'Proud to Be' Veterans' Anthology Arrives Nov. 1

The poetry and prose of more than than 50 military veterans will be featured in an anthology titled "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors" to be released Nov. 1, 2012 by the Southeast Missouri State University Press.

The $15 trade paperback can be pre-ordered on Amazon here.

The project was undertaken with assistance from the Missouri Humanities Council (M.H.C.) and the Warriors Arts Alliance, the latter a non-profit organization dedicated to building communication and understanding between veterans, families, and communities through creative writing and visual arts.

Results from a concurrent contest resulted in $250 awards each in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry categories.

The contest and anthology were earlier attempted in 2011, under the heading of the "Missouri Warrior Writers Project."

Fiction category

Judge: William Trent Pancoast 

Winner: “First Day at An Khe” by Monty Joynes, Boone, N.C. 

Finalists:

• “Remembering Cu Chi” by Edie Cottrell, Piedmont, Calif. 

• “Tap Shoes” by Ryan Smithson, Schenectady, N.Y.

Non-fiction category

Judge: Mark Bowden 

Winner: “Rock Happy 1944-45″ by Paul C. Mims, West Chester, Pa. 

Finalists:

• “Sadr City” by Jarrod L. Taylor, Mattoon, Ill.

• “Desert Snow” by Jimmy Castellanos, New York, N.Y.

Poetry category

Judge: Brian Turner 

Winner: “Baring the Trees” by Gerardo Mena, Columbia, Mo. 

Finalists:

• “Rewind” by Carol Alexander, New York, N.Y.

• “Desert Moon” by Bill Glose, Poquoson, Va.

Additionally, a special recognition of a Missouri writer was awarded to Jay Harden, O'Fallon, Mo. by the Missouri Humanities Council board of directors, for his slice-of-life story titled "Between Wives."

A full list of contributors to the anthology is available here. Should the publication prove successful, organizers plan a second volume in 2013.

To help celebrate the anthology's publication, an evening of readings from the book will hosted by the St. Louis Poetry Center is planned for Nov. 27, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., The Focal Point events center, 2720 Sutton, Maplewood, Mo. 63143.

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