About the artist
Lauren Fedorko, M.Ed., is an Adjunct Professor of writing at Rutgers University, teaches AP Literature, and advises a creative writing club for her students. Her passion for writing is longstanding and ongoing, composed mostly of poetry and creative non-fiction. She enjoys exploring, good company, photography, and traveling the world every chance she gets. Her work has been previously published in the Kelsey Review.
About the artist
Michael Torres is a recent graduate from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University and currently works part time at The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association in Pennington and at a local camera shop in Lawrenceville. His primary inspiration for photography stems from his fascination with the natural world.
About the artist
Jessie Liang is a hard-working student studying in the WWP area. Despite her mediocre grades, she pushes to please her parents by doing well in her hobbies which include photography, art and music, and gaming. Jessie is also a hard-core National Parks fan, which inspires her to do well in life so that she can continue visiting these parks annually.
This is what Jessie says about this photograph: “The submitted image is a landscape taken of the unforgettable Denali Mountains that I encountered in a visit to Denali National Park in August. With only one road going in and out of the park, it leaves the park with great amount of undisturbed natural scenery that leaves its viewers in awe. I appreciated the uniqueness to the Denali wilderness, just like every other National Park I have visited so far. Although this image is just one out of the many images taken at Denali, it nevertheless brings back a pleasant feeling from admiring the scenery in person.”
About the artist
Jessie Liang is a hard-working student studying in the WWP area. Despite her mediocre grades, she pushes to please her parents by doing well in her hobbies which include photography, art and music, and gaming. Jessie is also a hard-core National Parks fan, which inspires her to do well in life so that she can continue visiting these parks annually. The selected photo is a picture of the eruption of one of Yellowstone’s many geysers, Castle Cone Geyser. A rainbow appears from the mist falling from the steam of the geyser; nature always does it right.
About the artist
Ivana Vranjes Field is currently a photographer in the tri-state area. She lives in Mercer County and graduated from TCNJ. She is a self-taught photographer and was recently inspired to start up writing poetry again after taking many years off. Working on film sets was her inspiration behind taking up photography. Seeing the shots being set up and creating the mood within a scene, was very beautiful to watch and very intricate in its own sense, which pushed her towards purchasing a camera and giving it a go. She has earned some IMDB credits for previous independent film work, and currently she enjoys reading books, studying the human mind and the human experience, art, more reading, and a lot of traveling.
Here’s what Ivana says about the inspiration for this photograph: “I was born in Bosnia, and this is a coffee grinder my great-aunt used last year when I visited. I just find there to be a beautiful simplicity in how people used to live. Now food is so processed and everything is factory made, that it just makes me truly appreciate the sense of human survival through the basic human needs, and the tools they used, and still use.”
About the artist
Ivana Vranjes Field is currently a photographer in the tri-state area. She lives in Mercer County and graduated from TCNJ. She is a self-taught photographer and was recently inspired to start up writing poetry again after taking many years off. Working on film sets was her inspiration behind taking up photography. Seeing the shots being set up and creating the mood within a scene, was very beautiful to watch and very intricate in its own sense, which pushed her towards purchasing a camera and giving it a go. She has earned some IMDB credits for previous independent film work, and currently she enjoys reading books, studying the human mind and the human experience, art, more reading, and a lot of traveling.
About the artist
Ivana Vranjes Field is currently a photographer in the tri-state area. She lives in Mercer County and graduated from TCNJ. She is a self-taught photographer and was recently inspired to start up writing poetry again after taking many years off. Working on film sets was her inspiration behind taking up photography. Seeing the shots being set up and creating the mood within a scene, was very beautiful to watch and very intricate in its own sense, which pushed her towards purchasing a camera and giving it a go. She has earned some IMDB credits for previous independent film work, and currently she enjoys reading books, studying the human mind and the human experience, art, more reading, and a lot of traveling.
From the Editor…
In her poem “Ithaca” found in the early pages of this issue, Lauren Fedorko writes, “To be alive when there is so much hate is a marvel.” Indeed, whether in life or on the news or social media, it seems like hate has made itself a bit more visible over the past few years. However, these pages attest to the fact that we in the Mercer County arts community are lucky to possess a powerful tool to combat hate: literature, which is a form of love.
There have been many articles in recent years suggesting that reading literature can increase empathy. It makes sense that reading about the life of a person who is different from one would make one more empathetic, but I think it’s more than that. When reading a poem, one is learning to pay attention to the hidden world that breathes quietly below the hustle and bustle of daily life. This attention paid by the writer and the reader of a poem can resemble devotion, or love. The early-2018 movie Lady Bird touches upon this idea during a conversation the protagonist has with a nun. When the nun suggests that the protagonist must love her hometown, the protagonist denies this, saying that she merely “pay[s] attention.” The nun then replies, “Don’t you think maybe they are the same thing, love and attention?” So much about writing a poem or a short story or a piece of nonfiction is about attention—attention to detail, to language, to character, to image, and to the world around us in all its vicissitudes. In paying attention to these things, in writing or in making any kind of art, we are devoting ourselves to something greater, and sharing whatever that “greater” thing is with the surrounding community.
There is so much to love in these pages, and so much variety: we have poems about mathematicians and fruit flies, stories about time travel and dystopias, and nonfiction about nutrition facts and outdated gender norms, as well as two beautiful pieces of black and white photography. And this great variety of art is home-grown right here in the Mercer County area! Luckily, as with our previous issue, this issue will be available both in print and online, so you can share your work with the larger world.
This issue has come together with help from the following people: fellow editors Roberta Clipper, Luray Gross, and Ellen Jacko; graphic designer Daniel Migliaccio; Wendy Humphrey, Brad Kent, and Kami Abdala; Dr. Robert Kleinschmidt, Dean of the Liberal Arts Division; and Dr. Jianping Wang, President of MCCC. Thank you all. Of course, the greatest thanks of all goes out to the contributors, who share with us your art, and to the readers, who share with us your attention.
Jacqueline Vogtman
Editor
From the President…
MCCC is delighted to share with you the work of many local writers and artists in the Kelsey Review. This year marks Kelsey Review’s 37th issue, and it is a pleasure to see how this journal continues to serve the community by sharing the work of talented individuals who live and work in the larger Mercer County area. This literary journal is just one of the many ways the College shares the cultural wealth of our area.
Mercer County Community College directly serves thousands of county residents, and indirectly tens of thousands through its many ties to the community. WWFM broadcasts quality programming to the county and even the world through the internet. Kelsey Theater stages a wide range of drama for county audiences, who also have access to the college’s Art Gallery. Our nationally-ranked MCCC athletic teams offer chances to root for stellar local athletes. Learn more about the college and Mercer County at www.mccc.edu.
Kelsey Review is available in print as well as online, where it can be shared world-wide! To keep up with the Review year-round, “like” the publication on Facebook.
The Kelsey Review is distributed in part through the Mercer County public library system and funded by Mercer County Community College and the Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission. Each edition of the Review presents professional-quality poetry, fiction, non-fiction and art that provokes thought and with luck, inspiration. Enjoy what you find here.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jianping Wang
President
Mercer County Community College
Kelsey Review 