Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois, from Volume 4:1

Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois has had over eight hundred of his poems and fictions appear in literary magazines in the U.S. and abroad. He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize for work published in 2012, 2013, and 2014. His novel, Two-Headed Dog, based on his work as a clinical psychologist in a state hospital, is available for Kindle and Nook, or as a print edition. He lives in Denver.

Grabois had two flash fictions — "Chac/chac" and "The Meaning of Marlboro" — published in Volume 4:1 of Synesthesia. Below is an excerpt from the former:

The gold stars embroidered on the Son of Chac’s blue robe fell to the ground and, wherever they landed, a corn stalk grew. Deer came and ate the corn and, as they digested, they became enlightened. They went into the fields. They approached deer stands where hunters chewed tobacco and drank bourbon.

The hunters looked at these deer and could not pull the trigger. If they pulled, their weapons jammed.

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John Brantingham, from Volume 4:1

John Brantingham's latest collections include Dual Impressions: Poetic Conversations about Art and The Green of Sunset.  He is currently a professor of English and creative writing at Mt. San Antonio College, in Walnut, California.  Brantingham had two poems — "Instructions for Swimming Before the Rain" and "Koi Pond, Norton Simon Museum of Art" — published in Volume 4:1.  Below is an excerpt from the latter:

          Lose yourself in the dream of hiding

          behind that statue for an hour,

          the one of the cougar with his elongated back,

          energy poised for the kill.
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