Abigail Bokaer
Abigail Bokaer is a writer, a teacher, and an MFA student at the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast program. She has published work in The Masters Review, where she was a second-place finalist for the Debut Fiction Prize. The novel that she’s currently writing, Tunisian Cowboy, is based on her relationship with her immigrant father and his lifelong dream of being a filmmaker. Her narrative links personal histories and cultural myths. Abigail is currently seeking literary representation for her book.
Abigail lives in Ithaca, New York, where she worked as a public elementary school educator for over twenty-five years. She teaches English language and literacy to adults.
“In “Made in Wonderland,” the Tunisian father at the center of the story is a force. He’s a man whose dreams take up all the space in a room. He sees the world richly—be it through the immersive scents of his Tunisian cuisine, the verdant landscapes he tends, the five-language jousts with the women in his life, or on the set of his chaotic student film Made in Wonderland, he captivates. His greatest admirers, his daughters, are enraptured by his consuming vision. I chose this story because it brilliantly turns this vision on itself, and what the girls see is profound, lucid, and heartbreaking.” — Guest Judge Julie Iromuanya.