The people who count for VIDA count because they love literature. It would probably be an understatement to suggest they prefer reading over math. We wanted to learn more about what drives the individuals who make the annual VIDA Count possible. And because we are so grateful to these interns for so generously volunteering their time, we’ve launched a fundraising campaign to pay our Counters.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m primarily a poet, though I like to write flash fiction as well. I’m from just north of Atlanta, GA, but currently I live in Salem, MA with my daughter. Though I’m a full time student, I just got my license to teach English at both middle and high school levels.
Why you to decide to become involved with the VIDA Count?
For me, it was more of a revenge scheme to get back at some undergrad professors of mine who used to tell our classes that there’s no more need for feminism; I wanted to be a part of the process that proves they’re wrong.
Do you have a favorite book / poem / novel / short story?
I recommend On Ballycastle Beach by Medbh McGuckian. Not enough people read female poets from Ireland, and McGuckian is one of the best.
What literary journals would you suggest readers be on the lookout for?
I suggest you all submit your work to Sling Magazine, especially fiction, especially especially magical realist fiction because I’m their fiction editor, and well, if you ever wanted an “in” to what the editor wants, there you have it. Also, love PANK and Apex Magazine.
Kaela Bernhardt, a Georgia poet, is an MFA student at Lesley University studying poetry. As an undergraduate, she won the Roy F. Powell Creative Writing Award in Poetry (2011).