Liz Mandrell
Austin, TX

Liz Mandrell was a high school English teacher for four years. During that time she discovered that most teachers have sacrificed a very important part of themselves--dreams of being a scientist, a writer, a musician, an artist--for twice monthly paychecks and health insurance. These teachers often tend to their broken spirits through delusion, alcohol, or scrapbooking. Her story is about one such sad case.

Liz, however, made the break from the teaching racket into the graduate school racket. She is current a James A. Michener Fellow at the University of Texas in Austin. Her publishing credits include Georgia Review and Frostproof Review.