Lea Graham was born in Memphis and grew up in Northwest Arkansas. Since then, she has lived in Perth Amboy, New Jersey; Chicago; Santiago, Dominican Republic; Worcester, Massachusetts; and most recently, the Mid-Hudson River Valley. Her travels have taken her to places such as Cuba, Kenya, much of Western Europe, and most recently, the Galapagos Islands. Much of her work deals in some way with the connections between and among place and language. Graham's poems, reviews, articles, translations and collaborations have been published in or are forthcoming in journals such as Notre Dame Review, American Letters & Commentary, Shadow Train, and the Capilano Review. Her work was included in two recent anthologies, The City Visible: Chicago Poetry in the 21st Century, and The Bedside Guide to No Tell Motel: Second Floor. Her chapbook, Calendar Girls, was published in 2006 by above/ground Press in Ottawa. She has a Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and is currently Assistant Professor of English at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Kristina Dziedzic Wright is an artist and curator who currently lives in Tempe, AZ but periodically calls Nairobi home. She has master’s degrees in rhetoric and art history from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her academic research focuses on street artists in Kenya who are known as “jua kali” (Swahili for hot sun) in reference to the outdoor settings where they work. As an artist, KDW creates assemblages, collages and installations from found objects and recycled materials collected throughout her travels. She is interested in the global discourse about environmental conservation, especially as it intersects with artistic practices, and believes that art serves as a powerful vehicle for cross-cultural exchange. Her forthcoming book “Jua Kali Lamu: Art, Culture and Tourism on an Indian Ocean Island” will be published by Edwin Mellen Press in 2009.