Deadline for 6th Veterans-Lit Anthology is June 1, 2017!

Deadline for submissions to a sixth volume titled "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors"—an anthology of military-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, oral histories, and photography—is June 1, 2017. The project is open to all military personnel, veterans, and family members.

According to the call for submissions, entrants can submit to a contest in which each category carries a first-prize of $250, or submit to the anthology alone. All entries will be considered for the anthology. There is no entry fee to the contest or publication.

Through the efforts of the Warriors Arts Alliance, the Missouri Humanities Council, and Southeast Missouri State University Press, the first "Proud to Be" volume was published in November 2012.

"[T]his series of anthologies preserves and shares the perspectives of our military and veterans of all conflicts and of their families," reads the Southeast Missouri State University Press contest page. "It is not only an outlet for artistic expression but also a document of the unique aspects of wartime in our nation’s history."

With second, third, and fourth issues, the press established itself as a leading venue for "veterans-lit," consistent in both quality and quantity. In 2014, the press also published "The Shape of our Faces No Longer Matters," a poetry collection by U.S. Marine veteran Gerardo "Tony" Mena.

Red Bull Rising blog reviews of past issues of the "Proud to Be" anthology appear here and here.

For a 2012 Red Bull Rising interview with series editor Susan Swartout, click here.

To submit only to the 2017 anthology, mail previously unpublished work with self-addressed, stamped envelope (S.A.S.E.) for notification to:

Warriors Anthology
Southeast Missouri State University Press, MS 2650
Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701

To submit to both contest and anthology, e-mail previously unpublished work to: upress@semo.edu. Also note:

• Entries must be sent electronically as Microsoft Word files (.doc or .docx).

• Keep poems in one document (with 1st poem as title).

• Put your name and contact info on first page and nowhere else on the manuscript.

For all submissions, whether mailed or electronic:

• Limit one submission in each category per person.

• Poetry: up to 3 poems (5 pages maximum).

• Fiction, essay, or interview: 5,000-word limit.

• Photography: up to 3 good-quality photos (will be printed in the book as black and white).

• Submissions exceeding the limits will be disqualified.

• Include a biography of 75 words or less with each submission. Explicitly mention author's connection to military.

• Winners and contributors will be notified by Nov. 1, 2017.

Review: 'Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors' 4

A rule of thumb, in both newsrooms and Tactical Operations Centers, is that "two times is a coincidence, but three times is a trend." Four times? Four times must make something an institution.

Now in its fourth consecutive volume, and published annually on or near Veterans Day, the military-writing anthology series "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors" is arguably the high-point of the 12-month veterans-lit calendar. In partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council, the series is published by Southeast Missouri State University Press, Cape Girardeau, Mo. Comprising short fiction, non-fiction essays, interviews, and photography generated by or about military service members, veterans, and families, no other book publishing effort so regularly portrays the scope and depth of U.S. military experiences.

World War II is here. Korea and Vietnam are here. Iraq and Afghanistan are here. The home front is here.

The Navy is here. The Army is here. The Marines are here. The Air Force is here.

The memories of 80-year-old veterans are here. The words of a high-schooler from Gilman, Iowa are here.

It's all here. Every year.

In reading across the most recent edition's 270 pages, one is struck by the chorus of voices. One hears harmonies in times and places. One hears differences in experiences, but never dissonances. In short, the book seems to embody the sentiment: "Everybody has their own war; no one has to fight it alone."

Keeping with the choral metaphor for a moment, the solo performances are stand-out. Each issue features a winner and two honorable mentions in five categories: fiction, essay, interview, poetry, and photography. (Disclosure: The writer of the Red Bull Rising blog was a runner-up in this year's poetry category.)

For example, photography winner Jay Harden's image, "Planning for Peace," graces the cover of the book. Harden was a B-52 navigator on 63 missions over Vietnam.

This year's fiction contest winner, Christopher Lyke, weaves a braided narrative of loss and return and fighting against—or maybe for—the routine. A former infantry soldier, Lyke is a Chicago-area writer, musician, and teacher. He is also the co-editor of the literary journal "Line of Advance." You can hear the Chicago in his prose, in story titled "No Travel Returns":

He woke up and ran the dog and showered. He dressed and woke up the kids. This kept happening. Then he made breakfast for the kids and woke up his wife. This happened every day, too. He made it happen, this routine.

Essay category winner David Chrisinger delivers a profile of U.S. Marine Brett Foley, an Afghan War veteran. Chrisinger, a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, interviews Foley and Foley's wife, and grounds the resulting conversation in grief theory. Chrisinger is the son of a Vietnam-era veteran, and the grandson of a World War II veteran. He teaches a student-veteran reintegration course on campus, and counts Foley as his best friend. The resulting exploration is, then, both personal and professional:

What helped to increase Brett's resilience and help him move toward a productive and purposeful life was talking about his trauma and remembering the good men he served with. Only then could he move on. And even though he never discovered the complete and final truth of his experiences—no one ever really can—Brett did create meaning out of them by organizing his memories and creating a coherent narrative. […]

In the winning poem, titled "nights," Navy officer Nicholas J. Watts writes an hypnotic, rhythm-infused ode to sleep and memory:

nights
I visit dark places
where war still rages
and I didn't fight
like I should have
where whiskey flows
from plastic jugs into Salvation Army cups
to be cast away
like dead children from suicide bombs
or Talib cattle shot for sport […]

Such exemplars are indicative of the qualities to be found throughout the book. In a poem titled "TBI" (which stands for "Traumatic Brain Injury"), VA nurse Susan K. Spindler delivers a punch to the gut with lines such as:

[…] A brain weights three to four pounds.
It floats in a fluid that protects it.
You floated in me once, Josh.
I gave up pot and booze and moved
us far away from the man that was half of you.
I thought you would be safe. […]

In a war story titled "How I Almost Lost the War for the U.S.A.," Korean War veteran and former U.S. Marine George Fischer tells a hilarious and harrowing tale. He was driving a WWII-era amphibious truck called a "Duck," one laden with ammunition destined for the front, when he ran over a long-haul communications cable presumably used by much-higher headquarters. The Duck gets stuck. He walks over to a nearby artillery unit, to radio for assistance:

While I waited for that wrecker, the 155 guncrew listened on the phone to announce the next target. Some of the crew asked me how the hell did I get to this howitzer emplacement. I pointed to where my truck rested in the dark across the meadow at the road. They were amazed and astonished as they told me that field I had walked on was thoroughly mined.

In her introduction to this year's volume, series publisher Susan Swartwout describes some of her lessons, taken from four years of compiling, editing, and producing "Proud to Be":

Just a few of the things I've learned include that some veterans carry their stories inside and won't speak their war burdens to friends and family—but they will write them to the world when the have a place and invitation to do so. […]

I've learned that a veteran's coming home to loved ones and civilian life can be yet another battle with its own version of firestorm. […]

And I've learned that many veterans and military personnel have an awesome sense of humor, brilliant with word play and pranks.

Sherpatude No. 26: "Humor is a combat multiplier …" And thank goodness for it. World War II veteran Bill McKenna was an infantryman with the U.S. 24th Infantry Division in the Philippines, when his buddy took off, suffering from the "G.I.'s" (gastrointestinal distress). A Filipino leading a squad of Moro tribesmen happen upon McKenna. After a wary stand-off, they mention in passing to McKenna the recent death of the U.S. President:

For every G.I. in a far-off battle zone, it's great to hear from home—a letter from Mom, Sis, or Sweetheart. But today I got news delivered first-hand to me on a Philippine jungle road. Not the usual way to hear the news, I suppose, but damn, it was exciting.

Later, I learn that the news of the Roosevelt's death was delayed for troop morale considerations.

Where else are you going to hear a story like that? Who else but a veteran would be the one to tell it?

*****

For information on the 2016 military-writing contest and anthology, click here.

A Facebook page for the project is here.

A St. Louis-area book launch event is planned for 1 to 4 p.m., Sat., Dec. 19, 2015. The event is free and open to the public. Information here.

Third 'Proud to Be' Mil-Writing Anthology Released

A third volume of the "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors" anthology series, published annually by Southeast Missouri State University Press, is released today, Tues., Nov. 11, 2014. The cover photo features an Air Force blue color palette and qualification badges. Cover photo is by Jay Harden. The anthology features the fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and photography of more than 60 military writers.

The new books may be ordered through the press here, or via Amazon here.

Editors of the series have already opened submissions for a fourth volume of military-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, oral histories, and photography. Deadline is June 1, 2015. The project is open to all military personnel, veterans, and family members.

According to the submissions notice, entrants can submit to a contest in which each category carries a first-prize of $250, or submit to the anthology alone. All entries will be considered for the anthology. There is no entry fee to the contest or publication.

Through the efforts of the Warriors Arts Alliance, the Missouri Humanities Council, and Southeast Missouri State University Press, the first "Proud to Be" volume was published in November 2012. The second was published last December.

"[T]his series of anthologies preserves and shares the perspectives of our military and veterans of all conflicts and of their families," reads the Southeast Missouri State University Press contest page. "It is not only an outlet for artistic expression but also a document of the unique aspects of wartime in our nation’s history."

For a 2012 Red Bull Rising interview with "Proud to Be" editor Susan Swartout, click here.

To submit only to the 2015 anthology, mail previously unpublished work with self-addressed, stamped envelope (S.A.S.E.) for notification to:

Warriors Anthology
Southeast Missouri State University Press, MS 2650
Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701

To submit to both contest and anthology, e-mail previously unpublished work to: upress@semo.edu. Also note:

• Entries must be sent electronically as Microsoft Word files (.doc or .docx).

• Keep poems in one document (with 1st poem as title).

• Put your name and contact info on first page and nowhere else on the manuscript.

For all submissions, whether mailed or electronic:

• Limit one submission in each category per person.

• Poetry: up to 3 poems (5 pages maximum).

• Fiction, essay, or interview: 5,000-word limit.

• Photography: up to 3 good-quality photos (will be printed in the book as black and white).

• Submissions exceeding the limits will be disqualified.

• Include a biography of 75 words or less with each submission.

• Winners and contributors will be notified by Nov. 1, 2015.

Mil-Poetry Review: Mena's 'The Shape of Our Faces ...'

"The Shape of Our Faces No Longer Matters" by Gerardo Mena

Iraq War veteran and former Marine medic Gerardo "Tony" Mena's 2014 collection of poetry, "The Shape of Our Faces No Longer Matters" delivers poetic reports from both downrange and home.

Among other awards, Mena is a past winner of a national veterans writing contest conducted annually by the Missouri Humanities Council, Warriors Arts Alliance, and the Southeast Missouri State University Press.

His work has previously appeared in the related annual anthology series "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors" published each November, and his poetry collection is the first of a "Military-Service Literature" series, which is also published by the press.

The 80-page book comprises 58 poems, divided into three nearly equal sections. The first section, "How to Build a War Machine," presents anecdotes and impressions of war. The Second, "I Painted Myself (Burning)," eulogizes times and men. The last, "Welcome Home, or the Sound of Your Blood Humming," deals with aspects of returning to peaceful society.

Among his free verse, Mena tosses into the footlocker a few familiar types of poetry, such as haiku, while also experimenting with new-found forms. There is, for example, one poem written as screenplay. Another, titled "Survivor's Guilt," mimics the official administrative routing slip attached to Mena's Navy Achievement Medal with "V" Device.

At times, Mena is wonderfully descriptive and reportorial. His poems are generally short, less than one page. He grounds many of his more-powerful works with facts and introductions. "We had a conversation full of sarcasm, just like old times," he writes in introducing a poem titled "The Marriage of Hand and Spear." (He had called a buddy who was recovering in hospital from burns to 45 percent of his body.) "But then he became silent, and ended our conversation with, 'Doc, I still have these dreams. Every night I watch myself burning. Every night I re-live the burn, and every night it is you that throws the match and laughs.'"

Powerful stuff—and practically a poem in itself.

At other times, Mena becomes more ethereal, more surreal. As a recovering journalist and as a reader, I tend to gravitate toward his grittier, more concrete work, but I still appreciate his dreamy searches for new metaphors—the plum blossoms and powder-white sands, the wars painted blue, the stars in our mouths. I do not always understand what he means, but I enjoy going along for the ride.

In either mode, Mena's work is accessible and plain-spoken. He accurately captures the dark humor and magical thinking of troops in contact. In "Hero's Prayer," for example, the narrator ends an impassioned psalm with this fragment:

[...] Let my last breath be whispers of curses
and sworn vengeance.

As the rigor washes
over me, turn my smile
to marble, for I have though
well. Do not let me die
from an incoming mortar round
as I jerk off in the porta-shitter.

Another example: In relating the story of lucky buddy who was merely ejected from his vehicle gun-turret position by an incoming mortar round, Mena uses the first-person perspective:

I dreamed that I opened my mouth and slowly
swallowed an entire rocket.
When I awoke,
I was a rocket.

I had rocket guts and rocket blood.

My rocket feet were plastic fins [...]

In one of his signature poems, "So I Was a Coffin," Mena successfully marries the real and the surreal, stitched together with strings of melancholy:

They said you are a spear. So I was a spear.
I walked around Iraq upright and tall, but the wind began to blow and I began
to lean. I leaned into a man, who leaned into a child, who leaned
onto a city. I walked back to them and neatly presented a city of bodies
packaged in rows. They said no. You are a bad spear. [...]

The poem won first-place in a 2010 winningwriters.com "war poetry" contest, and the poet can be heard to read "So I Was a Coffin" in a multimedia video posted to YouTube here.

In the poem, Mena was first a spear, then a flag, a bandage, and a coffin. Now, he is a book.

He is a good book.

You should read him.

Deadline for Third Mil-Anthology is June 1, 2014

Deadline for submissions to a third volume titled "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors"—an anthology of military-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, oral histories, and photography—is June 1, 2014. The project is open to all military personnel, veterans, and family members.

According to the call for submissions, entrants can submit to a contest in which each category carries a first-prize of $250, or submit to the anthology alone. All entries will be considered for the anthology. There is no entry fee to the contest or publication.

Through the efforts of the Warriors Arts Alliance, the Missouri Humanities Council, and Southeast Missouri State University Press, the first "Proud to Be" volume was published in November 2012. The second was published last December.

"[T]his series of anthologies preserves and shares the perspectives of our military and veterans of all conflicts and of their families," reads the Southeast Missouri State University Press contest page. "It is not only an outlet for artistic expression but also a document of the unique aspects of wartime in our nation’s history."

For a 2012 Red Bull Rising interview with "Proud to Be" editor Susan Swartout, click here.

To submit only to the 2014 anthology, mail previously unpublished work with self-addressed, stamped envelope (S.A.S.E.) for notification to:

Warriors Anthology
Southeast Missouri State University Press, MS 2650
Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701

To submit to both contest and anthology, e-mail previously unpublished work to: upress@semo.edu. Also note:

• Entries must be sent electronically as Microsoft Word files (.doc or .docx).

• Keep poems in one document (with 1st poem as title).

• Put your name and contact info on first page and nowhere else on the manuscript.

For all submissions, whether mailed or electronic:

• Limit one submission in each category per person.

• Poetry: up to 3 poems (5 pages maximum).

• Fiction, essay, or interview: 5,000-word limit.

• Photography: up to 3 good-quality photos (will be printed in the book as black and white).

• Submissions exceeding the limits will be disqualified.

• Include a biography of 75 words or less with each submission.

• Winners and contributors will be notified by Nov. 1, 2014.

St. Louis Events Proclaim 2nd 'Warriors' Book Nov. 15

Military writers who have contributed to "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, Vol. 2" will read at two St. Louis-area book-release events Fri., Nov. 15, 2013. Both events are free and open to the public, and the hot-off-the-press books will be available for purchase and signing.

The second of a series made possible through the efforts of Missouri Humanities Council, Southeast Missouri State University Press, and the Warriors Arts Alliance, this issue of "Proud to Be" delivers fiction, non-fiction, poetry, interviews, and photographs by more than 70 military service members, veterans, and families.

Locations and times for the book-release events are:

Friday, Nov. 15, 10 a.m. to 12 noon
University of Missouri–St. Louis
St. Louis Mercantile Library

Fri., Nov. 15, 7 to 9 p.m.
St. Louis Public Library Central Branch

In a 2012 Red Bull Rising blog interview, editor Susan Swartwout of the Southeast Missouri State University Press noted the important role anthologies can take in creating a narrative and record of veterans' service:

We only hear the news media’s coverage, maybe a few oral stories from friends and family [...] The anthology format preserves not only the individual pieces of writing, but also the multiple opinions and viewpoints of involved human beings, all in one artifact. The printed anthology informs the public, allows the soldiers’ and their families’ voices to be heard, and preserves their writing. Triple win.

"Proud to Be, Vol. 2" is available for pre-order as 320-page trade paperback through the Southeastern Missouri State University Press and through Amazon. For a 13-page, PDF profile and sampler of "Proud to Be, Vol. 2" content, prepared by the Missouri Humanities Council, click here.

The 256-page first volume was published in November 2012, and is also available via Amazon.

A call for submissions and contest for "Proud to Be, Vol. 3" has been issued. Deadline is June 1, 2014.

Also currently located at the University of Missouri–St. Louis's Mercantile Library is a special art exhibition titled "War and Healing: Artwork from the Combat Paper Project." The exhibit runs Nov. 1, 2013 to Jan. 6, 2014.

Veterans to Present Poetry, Prose at 'Wordfest 2013'

Military veterans will present their published works at a free public reading during Wordfest 2013, an annual celebration of the humanities held in Springfield, Mo. The reading will be held Sat., Sept. 28, 1:30 p.m. at Mille's Café, 313 S. Jefferson Ave. Wordfest is underwritten by the Missouri Literary Festival and the Missouri Humanities Council.

The poems and prose to be presented were originally published in "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors," a 2012 anthology produced by Southeastern Missouri State University Press, Cape Girardeau, Mo. "Proud to Be" is co-sponsored by the Missouri Humanities Council and the Warriors Arts Alliance.

The "Proud to Be" book is available for purchase via Amazon or directly from the university press. The book was previously covered on the Red Bull Rising blog here; an e-mail interview with anthology editor Susan Swartwout appears here.

A second volume of the anthology series is anticipated to be published in November 2013. The cover design for "Proud to Be" Vol. 2 was announced earlier this week. A call for submissions for a third volume is anticipated later this fall.

According to the Missouri Humanities Council website, authors featured at Saturday's event will include:

• Jay Harden, a U.S. Air Force veteran who flew 500 combat hours in Vietnam as a B-52 navigator

• Fred Rosenblum, a Vietnam War veteran who enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1967

• Gerardo “Tony” Mena, an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran who spent six years in special operations with Marine Force Reconnaissance units

• Colin D. Halloran, a veteran who served in Afghanistan

• Lauren K. Johnson, former military public affairs officer who served in Afghanistan

The introduction to the program will be provided by William Garvin, special collections librarian and university archivist at Drury University in Springfield, Mo. Discussion following the readings will be moderated by Geoff Giglierano, executive director of the Missouri Humanities Council.

July 1 Deadline for 2nd 'Proud to Be' Mil-Writing Book

Deadline for submissions to a second volume titled "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors"—an anthology of military-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, oral histories, and photography—is July 1, 2013. The project is open to all military personnel, veterans, and family members.

According to the call for submissions, entrants can submit to a contest in which each category carries a first-prize of $250, or submit to the anthology alone. All entries will be considered for the anthology. There is no entry fee to the contest or publication.

Through the efforts of the Warrior Arts Alliance, the Missouri Humanities Council, and Southeastern Missouri University Press, the first "Proud to Be" volume was published in November 2012.

According to the Warriors Arts Alliance website:

[T]his series of anthologies preserves and shares the perspectives of our military and veterans of all conflicts and of their families. It is not only an outlet for artistic expression but also a document of the unique aspects of wartime in our nation’s history.

For a 2012 Red Bull Rising interview with "Proud to Be" editor Susan Swartout, click here. Volume No. 1 of "Proud to Be" was also discussed here.

To submit only to the 2013 anthology, mail previously unpublished work with self-addressed, stamped envelope (S.A.S.E.) for notification to:

Warriors Anthology
Southeast Missouri State University Press, MS 2650
Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701

To submit to both contest and anthology, e-mail previously unpublished work to: upress@semo.edu. Also note:

• Entries must be sent electronically as Microsoft Word files (.doc or .docx).
• Keep poems in one document (with 1st poem as title).
• Put your name and contact info on first page and nowhere else on the manuscript.

For all submissions, whether mailed or electronic:

• Limit one submission in each category per person.
• Poetry: up to 3 poems (5 pages maximum).
• Fiction, essay, or interview: 5,000-word limit.
• Photography: up to 3 good-quality photos (will be printed in the book as black and white).
• Submissions exceeding the limits will be disqualified.
• Include a biography of 75 words or less with each submission.
• Winners and contributors will be notified by Nov. 1, 2013.

Editor: Military-Writing Anthologies Are a 'Triple-Win'

In terms of military writing, November 2012 exploded with the publication of multiple anthologies focused on themes of war, peace, service, and remembrance. Many of these journals have open calls for submission, and are working toward publishing new volumes in 2013.

These include:

• "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors,"  published by the Southeastern Missouri University Press and others the first of this month.

• "O-Dark-Thirty," a new quarterly journal published Nov. 11 by Veterans Writing Project, Washington, D.C.

• The Journal of Military Experience at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Kent., its third volume to be published in November 2013.

Despite looming deadlines, the editors of these respective publications recently offered Red Bull Rising readers their insights into writing for, submitting to, and getting published in journals and anthologies.

This is Part I of a 3-part series of blog-posts resulting from those on-line interviews.

*****

Susan Swartwout is the editor of "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors," a 255-page anthology of veterans' fiction, non-fiction, and poetry published earlier this month by the Southeast Missouri State University Press. (In the interest of full disclosure: The author of the Red Bull Rising blog has a poem that appears in this work.)

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.

Swartwout calls anthologies a potential "triple-win" for military writers, families, and members of the public:

[T]he soldier-writer is the expert voice here. Without those voices, the general American citizen remains hugely uninformed about the daily events and the ground-level opinions of our soldiers involved in conflicts. We only hear the news media’s coverage, maybe a few oral stories from friends and family. But little else is actually crafted by the soldiers into a permanent piece of written communication that is published in a professional volume to help inform the public.

The anthology format preserves not only the individual pieces of writing, but also the multiple opinions and viewpoints of involved human beings, all in one artifact. The printed anthology informs the public, allows the soldiers’ and their families’ voices to be heard, and preserves their writing. Triple win.

Swartwout also notes the utility of published credits in marketing oneself or one's work: "For the soldier, or any writer, it never hurts to have a publication credit or two! When one enters the job market—or reenters—publication credits can help make the difference between [one] writer's application and all the others. Businesses like employees who can communicate well in writing."

According to a news release, the road to achieving the final "Proud to Be" product was long and twisted:

The warriors writing project began with Geoff Giglierano, executive director of the Missouri Humanities Council, and Deb Marshall, president of The Missouri Writers’ Guild, who paired up to launch a pilot program: The Missouri Warrior Writers Project. The project featured creative writing workshops in veterans hospitals to promote self-expression and confidence, with laptops provided by Missouri Humanities Council and writing instruction by Deb Marshall.

The workshops metamorphosed into the Warriors Arts Alliance and a new project: an annual anthology funded by the Missouri Humanities Council. The Missouri Humanities Council and Warriors Arts Alliance extended their partnership to include Southeast Missouri State University Press and its director Dr. Susan Swartwout, who edited the anthology. The project grew to include a writing contest, judged by stellar writers Mark Bowden (“Black Hawk Down”), William Trent Pancoast (“WILDCAT”), and veteran/poet Brian Turner (“Here, Bullet” and “Phantom Noise”). The title of the anthology emerged from veterans’ comments about the pride they feel in serving their country [...]

The $15 book is available via Amazon as well as directly from the university press.

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

Submissions guidelines for the next volume will be published later this month.

*****

Disclaimer: This content regarding military writing is underwritten by Victor Ian LLC, a military media and gaming business. The business publishes Lanterloon, an eclectic lifestyle, technology, and military blog; has a physical retail storefront called "Dragons and Dragoons" located in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and hosts military-writing workshops and other events under the "Sangria Summit" brand name.

'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.

*****

Disclaimer: This content regarding military writing is underwritten by Victor Ian LLC, a military media and gaming business. The business publishes Lanterloon, an eclectic lifestyle, technology, and military blog; has a physical retail storefront called "Dragons and Dragoons" located in Colorado Springs, Colo.; and hosts military-writing workshops and other events under the "Sangria Summit" brand name.