'As You Were': Veteran Group Re-launches Lit Journal

Military Experience & the Arts (M.E.A.), a veterans- and arts-advocacy non-profit based in Richmond, Ky., has announced that it will re-launch its family of four annual journal titles under a single quarterly banner. The new on-line publication will be titled "As You Were."

Military service members and veterans will recognize the phrase as one frequently heard in drill and ceremony, in which it is used to revoke a preparatory command. (See FM 22-5, Section 2-1, paragraph D.) A nautical equivalent might be "belay that."

"Our title also connotes a hearkening back, an exploration of the self and the past," the editors write. "We're interested in those words and works of art that are brave enough to cut through rank and time, presenting military experience honestly, free of the white-washing that is so common in today's war literature and art."

The group will continue to foster a collaborative culture and methods. "We've published six volumes since 2011, providing each contributor—regardless of whether that contributor has published 25 words or 25 books—with some form of one-on-one consultation."

The re-launch comes soon after the announcement of a May 2015 symposium to be held in Lawton, Okla., which will welcome artists, advocates, and veterans to military experience through the expressive arts. Registration for the event is open here.

Previously, literary titles published annually by Military Experience & the Arts included:

• The Blue Falcon Review: A Journal of Military Fiction

• The Blue Streak: A Journal of Military Poetry

• Blue Nostalgia: A Journal of Post-Traumatic Growth

• The Journal of Military Experience

Submission instructions for "As You Were" have been consolidated here. The organization now uses the on-line service Submittable to manage submissions. Editors seek artwork, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Scholarly articles will no longer be considered.