2024 Northern Lights Journal Contributors

From the Co-Editors

If you're reading this, that means you've picked up a copy of Northern Lights Literary & Arts Journal. Maybe you were curious what it was, or maybe you've got a piece published inside. Perhaps you're one of our submitters' loved ones. Whatever your reason, welcome!

Before we continue, a few thank yous: Thanks as always to UWGB's Student Government Association, without whom we wouldn't have the funding for this journal; our editorial staff, who made the often-hard decisions for our journal's contents and layout this year; our professor, Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, for overseeing us and guiding our clumsy hands through our creation process; and finally, you for picking up our journal. Northern Lights wouldn't be here without you.

If you're anything like us, you'll have as much fun setting eyes on our selected works-tales of lands near and far, poems that feel like paintings, paintings that feel like poems, and more-as we did. You might see a few names you recognize!

We're proud of the work that's gone into the 2024 edition, and we're excited to get it into your hands. Happy reading!

Northern Lights Co-Editors-in-Chief
Kana Coonce and Kayu Brooks

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Staff List

Meet the people who were hard at work selecting pieces, helping writers edit, compiling the journal and marketing the 2024 issue across campus.

Co-Editors-in-Chief

Kayu Brooks
Kana Coonce

Editorial Staff

Sasha Bouyear
Mackenzie Hebert
Tiffany Jablonowski
Ginger Knauer
Jalaine Olks
Payton Rhyner
Cheyenne Schreiner
Kelsey Vanderpool
Gage Wilson

Advisor/Graphic Design

Tracy Fernandez Rysavy

2024 Contributors

Roshelle Amundson ("Sokushinbutsu") is an English/Humanities professor at UWGB-Marinette. In her spare time, she may be found with windows down, moon-roof open, and loud rock music on her to way to refuel in the quiet; foraging in the woods or walking the shores of Lake Superior or Lake Michigan, her pockets full of rocks and fossils.

Alkimie Andrews ("To All the Things I Didn't Do", "We Are Gardeners") is a writer from a small town in Wisconsin. Her works span a wide variety of topics and forms. Her favorite poetic form is Ae Freislighe, a complex Irish form (see p. 17).

Kira Ashbeck ("Forests of Absorption") began digital photography at the age of six. Since then, she has expanded her medium to include film. She has been published seven times. To view more of her work, you can visit her Instagram page @photography_bykira.

Edward Castillo ("While Driving Through Texas") writes, "This is a prose poem about a memory of driving through Texas with my Dad when I was a kid. I drove all across America with him, but out of all our travels together, and nothing has compared to the natural landscapes we saw together."

Shia Chang ("Grief") writes, "I like writing, from time to time, but don't often share my pieces. I am currently working towards an editing degree at UWGB."

Katy Clifton (Front Cover: "Extricate", "Father") says. "I'm currently a student at UWGB-Marinette pursuing an Art major and an Education minor. I like to explore mental illness, the effects of domestic violence, and other related issues in my work as a way to cope with my own struggles. I hope to bring awareness to such issues and share my story through my work."

Kana Coonce (Untitled Photo 1, Untitled Photo 2) (he/they) is a nonbinary Writing and Applied Arts student at UWGB. He wrote for the Green Bay Press Times for a year before taking on this year's edition of Northern Lights. He has three cats.

Maggie Fernandez ("Seal", Back Cover: "Jellies") is a sophomore at UWGB studying Psychology with a Criminal Justice minor.

Matthew Freitag (Untitled Photo) says, "My interest in mycology has led me to spend countless hours in the woods. In this hobby, I have been able to take pictures of many species of beautiful fungi." Matthew attends the Sheboygan campus.

Mike Fugate ("Death-Head Summer") writes, "My tenure at UWGB-Marinette was one of the best times of my life. Northern Lights journal, in my opinion, is a manifestation of the feel of that campus, and the vibrant people who study and educate there."

Aspen Hirschberg ("Possession"): Originally from Appalachia, Aspen is currently a student at UWGB. They enjoy horror, fantasy, and sci-fi.

Brady Hurst ("The Winter-Winded Lights") is currently on a dual-track major for English on the Green Bay campus. He hopes to one day be an author with a book series of his own.

Tiffany Jablonowski ("Tree", "Giant Steps") is currently a junior at UWGB-Marinette campus majoring in Writing. She is hoping to get a job in editing after graduation.

Alexis Jordan (Untitled Photo 1, Untitled Photo 2) writes about dynamic female leads, compelling adventures, and insights on mental health. She uses composition notebooks and pencils as her choice of creative weapon matched with a caffeinated drink.

Layla King ("The Other Mother") is a sophomore at UWGB studying Community Health Education.

Ginger Knauer ("A Bigfoot Tale", "Call Out the Bullshit" - inside back cover) is a freshman at UWGB-Marinette. She loves to write songs and short stories. On Friday and Saturday nights, you can catch her playing a show with her punk band, Wasted Pretty, somewhere in Wisconsin or Michigan.

Bruce Kong ("A Mother's Mom") is a graduate of UWGB's Writing & Applied Arts program.

Samantha Landvick ("Born Without Warmth") writes, "I am majoring in Writing & Applied Arts with hopes of being an editor like my late great-grandfather. I am the Spring 2024 Poetry Editor of the Sheepshead Review and find tremendous comfort in reading original works from other creators. In my space-time, I read, write (of course), and crochet.

Aubrey Laux ("Female Changes", "Killer Diet") is a senior at UWGB studying Writing and Applied Arts. Aubrey and her partner in life and art, Jake Wolfe, create analog collages and stories under the name Neon Perspective. When not creating, Aubrey enjoys exploring and watching weird films. 

Grace Marquardt ("Ice is Melting") is an English student at UWGB who loves photography as a hobby, especially nature photography.

Warren Miller ("Much Much More") is from the Stockbridge Munsee Community and is pursuing an Art major at UWGB. Warren attends the Green Bay campus.

A.D. Powers ("On Soulmates, Love, and that Stupid Box") is a writer from California currently attending UWGB. She likes three things: cats, women, and Pink Floyd.

Morley Remitz (Untitled Art) is a sophomore studying Biology with an emphasis in Animal Biology. In her free time, she loves drawing and experimenting with pastels and ink.

Shonda Robb ("Simmer Pots") is a senior Design Arts student at the UWGB campus. She lives in Green Bay with her husband and children.

Kimberly Rouse ("Our Cutlr", "Joker") is an English major student whose motto is "knowing a little bit about a lot of things." Reflective of this, she holds many hobbies and interests, including but not limited to: writing (primarily fiction and poetry), drawing, reading, gaming, crocheting (amigurumi), translating, and video editing. Though generally a quiet person, her head is full of thoughts desiring an outlet-either on the page or on the canvas-so she's eager to be creative in any way she can.

Cheyenne Schreiner ("Call Out the Bullshit" - inside back cover) is a sophomore at UWGB-Marinette. She is majoring in education because she has a passion for helping kids. In her free time, she likes going outdoors, reading, and writing.

Chloe Smith ("I Said I Loved You But I Lied") grew up in Gladstone, MI, writing short stories and poetry about the Upper Peninsula, the Great Lakes, and lost love. Chloe prides herself in being a lesbian and writing about all things sapphic.

Vanessa Stalvey ("Lament of the Wrongfully Accused", "Something About Death") is a 19-year-old writer from Manitowoc, WI. She is currently a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay double majoring in Writing & Applied Arts and Creative Writing. She has previously been featured in Northern Lights with her poems "Eclipse the Sun" and "All Of What I Am."

Victoria Stock (Untitled Art) is a Business student with a Studio Arts minor who has taken a year abroad in Florence, Italy, to pursue a creative path. These images capture Victoria's studies abroad.

Lauren Wachtendonk ("Glacier") attends the Green Bay campus. Her photo "Glacier" depicts the dawn of Bowman Lake and was taken on a Nikon Coolpix P500.