Hello! We are excited to shine light on some of the creative minds and passionate spirits that have been working with us this past spring semester: our interns! From painting the beautiful rocks you might’ve seen at AWP to writing captions for Instagram posts to moving book reviews from our old website to our new website – our interns have been with us through it all and we couldn’t have done it without them. Each intern brings a unique blend of enthusiasm, curiosity, and dedication to our team. They had so much fun interviewing each other for this article, so we hope you enjoy getting a glimpse of them as much as we have loved working with them.

Celia Cook [they/she]

Hometown: Glen Arm, MD
Ball State Major: Creative Writing
River Teeth Position: Design

What originally drew you into River Teeth, or what made you want to take this graduate class and intern with this lil team?
So I’m also a reader for The Rumpus, and my goal in life is to kind of like Pokémon my way into every lit magazine that I can get my grubby little fingers on. But also, I knew that the internship here would be for micro nonfiction, so I was really excited by that prospect because it’s such a different kind of writing than what I’m used to for The Rumpus, and as a writer I tend to do longer form so to do the micro kind of really gets you right there, like you know what you need to do right away, so that was neat.

Tell me about your relationship with writing. How long have you been doing it and when did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I started writing when I was 12. I wrote a Percy Jackson novel that I later self-published, thank you Rick Riordan. So I went to an arts high school and from there I learned a lot about writing. Then I went to college at the University of Maryland, I studied English and psychology, specifically in creative writing. My senior year I discovered creative nonfiction because I took this flash fiction/flash nonfiction and prose poetry class and I loved it. I really enjoy programs that allow you to explore the different forms, because I like it all, but creative nonfiction is so new to me so it’s so much fun. My relationship with writing is a long one, we’re spouses at this point, definitely a Common Law Marriage is what we are, and I can’t wait to keep discovering and exploring her for the rest of my life.

What is one thing you’ll steal from River Teeth to take to your future professions or for your writing?
One thing I really love about the internship is when we get to group all together and look at a [Beautiful Things] submission together, because it’s a maybe or it’s an almost-yes, there’s so many reasons that we look at them all together. You get to hear different perspectives and it really feels like our voices are significant in the decision process. [As a reader] you [can] feel distant from the actual decision-making and the process overall, so it’s really nice when there are actual moments when we get to come all together and talk and discuss, and then we also kind of problem-solve together and so that’s kind of cool, hearing that kind of different tactics and approaches, so I would steal that for sure. Overall it’s just a really great community out here, so I love it.

Courtney Crisp [she/they]

Hometown: Danville, IL
Ball State Major: Rhetoric and Composition
River Teeth Position: Social Media 

What’s the one big thing you hope to carry from your time working with River Teeth into the next leg of your professional journey?
Trust my instincts! When I first started reading for Beautiful Things, I doubted every decision I made and opinion I had. I just felt like I was too much of a novice to provide insightful feedback on the content we were reading, but, as I settled into the internship, I found that the rest of my peers found my feedback insightful which was very validating! 

If you could only write one genre for the rest of your life, what would you choose and why?
Horror fiction all the way! My mother raised me on Stephen King, and my favorite book as a kid was The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. King was so important in my developmental years, and that love for horror just continued to grow with me. 

If you could go back in time to write a book about any one historical figure or event while it was happening, who/what would you choose?
Honestly, I’d love to be present and write about Anne Boleyn’s life leading up to her execution. Henry VIII was the worst, and she deserves a better historical narrative. 

Tauri Hagemann [they/she]

Hometown: Fort Wayne, IN
Ball State Major: Creative Writing
River Teeth Position: Social Media 

What was the funniest thing that happened while working at River Teeth?
There’s lots of like… whimsical things that have happened. Honestly my favorite memory from my time at River Teeth was at the end of AWP watching Todd McKinney pack boxes into his rental car, because it was such a small car and there were so many boxes and he did it flawlessly in like, 45 seconds, and I’m still in awe of that. That’s my favorite River Teeth memory.

What does your dream submission look like for River Teeth/Beautiful Things?
Especially with Beautiful Things I think I’ve kind of honed in on the importance of language, especially because when we read for Beautiful Things it’s such a limited word count. I like language that draws me in, like unique images and symbols, but I also think it’s really clear when people are writing about things that they really care about and the passion comes through a lot. I love when we get a romantic Beautiful Thing that’s also queer because I love the like… normalization of that and that’s important and I always get a little excited because I’m like *gasp* I’m a queer person, this is a queer person, we can make it in the world, we’re out there!

What is one thing you’ll steal from River Teeth to take to your future professions or for your writing?
Oddly enough, I’ve gotten a lot of experience from River Teeth with social media management because I took this class for two semesters and both times was on our social media team, so now that I have that experience I feel qualified in applying for Social Media Marketing jobs. That’s something that before this felt very straightforward in my mind, but now I actually have the experience with it where I see how much more involved it is but also know that I am capable of doing it. Also I think just from reading submissions for Beautiful Things, I have become much more interested in writing my own flash nonfiction and attention to language and imagery is something that I’m pulling more into my own writing, because there are some Beautiful Things that I’m so struck by that I’m like I want to be able to do that. 

Jay Kibble [he/they/xe]

Hometown: Chattanooga, TN
Ball State Major: Creative Writing
River Teeth Position: Design (Spring 2024), Website (Fall 2023), Social Media (Spring 2023)

If your life had a soundtrack—or, because I know you’re in the process of writing a memoir, if your memoir had a soundtrack—what would the title of the playlist be?
It’s so funny you ask that because my writing process includes making playlists for what I’m working on. The playlist title is the working title of my memoir, Chaos Orbiting Chaos. My memoir deals with processing different forms of grief. It’s a work in progress, but I’ve got key songs in there that either directly correlate to scenes/moments in the story, or just give general vibes for what I’m going for. It’s got everything from Paramore to The Hombres to Eastmountainsouth to Elton John. The playlist has to be listened to in chronological order, though—no shuffling!

What is one thing that you’re taking from your time working as an intern for River Teeth?
Oh gosh, what am I not taking away from my time as an intern?  That’s a hard question, there’s so many things…I’d say I’m taking away not only a broad, fundamental understanding of the publishing world and process, but also confidence in myself that I know my stuff and can go on to do great work for any company or agency that I choose and that the skills and experience I’ve gained will easily translate to basically any industry.

What piece of advice would you give your younger self?
Believe the people who believe in you and celebrate you and your accomplishments. You have a voice, and you have a gift. Don’t be afraid of that. Use it.

Megan Lutes [she/her]

Hometown: Westfield, IN
Ball State Major: English Studies
River Teeth Position: Website 

What is your favorite thing about your role at River Teeth?
My favorite thing about being on the River Teeth website team is how central it is to everything that gets done if that makes sense. It’s connected to social media and the design team and Beautiful Things. I feel like I have interacted with every other intern, especially in putting together this intern appreciation article. This has got to be my favorite thing that I’ve done this semester. I suggested it to Todd one day and he loved the idea and so did Jill and Mark. That’s another cool thing about interning at River Teeth, is that the staff and people that you work with are so receptive to new ideas and trying new things and you really get to feel like you are a part of something. 

Do you feel like you’ve been able to use your fashion design experience in this role at all? If so, how?
Ooo interesting question! I like it. I don’t think that I’ve used any sewing or garment construction skills this past semester, but in my undergrad I was the vice president of the Fashion Merchandising Association at Ball State and I worked at PATTERN Magazine in Indy as a stylist and fashion writer, so I think being in positions like that really prepared me in communication, organization, and leadership. We used WordPress at PATTERN, which is what we use at River Teeth so that’s something that directly prepared me to be on River Teeth’s Website team. 

What are your plans after graduation?
Well, I still have one more year of my Master’s program, but after graduation I think it would be super cool to find a job that mixes my love for fashion and writing, so looking into jobs at fashion magazines would be something I would be interested in. This is such a hard question because I have too many interests! I would love to work as an editor for a publishing house or literary magazine like River Teeth, be a technical designer at a fashion company, or even have my own coffee shop/bookstore/clothing store. Honestly, that last one is my ultimate dream. 

Katie Mathew [she/her]

Hometown: Chalmers, IN
Ball State Major: Creative Writing
River Teeth Position: Social Media

What’s your favorite moment from your time working as an intern?
I don’t know if there’s a favorite moment, exactly, but my favorite thing about interning for River Teeth is the people—other interns and the editors. I’ve learned so much from the other interns and have made connections I wouldn’t have without it.

What should the River Teeth mascot be, if we had one?
A rock named Rocky or something more original. Skipper? Skippy? Whatever. I know River Teeth refers to tree branches that fall into rivers, but we’ve been painting river rocks with the logo on them, and I think it might make more sense than like a branch.

What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t worry so much about the future and if your writing is “good.” You’re writing, and that in itself is good. I like to stray from the “practice makes perfect” mantra and instead always tell myself “practice makes better,” and I would tell my younger self this so she knew that it’s okay to not be an amazing writer, especially when you’re just starting out. Twelve-year-old Katie worried too much about that kind of stuff, so, yeah, I’d just tell her to chill out.

Maddie Ramsell [she/her]

Hometown: Peoria, IL
Ball State Major: Creative Writing
River Teeth Position: Design

What are your plans after graduation?
Immediately after graduation, I am taking a week-long vacation to Puerto Rico with my mom! Then in the fall, I am attending Butler to pursue my MFA in Creative Nonfiction!

Tell me about your relationship with writing. How long have you been doing it and when did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I started writing in middle school by writing fanfiction! In high school, I joined my school’s writing club, wrote funny plays with my friends, and soon became the club’s president. When I started at Ball State, I wasn’t pursuing writing or writing at all in my free time. I was an English Education major. Once I switched my major(s) to Creative Writing and Spanish, I started taking writing seriously! My last year of undergrad was when I knew I wanted to be a writer as a career, instead of having it be just a hobby.

What song or groups of songs describes your mood or walk of life right now and why?
Ooh… I’m a big gym person, so most of what I listen to right now is EDM or phonk stuff. I might say the song “coffee” by Miguel because it is my most listened to song right now, and it reflects where I am in life right now, especially in my relationship! 

Ethan Rice [he/him]

Hometown: North Manchester, IN
Ball State Major: Creative Writing
River Teeth Position: Website 

If you could go back in time and write any famous book, which would it be?
I’d write ‘A Game of Thrones,’ because I, for one, would have finished the series by now and would know to stop the TV show from going down the way it did.

If you had to choose one specific utensil for writing (that is not a computer) for the rest of your life, which would you choose? Why?
I would have to go with a pencil and paper. Working with a typewriter would drive me too crazy, it’s way too hard to go back and make changes and correct mistakes and I’m always overthinking what I write. Very glad we don’t have to deal with those anymore.

What’s one historical author that you wish you could take on a dinner date?
Todd stole my first answer – Mark Twain – so I would go with George Orwell and just spend the whole evening going through news stories and asking “IS this literally just like 1984?” over and over again.