1 Free Verse Staff With Great Appreciation NYC Department of Probation Editor-in-Chief Commissioner: Ana M. Bermudez Dave Johnson Praise Managing Editor South Bronx Neighborhood Opportunity Network (NeON) Team Brownsville Neighborhood Opportunity Network (NeON) Team Lonni Tanner Brooklyn 345 Café of Opportunities, NYC Department of Probation Office of Public Imagination Fellow, NYC Department of Probation Hats Off Writing Apprentices Tyiece Barclay, Cheryl Brown, Yahira Castillo, Ayanna Cole, June Cooley, Marlita Dalton, Brenda Davis, Sharun Goodwin, Ann Gregg, Rhonda Yoelin Gomez Hughes, Paul Leufroy, Zelzah Martin, Catrina Prioleau, Esteban Rivera, Napoleon Felipe Michelle Rugel, Angel Ruiz, Cindy Ruiz, Tim Salyer, Antoine Sherman, Taqiy Witter Jasmin Sims, Rodney Smith, Aline Vartanian G.W. S.B. Kindness HaloTheArtist La La Akbar Poets House Markcus Santana Ira Allen Applause Tahara Lilly Funding for NeON Arts is provided by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Devonte Rhodes and The Pinkerton Foundation, through grants to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. Public support is provided by Council Member Design Rafael Salamanca and the NYC Center for Economic Opportunity. Delcan & Company Design Consultant Carin Goldberg Illustrations Pablo Delcan (Cover, pp. 1, 6, 31, 50, 80, 85) Na Son (p. 11) Joan Wong (pp. 16, 71) Join Us! Jan Buchczik (pp. 26, 43) Carla Cascales (pp. 37, 56) For more information about Free Verse writing workshops, Braulio Amado (p. 64) public readings, and programmatic materials, write to:
[email protected].