most importantly, his blowdryer for the laidback southern Rockies lifestyle and the opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream of identifying and cataloging various firewood splinters.

Melissa Paul is a freelance writer living in Sunburst, Montana where her news reporting was recognized in both 2003 and 2004 by the Montana Newspaper Association. Having lived in six western states, including Colorado and Arizona, Paul says one of her hobbies is moving, although she also enjoys boating, yoga and entertaining.

Ed Farrell is a native of Redondo Beach, California, and a graduate of Chico State University. In more than a dozen years as a professional journalist, he has written for newspapers in California, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Tennessee. He now lives in Memphis, Tennessee, the true Mecca for Rock and Roll music. ejrocks4sure@yahoo.com.

Charles Clayton is a freelance writer who spends as much time as possible exploring the deserts, mountains and highways of the Southwest. His work has been featured in the Canyon Country Zephyr, Mountain Gazette and in his own ’zine, Granola Sandwich. He lives in Taos, New Mexico.

Steve Baldwin has been working on the web since 1994. He has worked for Ziff-Davis, Time Inc., and has written two books on the technology industry. He now works as a search engine marketer in New York and maintains two sites: Ghost Sites of the web – ghostsites.com, and BrooklynParrots.com, a site about the wild parrots of Brooklyn.

H.W. Moss is a freelance San Francisco writer who has sold hundreds of articles over the years. He now focuses on fiction and achieved his goal of writing 12 short stories in 2005. He can be reached through his website NetNovels.com.

Peter W. Knox is a senior at Washington College in Maryland. He is the present editor-in-chief of a monthly student-run features magazine and a staff writer for the weekly newsletter. He hopes to pursue a career in journalism upon graduation.

Tereasa Nims is a freelance writer who lives in Granbury, Texas. She is a native of Detroit, Michigan, where she worked as a crime reporter for eight years.

Robert Arellano is Five’s new content editor. He lives in Dixon, New Mexico and writes for havanarama.com.

Neil Martin is a award-winning freelance writer and jazz afficionado who lives in Castle Rock, Colorado. He enjoys Hitchcock movies and classic literature.

Shonna Hammon Glenn lives in Hawaii. She was recently awarded Emerging Young Artist from the Oahu Arts Center.

Issue Two

Scott Trauner writes from Connecticut, though he dreams of New Mexico everyday. His most recent work has appeared in the New Haven Register and Natural New England. Trauner’s topics range from travel to interviews to the outdoors and can be read at scotttrauner.com.

Montana Wojczuk is a poet, essayist and playwright. Her non-fiction has appeared in Tin House, Portland Monthly and Anvil. Her poetry has been published by Poetry Motel, Tamayfhr Poetry Magazine, Word Riot and others. She has received an Academy of American Poets Prize, Anne Frank Literary Award and National History Day Award.

Jessica Lussenhop is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota and a freelance writer in Philadelphia. She is a 2005 Academy for Alternative Journalism fellow and a 2005 Keystone Press award winner. If she could be one of the X-Men, she would want to be Mystique.

Roanne Lewis currently lives in Taos, New Mexico. She is a published poet, ?co-author of a whole foods cookbook, actor, teacher and nutritional counselor.

Paddy Mac is the assistant program director and music director for KTAOS Solar Radio in Taos. A recovering television sportscaster, he left behind his coat, tie and, most importantly, his blowdryer for the laidback Southern Rockies lifestyle and the opportunity to pursue his lifelong dream of identifying and cataloging various firewood splinters.

Melissa Paul is a literary connoisseur of diverse interests and a freelance writer currently living in Sunburst, Montana where her news reporting was recognized in both 2003 and 2004 by the Montana Newspaper Association for excellence in journalism. Having lived in six western states, including Colorado and Arizona, Paul says one of her hobbies is moving, although she also enjoys boating, yoga and entertaining.

Photographer Singeli Agnew grew up on a sheep ranch under the big Montana sky. After almost a decade in New Mexico, she is now studying documentary film at the University of California-Berkeley. singeli.com

Michael Ferrara is Five’s content editor. He’s been involved in lots of small and obscure literary projects, including co-editing Venus Envy Magazine and producing the spoken word CD This Side of Everywhere.

Adam Schallau is a photographer based in Taos, New Mexico. His work focuses on the unique landscapes, culture and spirit of the Southwest. Adam’s passion is exploring the canyon country of the Four Corners region in search of Anasazi ruins and hidden landscapes. When he’s not out shooting for himself he teaches photography and leads photography workshops. recapturephoto.com

Candace Leigh is a freelance writer currently snowbirding in southermost Florida. Her work has appeared in The Dallas Morning News, Quick DFW, and The Rake magazine. Candace is inspired by Dorothy Parker, Charlie Parker, and son Parker Jameson.

John Biscello’s top five influences are Herman Hesse, Henry Miller, David Lynch, Raymond Carver and William Saroyan.

HD Connelly – Chronic smirker. Passion-addict. Adventure collector. Believer in fairy tales. Speaks in pictures. See the world through her eyes at connellyink.com.

Issue One

Tara King is Five’s Art Director. She lives in Taos, New Mexico with her husband Harvey and six-year-old son Canyon.

Laura Bell is the former editor of Vail Valley Magazine and her work has appeared in dozens of national publications.

Michael Ferrara lives in Taos where he was blissfully working part-time and procrastinating on a novel until coming to work as Five’s Content Editor. He was an editor for Venus Envy Magazine, and his work has appeared in various publications.

Cathy Kingsley travels to satisfy a passion for the Rolling Stones. She worships the blues and craves a bottle of cheap wine, mellow friends & a good rap session every once in awhile.

Jessica Lussenhop is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota and a freelance writer in Philadelphia. She is a 2005 Academy for Alternative Journalism fellow and a 2005 Keystone Press award winner. If she could be one of the X-Men, she would want to be Mystique.

Lenny Foster’s photographs honor and reveal the healing power of the spirit. “The common theme in my work is the presence of Spirit, be it in a place, a person or an event. Most importantly, I am drawn to the beauty that surrounds me. Part of the blessing of being a photographer is that I’m always focused on that beauty,” says Foster. lennyfoster.com

Jeff Berg is based in Las Cruces, New Mexico. A former U.S. Postal Service employee, he knew it was time to move on when they started suggesting that workers learn how to duck and cover.

Will Hollingsworth is a second-year student at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Mike Delano represents Plymouth, Massachusetts via Los Angeles and traces his love of film, from the non-stop libidinous assault of Russ Meyer to the cheery depravity of Charles Bronson, along the crimson trails of way too many slasher flicks.

Peter W. Knox is a Senior at Washington College in Maryland. He is the present Editor-In-Chief of the monthly student-run features magazine and a staff writer for the weekly newsletter. He hopes to pursue a career in journalism upon graduation

John Biscello, a Brooklyn, New York native, is actually a government-sponsored scribe who covertly specializes in radical anti-semanticism. He also writes plays; his latest is Zeitgeist, USA.