Kate’s first love has always been poetry, her second editorial work. Earlier in her career, she edited books for Simon and Schuster and other publishers; now she returns to the exciting job of discovering new writings, interacting with authors, and poring over manuscripts. The idea for Umbrella Journal kept her awake at night and haunted her by day, until it became impossible not to bring the venture to fruition.
Kate is the author of Here from Away, a collection of poetry published by CustomWords in 2003; her poems have been appearing in literary journals since 1980. She grew up in the Bronx, New York and now lives in Manhattan with her husband of 30 years, John Leahy, and her muse, the insatiable red tabby on our masthead.
Rachel grew up in southern California’s oceanside town of San Pedro. There she developed a love of the ocean and the written word, often simultaneously. Earth Lessons, her first poetry collection (Bellowing Ark Press), was followed by a poetry-and-music CD, A God You Can Dance (CanDance Productions) and the new collection from David Robert Books, Femme au chapeau.
When not cooped up in a small room in front of a computer churning out pieces of paper, Rachel can be found walking through the abundant open space of the San Francisco Bay Area, usually with her architect husband and two Silky Terriers, Keegan and Nissa.
Rachel assists in Umbrella’s editorial evaluation process and keeps an eye out for new Umbrella poets. Her keen discernment and knowledge of contemporary writing superbly serve us.
C. E. Chaffin, founder of Logopoetry and former editor of The Melic Review, joined our staff in December 2008. His editorial philosophy and background ensure that he fits seamlessly into our team.
Widely published on the net and more narrowly in print, he has been the featured poet in over twenty literary magazines. His first book of poems, Elementary, was published in 1997 by Mellen Press and he has a new hardback due out in February 2009 entitled Unexpected Light. In addition to poetry and criticism, he has published fiction and been a regular columnist for three magazines.
C. E. (the initials stand for Craig Erick) was born in Ventura, California, in 1954 and there is white in his beard to prove it. He graduated from UCLA in 1976, “Summa Cum Laudanum,” “Fine-Bit-of-Krappa,” winning the top honors award in English. Trained as a doctor of psychiatry, he taught Family Medicine at UCI and was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians before the age of 40. He no longer practices medicine but is a full time poet, editor and blogger who also enjoys boxing, basketball and the blues.
He lives in Northern California with his wife Kathleen Chaffin, who is also a poet.
Rescued circa 1999 from a Manhattan roof and originally put to work in a midtown business office, Mr. le Pu now brings his considerable mouse hunting experience to Umbrella’s uptown suite. His purrs and funny snores put Umbrella’s founder in the perfect alpha state for editing and writing.
Continued thanks to Peter Bloxsom whose technical wizardry was critical to Umbrella’s launch in 2006.
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