This Armistice Day, Celebrate Veterans and Vonnegut

PHOTO: Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library

Working with other community partners Nov. 7-8, the non-profit Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library (K.V.M.L.), Indianapolis, Ind. will conduct and participate in VonnegutFest 2014, an annual celebration of the writer, artist, and Indianapolis-born Kurt Vonnegut.

Vonnegut was notably born on Armistice Day—what would later become Veterans Day—and his experiences as a prisoner of war in World War II Dresden served as the foundation for his satirical 1969 novel "Slaughterhouse Five."

VonnegutFest events include "Veterans Reclaiming Armistice Day":

As a part of the Spirit and Place Festival, the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library presents "Veterans Reclaim Armistice Day". At 2 p.m., the event will kick off with an Art Resource Fair in the lobby of Central Library [40 E. St. Clair St.
Indianapolis]. From 3-4 p.m., there will be a panel discussion, moderated by National Public Radio Iraq War Correspondant Kelly McKevers, featuring Magnus Johnson of Elder Heart, Olivia Cobiskey, and Director of the Indiana Department of Veteran Affairs Jim Brown. The Art Resource Fair will remain open during the panel discussion. Following the panel discussion, Central library will be sponsoring Career Services for Veterans.

From 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. and located at the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, 340 N Senate Ave., Indianapolis, the KVML will celebrate the release of its third annual edition of its literary journal, "So It Goes." Contributors will read from their work, and an art exhibit titled "Billy Pilgrim's War Chest" will also be available for viewing.

Visit the KVML website here.

For a KVML Facebook page, click here.

Even if you can't attend VonnegutFest 2014 in person, consider reading this extensive and entertaining Paris Review interview from Spring 1977, in which Vonnegut talks of his military training and post-war experiences, and of writing them down. Here's an excerpt:

Others had so much more to write about. I remember envying Andy Rooney, who jumped into print at that time; I didn’t know him, but I think he was the first guy to publish his war story after the war; it was called Air Gunner. Hell, I never had any classy adventure like that. But every so often I would meet a European and we would be talking about the war and I would say I was in Dresden; he’d be astonished that I’d been there, and he’d always want to know more. Then a book by David Irving was published about Dresden, saying it was the largest massacre in European history. I said, By God, I saw something after all! I would try to write my war story, whether it was interesting or not, and try to make something out of it.

Or check out these two amusing and educational "Crash Course" YouTube videos by fellow Hoosier John Green, which explore the themes of Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse Five":

• "Aliens, Time Travel, and Dresden - 'Slaughterhouse Five' Part I: Crash Course Literature 212"

• "PTSD and Alien Abduction - 'Slaughterhouse Five' Part 2: Crash Course Literature 213"

June 1 Deadline for 3rd Vonnegut Library Lit-Journal

The editors of a third annual edition of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library's literary journal, "So It Goes," are soliciting new and previously published work on a theme of "the creative process." Poetry, prose, photography, and artwork may all be submitted.

Deadline for submissions is June 1, 2014. The printed publication will likely be released in November 2014.

Unlike other contests, journals, and anthologies featured on the Red Bull Rising blog, this opportunity is not limited to military veterans, service members, or families.

In the past, editors have solicited writers with the note, "Keep in mind that we are looking for your unique voice and not just an imitation of Vonnegut's trademark humorous humanism." The first two editions have notably skewed toward work previously published by established writers.

The library's inaugural edition, organized on a theme of "War and Peace," was previously reviewed on the Red Bull Rising blog. The second annual edition's theme was "humor." Each is available for purchase via the library's on-line store, as well as its storefront location: The Emelie Building, 340 N. Senate Avenue, Indianapolis, Ind.

For more background on the "So It Goes" journal, as well as author Kurt Vonnegut's shared birthday with Armistice Day (November 11), click here.

Submission guidelines include:

• Both new and previously published works are acceptable.

• Use 12-point Times New Roman font.

• Format as double-spaced document for prose; use of single-space is acceptable for poetry.

• Simultaneous submissions are allowed with notification.

• Submissions are limited to one work of prose (maximum 1,500 words) or up to five poems, photographs and/or works of art. Group multiple poems into one document.

• Include cover letter with brief biography.

Questions may be directed via e-mail to: soitgoes@vonnegutlibrary.org.

The library organization maintains a Facebook page here, and a website here.

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Note: This blog content regarding military-themed writing is underwritten by the Interlochen Center for the Arts' Summer 2014 series of 4-day writers' retreats, including Matt Gallagher's "From Blog to Book: How to Expand Your Web Log into a Book Manuscript," June 16 to 19. The Interlochen campus is located 15 minutes southwest of Traverse City, Mich. In addition to other published work, Gallagher is the author of 2010's non-fiction "Kaboom: Embracing the Suck in a Savage Little War." For more information on all of the 2014 writers' retreats, click here.

Literary Journal Launch: 'The Pass In Review' No. 1

Review: "The Pass In Review" Journal, Issue No. 1

In keeping with the newly launched literary journal's name—it's a pun on a command used in military drill and ceremony—The Pass In Review is a quick-step parade with plenty of flash, brass, ruffles and flourishes. While the content is not restricted to soldierly themes, the premiere issue features the poetry, fiction, photography, and artwork of more than 20 military veterans.

One of them, admittedly, is the writer of the Red Bull Rising blog. The issue includes, among other examples of his light military-themed verse, what may be the only poem ever written on the subject of working in a Tactical Operations Center ("TOC"). There is also one about making an on-line purchase of body armor. And one about life on a Forward Operating Base ("FOB") that is infused with Norse mythology.

Even without this potential bias, however, we would be excited by the prospects presented by this new collection of veterans' voices.

The issue is available electronically for $8.99 purchase via the Amazon Kindle Store. (Currently on discounted to $4.99!) For those who prefer ink-on-paper, the 82-page Pass in Review is also available as an 8x10-inch print-on-demand hardcopy via Amazon (around $18—currently discounted to $15) or via CreateSpace ($20). If you buy a print edition through Amazon, you get the option of purchasing the Kindle version for $1 more.

An annual Pass In Review anthology may also be in the works.

With their first effort, the journal's editors and designers have set their standards high. Check out this statement of purpose that's sure to stir both a writer's pen and blood:

The Pass In Review is a quarterly magazine for the arts that is focused on giving a strong, clear voice to the military veteran. This is a place for veterans of all backgrounds and nationalities to share their artistic visions and join the likes of Erich Maria Remarque, Joseph Heller, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kurt Vonnegut, Wilfred Owen, Otto Dix, John Phillip Sousa and Tim O'Brien before them.

It is a difficult endeavor to separate oneself from the cause he or she fights for. Those artists, those warrior poets, whose perceptions are forged through the fires of war are compelled to illustrate the funny, honorable, disgusting, beautiful and cowardly aspects of the human condition. Through their art, they are able to denounce the machinations of the press, the lies of politicians, and the ideal of the glorious soldier to expose the truth to share with future generations.

In an editor's note in the premiere issue, editor Alex Zapata thanks the hundreds of veterans who submitted their work, and anticipates more such successes:

"After a couple of months of prep work, we opened our inboxes to submissions and the result was incredible," he writes. "Stories, poems, paintings and photographs streamed in by veterans from all services. After going through all of the submissions, I realized how completely and utterly wrong I was. All that time, I had been complaining about there being no artists like the ones I listed before. The truth is, they are out there. They just haven’t been discovered yet. We at The Pass In Review hope to change that."

In issue No. 1, front-and-center of Zapata's artistic assault is the work of photographer Chase Steely, an active-duty U.S. Army soldier currently serving with 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (S.B.C.T.), 25th Infantry "Tropic Lightning" Division (2-25th SBCT), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Steely was deployed to Eastern Afghanistan as an infantryman. After peers and leaders responded favorably to his photographic habits, however, he picked up additional and informal duty as a shooter of a different sort.

In addition to The Pass In Review cover photo, the issue presents 20 of Steely's images and an eight-page Q&A interview. In that exchange, Steely explains:

Even my Sergeant Major, who didn’t even know who I was ... I just became "the picture guy." I mean, I got in trouble a couple of times for stuff I posted [online] and they told me I had to take some stuff down but they were pretty supportive. Most of the time I was an RTO [Radio Telephone Operator], so that gave me the opportunity to be there and not have to worry about pulling security as much and just get to take photos. 

Even when I became an AG [Assistant Gunner] later on, they would pull me off that duty and just tell me "Hey, walk around and take pictures."

Despite the fact that he mostly used a small point-and-shoot camera, his eye for composition, color, and pattern delivers a fine-art treatment of the Afghan environment. Through Steely's viewfinder, you will encounter a day-to-day Afghanistan that seems almost magical.

Currently awaiting medical procedures related to injuries sustained while in Aghanistan, Steely has another year or two on his enlistment. In the meantime, he has self-published a 60-page photo book via Blurb, available in either print  or e-book formats.

Short stories in The Pass In Review's inaugural issue include:

• "Illusion" by Micah Reel

• "Dinner With the Anarchists" by T. Mazzara

• "A Sign of Things To Come" by Keith Ryan Kappel

• "Stream R" by Gerald Nutini

• "The Boatman" by Brad Drake

Poems include:

• "Bullet Proof Me," "Café Sessrúmnir," "Combat Patch," and "Quiet as TOC-rats" by Randy Brown

• "The Cotton-threaded Manacles of Legal Tender will Leave Ligature Marks on our Children’s Wrists" by Phillip Smith

• "Bird Flu" by Anthony L. Haskins

• "Walking Point" by Brett Perry

• "Fireflies" by John M. Koelsch

• "A Ball A Bat and A Beer" by Michael Fredson

Visual artworks—including photography, sculpture, and painting—include:

• "Can’t Patch a Wounded Soul with a Bandaid" and "Tiffany" by Edward Santos

• "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie" by William Medina

• "Albatross" by Claude Freaner

• "All I Am" by Kimberly Deliz

• "Tesla's Dream" and "Angel's Nest" by Apolinar Peralta

• "Apples Cubed" by Hugo Gonzalez

The submissions window for the second issue of The Pass In Review opened Feb. 1, and continues until April 1. The theme of the next issue is "Humor in the Military." Editors seek previously unpublished fiction, poetry, visual art, and music. Submissions are made through the journal's website. Click here for more guidelines.

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Disclaimer: As indicated earlier in this post, the writer of the Red Bull Rising blog has work appearing in the poetry section of The Pass In Review's issue No. 1.

July 15 Deadline for 2nd 'So It Goes' Vonnegut Journal

The editors of the second annual edition of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library's literary journal, "So It Goes," are soliciting new and previously published work on a central theme of "humor." Poetry, prose, photography, and artwork may all be submitted.

Deadline for submissions is July 15, 2013. The printed publication will be released Nov. 9, 2013.

The library's inaugural edition, organized on a theme of "War and Peace," was previously reviewed on the Red Bull Rising blog.

According to press materials:

This year’s theme is humor. The library wants your whimsy, levity, dark satire, political parody, topical tomfoolery, sarcastic spoofs, and wit. Keep in mind that we are looking for your unique voice and not just an imitation of Vonnegut’s trademark humorous humanism.

Submission guidelines include:

• Both new and previously published works are acceptable.
• Simultaneous submissions are allowed with notification.
• Submissions are limited to one work of prose (maximum 1,500 words) or up to five poems, photographs and/or works of art.
• Submitted materials will not be returned.

Read the complete submission rules and submit electronically here.

Send paper submissions, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope (S.A.S.E.) with sufficient postage for response, to:

Vonnegut Library
So It Goes Submissions
340 N. Senate Ave.
Indianapolis, Ind. 46204.

Questions may be directed via e-mail to: soitgoes@vonnegutlibrary.org.

The library organization maintains a Facebook page here, and a website here.

Review: 'So It Goes,' Issue No. 1

On a sunny gold cover with a darkly funny star at its center (more on that symbol in a moment), the first issue of the literary journal "So It Goes" is packed with cheeky potential.

While it ultimately takes itself a bit too seriously, it potentially serves as an important primer and portal, for those who would like to write more about their military experiences, and for those who would like to read about them.

Launched by the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library last November, the publication commemorates the Indiana writer's Nov. 11 birthday—coincidentally Armistice Day (and, in the United States, Veterans Day)—as well as his absurdist-pacifist inklings. The theme of the first issue was "War and Peace."

The asterisk on the cover, for example? Vonnegut's whimsical doodle depicting an anus. (Nope. Not kidding. Apparently, he first used the symbol in his 1973 novel "Breakfast of Champions." And regularly signed autographs using it as well.)

"We hope that the selection of works mirrors Vonnegut's well-earned reputation as a humorist," the editors explain in an introduction. "Any literary journal bearing his name, however somber in its theme, should not exist without containing something funny."

There's more somber here than funny, but some funny is better than none.

The slim tome comprises just 112 pages. Some of the featured writers are living and working. Others are dead and gone. There's World War II reporter Ernie Pyle's classic essay about "The God-Damned Infantry"—Pyle was also a Hoosier—and a few scraps from Vonnegut himself, who died in 2007. There's an excerpt of Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried." 21st century war-poet Brian Turner's ubiquitous "Here, Bullet." In short, a rogue's gallery of gritty truth-tellers, peppered with a roughly equal number of lesser-knowns, translated, and aspiring writers.

"In this first issue, we hope you find a sense of enrichment, a cause for reflection, and a call for something approaching a more permanent peace, not exclusively for the sake of our veterans, but for the sake of us all," the editors write.

The publication is available for purchase here via the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library website. Price is $12, plus shipping.

The journal maintains a Facebook page here.

In other Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library news, on Jan. 26, the Indianapolis, Ind.-based organization plans to celebrate its second anniversary with panel discussions, a theatrical production, and other events. Click here for a press release with details.

The release briefly describes the organization's mission:

The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library is a public-benefit, nonprofit organization championing the literary, artistic and cultural contributions of the late writer, artist and Indianapolis native Kurt Vonnegut. The library seeks to engage people in the written word – especially their own. We are in the historic Emelie Building in downtown Indianapolis (340 N. Senate Ave.), thanks to the support of Katz & Korin, PC. The library is open daily except Wednesdays from noon to 5 p.m. and is closed on all major holidays. Admission is free, donations appreciated.

Vonnegut Library Launches Literary Journal

The board of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library, Indianapolis, Ind., has announced a new literary journal that will be published on Nov. 11, 2012. The date coincides with U.S. Veterans Day—sometimes still called "Armistice Day"—as well as the birthdate of the late Kurt Vonnegut. The journal will be titled "So It Goes," and the theme of the first issue will be "War and Peace."

Born Nov. 11, 1922 in Indianapolis, Kurt Vonnegut was a World War II veteran of the U.S. Army, a writer of cuttingly satirical fiction and other works, and an artist of whimsical and cartoonish graphics. Captured during the Battle of the Bulge, he used his experiences as a prisoner of war during the firebombing of Dresden, Germany as inspiration for "Slaughterhouse Five." The book is often categorized as science-fiction, and one of his most popular works.

Authors and artists are invited to submit poetry, creative nonfiction, short fiction, original artwork, and/or photography in keeping with the issue's theme. Deadline for either electronic or paper submissions is Aug. 15. According to the journal's Facebook page:

We will accept new and previously published work (simultaneous submissions are allowed with notification) and will credit the original publisher for previously published works. Submissions are limited to one work of prose (maximum 1,500 words) or up to five poems, photographs, and/or works of art. 

Please format with double space, use 12 point Times New Roman font, and include a cover letter with a brief biography. Questions may be directed to: SoItGoes@vonnegutlibrary.org.

We will accept both electronic and paper submissions. Upload your electronic submissions through http://kvml.submittable.com/submit. Send paper submissions to: 

The Vonnegut Library
So It Goes Submissions
340 N. Senate Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46234

Include a self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage for response. Submitted materials will not be returned.

Release of the first issue of "So It Goes" will coincide with a free and public event also sponsored by the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library: “Veterans Reclaim Armistice Day: Healing through the Humanities" will take place Nov. 11, 2012 at the Indiana War Memorial Auditorium. The event is part of the 17th Annual Spirit and Place Festival.

According to the Vonnegut library event's website, the event is "to spotlight the importance of the arts and humanities to help veterans both heal from and understand better their experience of war [...]"

It continues: "The program will explore how the arts and humanities can help veterans cope with the trauma of war [...] Veterans, notable writers, performers, philanthropists, family members, and those who are simply grateful to take part in a day of artistic expression will gather for one day of healing for hundreds of veterans and their families [...]"

Donations of $7 in support of the Vonnegut library event are welcomed here. (In the “comments” section of the online donation form, specify the amount should go toward the Armistice Day event.)