Meet the Poetry Reader: M. E. Hoban

Dearest readers,

There have been new changes afoot in our small editorial team. Instead of being content with our triumvirate, we have expander our circle and our pleased to announce the addition of a fourth member to our team! As with our past "Meet the Editors" interviews, we decided to ask a few questions about her interests...

M. E. Hoban earned her BA in English from the University of Michigan, where she spent four years on the editorial staff of Fortnight Literary Press. She likes dogs and feels most at home near water.

Artists/writers you like or admire or inspire you
My favorite writers are James Joyce and Oscar Wilde, although my favorite book ever is and probably always will be Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted. Lately, I have just finished a novel by Natsume Soseki and have moved on to a collection of the works of Richard Bruce Nugent.

Favorite vegetable?
I love bell peppers. They can be cooked (or not cooked) in pretty much any way and add nice, cheerful colors to whatever you’re making, be it stir fry or salad. Like many of my favorite things, they are both practical and pretty.

What do you like most about bees?
Bees inevitably make me think of flowers—specifically, my mother’s front garden in summer, which in my head is always full of myrtle and orange lilies. So, I suppose I like bees because seeing them is always a sign that the weather is warming up and the flowers are blooming.

Meet the Editors: Marilyn Schotland

Dear readers, we hope you are enjoying your Monday morning wherever you are. It truly seems that Fall is finally underway in the United States and our team is looking forward to new books and hot drinks. Today, features our final interview. Last but not least, meet our poetry editor...

Marilyn Schotland is a second year student at the University of Michigan, where she is currently pursuing a double major in Art History and French. Her published work is forthcoming in sea foam mag and The Dinner Table Review. She likes peaches,  Andrew Wyeth paintings and drinks too much coffee.

Who are some writers/artists that inspire you?
I have particular fondness for the works of Anne Carson, Nick Bantock, Donna Tartt, and perhaps it goes without saying, William Shakespeare. During the summer, I like to dive into ridiculously long novels and have most recently completed War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I’m also intensely fascinated by WWI poets such as Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. In terms of art, I love Claude Monet, Kay Nielsen, Hieronymus Bosch and paintings featuring ugly Renaissance babies. 

Favorite vegetable?
Mushrooms! While technically a fungus, the mushroom is hearty, with an pungent, earthy flavor that makes it an excellent component in stews. 

What do you like most about bees?
Bumblebees are industrious! I also love how they are fluffy and bump into windows accidentally. Part of the reason that we named our magazine, "Bombus Press," was that we wanted to curate a collection of excellent works on the internet, organized like dripping honeycombs. Since the bee is a popular trope in both literature and art, it is therefore the perfect emblem for our mag. (Also, try saying the word bombus ten times fast!)

Meet the Editors: Karen Guan

Good morning, dear readers! We're back again today with a blog post, this time featuring our Art Editor, Karen Guan. If you haven't already checked out our other social media pages, you're seriously missing out.

Karen Guan is a student at the Rhode Island School of Design, in the class of 2019. She is majoring in graphic design, although she thought very hard about majoring in illustration as well. Karen grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and loves cartoons and sweet foods.

Artists/writers you like or admire or inspire you
Currently, I am interested in the respective works of Chris Ofili, Gustav Klimt, Giorgio Morandi, and Judith Scott. I also love Lucien Bernhard’s object posters. Chris Ware’s beautiful drawings and stories are a big inspiration for me as well! In terms of writing, I enjoy reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s work as well as Dostoyevsky’s.

What’s your favorite vegetable?
I have been loyal to the green bean since the second grade! At every Chinese restaurant I go to, I order them because stir fried green beans with rice is always comforting and reliably good. The green color is soothing, and inside the pods there are tiny smooth beans!

What do you like most about bees?
Bees give us fruit and other plants, for which I am endlessly grateful. Honeybees also live in interesting societies. From their fuzzy yellow and black bodies to their hexagonal houses, bees are instantly recognizable animals! They have a special place in our culture.