Writers' Event to Focus on 'War, Healing, and Culture'

The schedule for the 2014 Great Plains Writers' Conference, March 23-25, Brookings, S.D., has been published. The theme of this year's event, conducted since 1976 on the campus of South Dakota State University, is "Coming Home: War, Healing and American Culture." All events are free and open to the public except as noted.

A downloadable PDF of the schedule is available here.

The website for the event is here.

A Facebook page for the event is here.

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SUNDAY, MARCH 23 at South Dakota Art Museum

6:00 p.m. Invitational reception for campus and community military personnel 

7:00 p.m. Opening remarks, Larry Zimmerman, South Dakota Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

7:30 p.m. Screening of documentary film, "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" (2007)

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MONDAY, MARCH 24 at Campanile Room and Hobo Day Gallery, Student Union 169

9:00 a.m. "Reading & Writing the American Indian Military Experience," Francis, Colin, and Brendan Whitebird 

10:00 a.m. "Home Fronts Then and Now," South Dakota State University instructor Amber Jensen and student Haley Wilson 

11:00 a.m. "Beyond PTSD: Stories of Reintegration," Brian Turner and Ron Capps 

1:00 p.m. "Inside/Out and Outside/In: Distilling the Personal in the Military Experience," David Abrams 

2:00 p.m. "On the State of Teaching Military Writing Today," Ron Capps  

3:00 p.m. "A Long Shadow: The Great War at 100," Patrick Hicks 

4:00 p.m. Oakwood literary journal presents 2014 prize-winners: Marcus Bear Eagle, Great Plains Emerging Tribal Writer Award; and Christine Starr Davis, Great Plains Emerging Writer Prize

7:00 p.m. David Abrams and Patrick Hicks: A reading and conversation. Reception follows

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TUESDAY, MARCH 25 at Campanile Room and Hobo Day Gallery, Student Union 169

9:00 a.m. "Film and Literature of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars," Jason McEntee and South Dakota State University graduate students 

10:00 a.m. "A Field Report: Teaching Creative Writing Online to Military Personnel," Rosalie Owens, American Military University 

11:00 a.m. "Finding and Creating Opportunities in Writing about Military Life," Randy Brown, military journalist 

1:00 p.m. "A Reading and Conversation on 'Flashes of War,'" Katey Schultz 

2:00 p.m. Planning Session and Discussion: "Creating a Military Writing Presence at South Dakota State University," Brig. Gen. Keith Corbett, Dean, College of General Studies; Col. Clarke Pleasants, Air Force ROTC; Lt. Col. Aaron Schultz, Army ROTC; South Dakota State University Coordinator of Veterans Affairs Brian Mahaffy; English faculty 

3:00 p.m. Celebration reading for the Jerome R. Norgren Poetry Contest and Paul Witherington Creative Writing Contest for South Dakota youth, reception follows

TUESDAY, MARCH 25 at Pioneer Room, Student Union 265

3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. "Writing the Military Experience: A Hands-on Writing Session," conference guests and faculty

TUESDAY, MARCH 25 at Fishback Studio Theater, Performing Arts Center

7:30 p.m. Brian Turner: A reading and conversation. Reception follows