American River Review Reading
American River Review
The American River Review is an award-winning literary magazine produced entirely by American River College students. Students are responsible for all creative aspects of production, including writing, editing, accepting or rejecting submissions, final copy proofing, and the production of art, graphic design, and layout. The magazine’s first issue was published in 1984, and many of our former staff and contributors have gone on to distinguish themselves in their artistic careers. Former ARR Editor-in-Chief and contributor Anthony Swofford went on to write the critically acclaimed Jarhead and received accolades for his memoir, Hotels, Hospitals, and Jails. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, and Men’s Journal. Former Editor-in-Chief Jodi Angel’s first collection of short stories, The History of Vegas, was named a San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2005 and a Los Angeles Times Book Review Discovery. Her work was also featured in the 2011 Summer Issue of Tin House. Former Associate Editor-in-Chief Brett Stults now works as an Inspirator for 916 INK, a local childhood literacy organization. These are just a few examples of the American River Review’s notable alumni. We hope the current and future contributors and staff will also find with us the opportunity to gain an artistic footing and contribute to the worlds of art and literature in meaningful ways.
Richard Barnhart/Presenter
Richard Barnhart is originally from San Francisco and currently lives in Sacramento. While attending Solano College, Richard served as an editor for the Suisun Valley Review for three years. His work has been published in a handful of literary magazines and rejected by many more. He now serves as the managing poetry editor of the American River Review. At present, he is working towards getting his own lit mag off the ground and hopes to start accepting submissions soon.
Velvet Jane Gray/Presenter
Velvet McKenzie was born in Nevada City California, but moved to Sacramento to study English at American River College. After graduating, she hopes to transfer to UC Berkeley to obtain a PhD in Literature with secondary focus in creative writing.
She currently works as a professional editor and journalist for the local trauma medical industry where she specializes in human interest stories from the view of both the medical providers and victims of serious medical trauma.
She is the President of the American River College English club and currently works as the managing editor of creative non-fiction for the American River Review.
Readers Bios:
Ansel Tanner lives in Sacramento, California. He aspires to become a professional graphic novelist or work for an animation studio as a storyboard artist.
Parisa Samadi: was born in Kermanshah, in the western part of Iran. Now, she lives in Sacramento. Before immigrating to the U.S.A. Parisa worked as a French translator in Iran and has translated a few books, many articles, and short stories. She began learning English at American River College. In 2011, she was selected as outstanding student of the year for English at American River College. She is currently a senior in the English department at Sacramento State University. She has recently completed a translation of the collected works of Ziaeddin Torabi. She plans on continuing translation and writing poetry.
Michael Charles: is a resident of Sacramento, CA. This is his first publication. Right now, he is working on developing a distinct voice with a unique perspective.
Claire Davis: has a BA in English Literature from the University of Leeds. She began working with the American River Review in Fall 2012, when the literary selection process for this edition was just getting started. She has served as Editor-in-Chief for the past two semesters and aims someday to write and publish a book of poems.
Chakira Parsons: is a transplant from the Sonoran desert. Her poems and essays have appeared in the 2012 ARR, in certain ENGWR 300 and 302 classes at ARC, and at open mic nights in Sacramento, where she currently resides. After two semesters on the ARR staff, this former Associate Editor-in-Chief is on academic hiatus to teach P.E. and Kindergarten at the Mustard Seed School before finishing her own education at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Her creative goal is to redefine mundane.
Karin Stevens is a freelance writer and editor from Sacramento, California. Her poetry, creative nonfiction, and short stories have also appeared in The Walrus and Susurrus literary journals, as well as several local zines including WTF and Soul of the Narrator.
D.J. Stipe: was born in Ukiah, CA and comes to Sacramento by way of Southern Oregon and St. Paul, Minnesota. DJ is a former American River Review staff member involved with other alumni working with young writers in the local 916 Ink program. Creative projects include a weekly comic strip about kitchen utensils and a novel in development about aliens who feed on human creativity and have infiltrated the music industry. Also, recording has begun on his album, Linen and Other Things: The Potentially Brilliant Wreckage of an Exceptionally Ordinary Gentleman.
Dorothy Rice is a native Californian who was born and raised in San Francisco, California but currently resides in Sacramento. Dorothy is a former American River Review staff member and a current student in the creative writing Master of Fine Arts program at UC Riverside Palm Desert. She recently completed work on a novel, a murder mystery (a gothic, romantic, noir pastiche) that, like “Paintings in the Rafters” which appears in this issue of the American River Review, was inspired by her father’s paintings.
Robert MacMahon: resides in Carmichael, where he smokes too many cigarettes (and probably drinks too much coffee). He has been printed in various publications, such as an anthology by Empirical Magazine, and this second publication in the American River Review. Fundamentally, poems to Robert are snippets of truth from the human experience, crafted, manipulated, and sometimes hidden in linguistic ink. This is ultimately what he strives to create.
Rachel Gardner: is still deciding whether she is a writer who draws or an artist who writes. This is Rachel Gardner’s third time being published in the American River Review.
