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(March 4, 1954 - March 24, 2005)

Craig Crist-Evans received broad recognition for his writing—five Pushcart Nominations for poetry, two New York Public Library Best Books for the Teenage List honors, and the International Reading Association/Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award for his first book, Moon Over Tennessee. His first novel, Amaryllis (Candlewick 2003) received a starred review in Kirkus. He published poetry, essays, reviews in numerous journals, including Artful Dodge, The Paris Review, The Nebraska Review, Cimmarron Review and The Prague Review. In August 2004, Candlewick Press published a novel-length narrative sequence of poems titled North of Everything. His first full collection of poems, NoGuarantee (New Rivers Press), was released in September 2004. Manthology: poems of the male experience, coedited with Roger Weingarten, has been accepted by the University of Iowa press and will be published in the winter of 2006.

From September 2001 until January 2005 Craig developed and directed the Writing Center and the Writing Across the Curriculum Program at Mercersburg Academy. Prior to Mercersburg, he co-developed, directed and taught in the MFA in Writing for Children program at Vermont College, the first program of its kind in the country. He also served as Poet in the Schools for Colorado 1992 to 1997, and taught an independent program entitled Global Awareness & the Writing Process in eight different school districts throughout Colorado. Finally, he served as a contributing editor for the Bloomsbury Review from 1990 until his death in 2005.

Anna Rich is a native New Yorker and though fairly snobbish about it, she was stunned to learn that the entire country could watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on TV. She is yet perplexed as to why her immediate family, Father, Mother and Sister, have up and moved below the Mason Dixon line! They still seem happy to hear from her and telephone often. Whatever siren calls they heard, Anna did not hear them.

She has another family now, Harry and Otto, also native New Yorkers, who for physiological reasons are not inclined to go where it is very hot. They all move in a tight knot, like Keystone Cops with a routine akin to that estimable and rarely seen New Yorker, the Beaver—treading their paths between home, school, work, church and the grocery store.

Anna’s idea of a good time is at home, the front door closed behind her and hours to spend on any number of “Home Entertainments” such as designing knitted sweaters and hats, fitting garments on Looshilala, her dress form, sewing and of course, Painting; with Public Radio playing on three or four radios throughout the house so when she moves from one room to the next she can still hear those Fresh Air interviews. Oh, and plenty of people out there owing her money. That’s the linchpin keeping the whole scenario happy.

Anna likes near everybody if taken one at a time. Anna is fairly content to BE almost anywhere as long as she does not have to GO there or think about GOING. Consequently, Anna almost never thinks to travel. Anna drew early in life and well enough so that her mother encouraged her. It never occurred to her to do anything else, no matter how often a teaching career was dangled at the end of a sharp stick, every holiday paid and two months off in the summer notwithstanding. When her son was born, Anna promised her mother she would NOT encourage him to draw.