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  Who we are

   Better Than Starbucks

    Founded 1995 as Scene, Arts of the Treasure Coast,

    Renamed 1998 Abundance, a Harvest of Literature, Life & the Arts

    Revived 2016 as Better Than Starbucks

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    Staff, listed in order of when they joined.

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    Anthony “Uplandpoet” Watkins                   â€‹Publisher, Founder      

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    Vera Ignatowitsch                                           Editor-in-Chief, Managing Director, Formal & Rhyming Poetry Page Editor,                                                                                                          Content Editor         

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    Kevin McLaughlin                                           Haiku Page Editor, Spiritual Adviser, Poetry Mentor 

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    S. Ye Laird                                                         Poetry Translations Page Editor (November, 2016 – June 2018)

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    Suzanne Robinson                                          Poetry  (Free Verse) Editor

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    Tendai Rinos Mwanaka                                  African Poetry Editor (July, 2017 – July, 2018)

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    Rameeza Nasim                                               Asian Poetry Editor  (on hiatus)

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    Michael R. Burch                                             occasional Contributing Editor

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    Christy Burbidge                                              Associate Copy Editor

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    Elaine Wilburt                                                  Copy Editor (November 2018 to present)

Who We Are, and How We Got Here

For the first four issues, this space ran on a bit about the publisher. At first, this was due to the fact that there was nobody here but the publisher. Now, as you can see, we have added several staff members so that we are a fairly fully staffed journal.

 

First came my trusted mentor and spiritual advisor, Kevin McLaughlin, to edit our Haiku Page, then Vera Ignatowitsch to edit Formal & Rhyming Poetry.

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S. Ye Laird edited Poetry Translations from November 2016 – June 2018, and Suzanne Robinson officially accepted the title of what she has been all along, the final judge of what goes on the Free Verse Poetry Page. We have a greater depth and breadth than anything I could offer when I was trying to wear all the hats!

 

Tendai Rinos Mwanaka served as our African poetry editor for twelve issues, and those issues continue to be available in our archives. Michael R. Burch has been a guest editor of International Poetry, African Poetry, and Poetry Translations (together with Vera Ignatowitsch).

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We would welcome new editors for any of the many genres we have published and will continue to publish. Each of our section editors has what is essentially a franchise in their category or genre.

Please continue to direct your submissions, questions, and thoughts to betterthanstarbucks2@gmail.com, but you might want to put your submitted work to the attention of whichever page editor seems most likely to want to see it. 

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We are actively looking for section editors, and an art director.

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Missing pieces of the puzzle also include:

A grant writer (we are a non profit in fact, but not in law). We need someone who knows how to help with fund-gathering to, first, pay contributors, and then, possibly, though none have ever asked for a dime, the various editors.

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The maybes, let’s talk:

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an interviewer

a book reviewer,

a movie reviewer/critic

and either an art page editor or an art critic or both.

Mentors, Ghosts, and Spiritual Editors

poetry magazine, Mom, Mrs.Dan
poetry magazine, family portrait

Neither of these wonderful ladies are on our staff, as both are deceased, but they put this little muddy footed boy on the path to the love of the written word.

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                                      As of December 4,

                                        2016, we can add

                                          the ghost of my

                                        father. He never

                                      quite understood why

                                   anyone would work so hard  for something that didn't make any money,  but he always supported my efforts to create  a place for poetry, literature and art.

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