Notes from a War, Literature & the Arts Conference

Author, actor, and former U.S. Marine Benjamin Busch signs a copy of his 2012 memoir "Dust to Dust" at the 2018 War, Literature & the Arts conference conducted September 20 and 21 at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Photo: Jesse Goolsby

Editor's note: This blog post has been cross-posted from The Aiming Circle, where we cover news and tips regarding military-themed writing.

More than 600 academics, students, creators, and others attended the 2018 War, Literature & the Arts conference September 20 and 21 on the campus of the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo. This year's event coincided with the 30th anniversary of the War, Literature & the Arts Journal, an annual multidisciplinary publication curated by the institution's English faculty, students, and alumni.

While an annual lecture series regularly brings literary talent to campus, the full conference tends to appear with the regularity of Brigadoon. The last such conference, for example, was apparently conducted in 2010.

The schedule was jam-packed, with three keynote speakers, and four seminar and performance blocks each day. (Two in the morning, and two in the afternoon.) Hosted in the over-21 cadet lounge, a social hour with cash bar was conducted Thursday afternoon. Lunches were "on the economy"—the cadet student union features a small food court, with sandwich, salad, and pizza options.

While it was impossible to do and see everything and everyone, I hope to illustrate the depth and breadth of the event by re-posting here some observations from my notebook and Twitter account:

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Julie Saffel, presenting on “Milblogs & Blooks”: “The first wave of war writing is often the most glutinous ...” (Also: author Colby Buzzell is “the Blogfather.”) Later told her my Red Bull Rising blog was probably a “Third Wave” mil-blog. Not a first-adopter, but not one of the last, either.

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Melissa Parrish, presenting on the work of Sebastian Junger (including "War"): “Junger usefully blurs the line between participant & spectator [slipping between “we” & “I”]—combatant & non-combatant—to usefully interrogate civil-military interactions.”

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One personal highlight of the conference: Getting a chance to use Q&A time to thank USAF Vietnam War veteran Dr. Dean F. Echenberg for including the works of 21st century soldier-poets (including my own) in his collection, which he recently donated to Harry Ransom Center! Here's a list of such 21st century war poetry.

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Much to my shock, Echenberg's fellow panelist, Lisa Silvestri of Gonzaga University's "Telling War" project, then reflected some love back, telling the audience her students really enjoyed my book! ("Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Stories from Inside the Wire.") That exemplified the vibe at the conference–lots of inspiring, affirming energy!

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More quotes from the WLA conference: Oliver Jones on “Weaponized Poetics: The Avant-Gardes of the Revolution in Military Affairs": “Design Thinking has become so indoctrinated [in mil-planning], it seems now to be doing the very things that it was intended to disrupt.”

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Not going to share all the WLA18 barroom hilarity & wisdom, but I still think this quote from Colin D. Halloran deserves its own T-shirt: “Whenever I feel down, I read ‘Ozymandias.’” Buy his books here and here.

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Lightning-bolt insight that came to me via Toby Herzog’s WLA18 talk, “The Thing He Carried & the Story He Told”: Tim O’Brien was an Radio-Telephone Operator "R.T.O.")—a battalion radio guy, who helped maintain commo logs. A privileged position of blended participation/observation within an organization!

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Speaking of Tim O’Brien at WLA18, Rolf Yngve took us on wonderfully nuanced journey, connecting the Magical Realism of O’Brien’s “Going After Cacciato” with the presenter’s real-world work of helping homeless veterans write resumés.

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Elsewhere, in the same presentation regarding “Maps, Charts, Cartography, and Memory in the Battlespace of Fiction, Poetry & Memoir” WLA18 , Elizabeth T. Gray Jr. and Mark D. Larabee each explored how graphical & textual descriptions of terrain both affect & effect memory ...

... which led me to remember: In U.S. Army operations orders, we brief weather and terrain under “Situation, Enemy.” At some level, that almost suggests that we grant the terrain agency. That “even the ground is out to get us.”

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Bonus from Mark D. Larabee’s talk: World War I was a “Golden Age of Cartography,” with many technologies coming together: trigonometric survey, multicolor lithography, etc. British teams produced 34+ million maps—365,000 per (linear?) battlefront mile!

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Bonus from poet Elizabeth T. Gray Jr.: A quadranted taxonomy of terrain as either “real”/“imaginary” (think “Ypres” vs. “Mordor”) and “background”/“agented” (bet the latter includes Fangom Forest?). She also mentioned how some Tibetan Buddhists believe that evil spirits can inhabit the ground. Based on that, I later shared with her this poem: "leaving empty."

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More Sherpa notes and personal high points from WLA18. Discovering a mutual interest in serious regard for military humor apparent in Lydia Wilkes‘ “Laughing about War with [David Abrams'] ‘Fobbit’”!

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Lydia Wilkes quoted U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley in her WLA18 presentation on military humor: “It's not ‘Forever War.’ It’s ‘Forever Train-and-Advise.’” I was reminded of Sherpatude No. 26: "Humor is a combat multiplier …"

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Sherpa’s takeaway from Lt. Gen. (USAF, Ret.) Christopher Miller’s (U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 1980) WLA18 talk “Yesterday at War with Tomorrow: Language as a Strategic Variable”: As a military (and society?), we need to reconcile with “strategic value” as greater or equal to “battlefield valor.”

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Sherpa’s takeaway from David Eisler's WLA18 talk “Influence of the Shift to an All-Volunteer Force on American War Fiction”: As quantifiably compared to Vietnam War novels, OIF/OEF novels may be increasingly generated by non-veterans!

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Sherpa’s takeaway from Caleb Cage‘s WLA18 talk “The All-Volunteer Force and the Civil-Military Divide”: There are 4 binary “master narratives” at play in every OIF/OEF story/debate:

1. “War of Choice”
2. “The Prez is a Cowboy”
3. “What’s Phase 4?”/“No Plan”
4. “The Surge”

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Sherpa’s takeaway from combat medic (& future physician assistant) John Howell Jr.’s WLA18 talk “Building Resilience through a [pre-deployment!] Literature-based Discussion Program”: Try talking about movies, rather than books! Also: “Logan” (2017) may resonate with troops.

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A full conference schedule is available as a PDF here.

Want to receive exclusive early-bird notice of military-themed writing opportunities, events, and markets? Join our community of practice for as little as $1 a month! Details here: www.patreon.com/aimingcircle.

Notes from a Civil-Military Writing Conference

Duluth-based author and U.S. Air Force veteran Eric Chandler signs a book after a Q&A discussion at the Spirit of the North Theater, Duluth, Minn., June 2.  The free public event was part of a weekend "Bridging the Gap" workshop for military veterans, families, and others who are exploring military topics and themes in their writing. Photo by Andria Williams.

Waves crashed against black rocks on a cold and blustery weekend in Duluth, Minn., while a small group of military writers remained cozy and dry in the Fitger's Brewery complex, located along the Lake Superior shore. More than 12 military family and veterans from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa participated in a 2-day workshop last weekend, June 2-3, 2018, exchanging ideas and insights on how to explore stories of change and resilience.

The "Bridging the Gap" workshop was made possible through a grant from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, thanks to legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Organizer Eric Chander, a Duluth-based author, commercial pilot, and U.S. Air Force veteran, says the inspiration for the event came from a 2016 query from colleagues at Lake Superior Writers.

"There are various regional efforts that regularly bring writers of memoir, poetry, and fiction together," Chandler says. "Given that we've been nearly two decades at war, why wouldn't there be a resource to help people document and discuss military themes?"

Participants included women and men who are veterans of the U.S. Navy, Air Force, Army, and Marines, as well as those who have had friends, family, and co-workers in uniformed service. One woman had previously served in a U.S. Navy Amphibious Construction Battalion—the "Seabees." Another participant described carving time for writing despite taking care of her five children, while the family awaits the return of her husband, who is currently deployed with a Duluth-based Air National Guard unit. Yet another woman veteran told stories of working as a maintainer on U.S. Air Force F-4 "Phantom II" fighters and B-1 "Lancer" bombers.

In short, the stories told were far from the testosterone- and adrenalin-fueled military stereotypes that are so often depicted in popular media. One writer noted she was specifically motivated by the "bridging the gap" theme, not only in terms of civil-military frameworks, but in bringing together other communities, audiences, and "tribes."

In contrast to the foggy and rainy weather outside, the workshop environment was quietly electric. Throughout the weekend, the group took full advantage of the Fitger's Brewery complex—a space that includes conference, hotel, catering, performance, and boutique shopping. Breakfasts and lunches were catered on-site, and discussions of writing and publishing techniques weaved seamlessly between formal classes and lunchtime conversations. Experiences of those present ranged from those who were just starting to explore writing—or who were interested in learning about new forms of writing—to those who were already seeking publication in journals, anthologies, and other venues.

In a free public event conducted in Fitger's Spirit of the North Theatre on Saturday evening, June 2, four authors of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry read selections from their works, and engaged audience questions about bridging gaps in empathy and understanding that seem to occur between civil and military communities.

Featured were authors Mary L. Doyle ("The Master Sergeant Lauren Harper" mystery series and others) and Andria Williams ("The Longest Night"), as well as workshop instructors David Chrisinger ("See Me for Who I Am") and Randy Brown ("Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire.")

"I've seen all sorts of workshop models—everything from 1-day one-shots, to weekly or monthly meetings, to 5-day national conferences," says Brown. "I can honestly say that the inaugural 'Bridging the Gap' event hit a sweet spot—it provided real 'bang for the buck,' with a lot of information and networking in a short period of time. I saw even seasoned practitioners walk away with new tools to try out, and new writers who were charged up and empowered to get started on their own stories. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!"

War-writing Events at AWP 2018, Tampa, Fla.

The annual Association of Writers & Writing Programs (A.W.P.) national conference is March 7-10, 2018. It will be the 51st anniversary of the event. This year, it's being held in Tampa, Fla.

The annual event brings together approximately 12,000 writers, educators, students, editors, and publishers, and travels to different cities each year. A concurrent bookfair showcases more than 800 exhibitors.

A searchable, on-line schedule for the event appears here.

While the motivational value of networking with fellow travelers and cocktails with friends should never be discounted, much of the intellectual energy of the conference is to be found in panel discussions and presentations. Good topics challenge our perspectives and presumptions, and AWP includes any number of potential conversations about war and conflict, veterans issues, population displacement, and related topics:

In the spirit of Sherpatudes Nos. 1 and 15, here's what we know so far about "war writing" panels, presentations, and readings at AWP2018: Please direct corrections and suggested edits/additions to: sherpa AT redbullrising.com.

***** THURSDAY, March 8, 2018 *****

9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Room 13, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
R126. Silenced Dimensions in Crisis and Conflict. (Catherine Parnell, Jasmin Darznik, Martha (Max) Frazier, Monica Sok, Danuta Ewa Hinc)
In narratives about international conflict, women writers, and those identifying as women, are marginalized and grossly underrepresented. Exposing their lack of visibility and peeling back the layers of privilege is the goal of Consequence magazine’s tenth anniversary issue, and we’ve dedicated our Spring 2018 issue to women writers. In this panel, we’ll talk to four writers who write about the culture and consequences of war and activism, and how they see writing as a path to peace.

12 noon to 1:15 p.m.
Room 1, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
R182. Arab & Muslim Writers Surviving Trump's America: A Reading and Discussion Presented by Mizna. (Lana Barkawi, Glenn Shaheen, Sagirah Shaheed, Jess Rizkallah, Tariq Luthun)
Heeding Edward Said’s call for cultural resistance to “write back” against forces seeking to marginalize and vilify Arabs and Muslims, Mizna, the only Arab American lit journal, presents its issue themed “Surviving” with readings and discussion about our communities’ latest bouts with xenophobia and Islamophobia. Acclaimed and important emerging authors will discuss the maneuvers the Trump era has us making—resisting, dodging, bearing, and more—surviving.

3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Grand Salon C, Marriott Waterside, Second Floor
R234. Writing Toward the Margins: When the Stereotypes Are Also Your Story. (Monica Prince, Mike McClelland, Penny Dearmin, Natalie Sharp, Adam Sirgany)
Submission calls strive to include voices of marginalized identities, but many do this by requesting work that pigeonholes writers. Writers of intersecting marginalized identities balance writing what an audience “expects” and real life. How do writers address the stereotypical markers of their work (as women, POC, veterans, LGBT+ community, etc.) while also honoring their life stories? This panel explores stereotypes for marginalized writers while navigating expectation and truth.

3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Grand Salon D, Marriott Waterside, Second Floor
R235. Humanizing “the Enemy”: Veterans Share Poetry of Reconciliation. (Toni Topps, Kevin Basl, Anthony Torres, Aaron Hughes) Veterans and service members have received a lot of attention over the past decade, with politicians and media focusing on themes of sacrifice, heroism, and trauma. But what about those countries attacked and occupied by the US? Inspired by the work of Maxine Hong Kingston, Warrior Writers and others representing the Veteran Art Movement will read original poetry of reconciliation and cross-cultural understanding, turning the focus towards Iraqis, Afghans, and others affected by US militarism.

4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Room 5 & 6, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
R279. Hometown Nocturnes: A Reading by Arab American Writers. (Leila Chatti, George Abraham, Zaina Arafat, Hazem Fahmy)
Five award-winning Arab American writers will present rich, multilayered poems and essays. This is an engaging and electric intergenerational reading from texts as varied as chapbooks, spoken word, Buzzfeed essays, and poetry collections. The writers explore topics such as the pain of diasporic existence; the political undercurrent of everyday life; and cultural taboos of sexuality and death.

4:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Room 13, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
R283. Reimagining America: Reading by Children of Vietnamese Refugees. (Lauren Bullock, Nghiem Tran, Cathy Che, Vt Hung, Paul Tran)
Forty-three years after the Vietnam War, exile to the United States continues to haunt life for children of Vietnamese refugees. Five nationally award-winning poets and fiction writers will perform new work investigating how imperialism, migration, sexual violence, queerness, and our families’ silence about the War shapes our craft decisions and community activism. We’ll specifically examine the collision of longing and belonging, nostalgia, and the imperative to imagine new definitions of home.

***** FRIDAY, March 9, 2018 *****

9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Room 1, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
F120. Women, War, and the Military: How to Tell the Story. (Mariana Grohowski, Helen Benedict, Tracy Crow, Mary (M.L.) Doyle, Jerri Bell)
Five writers—three military veterans and two civilians—weigh the pros and cons of telling military women’s stories through fiction versus memoir. Is the novel still better, as Virginia Woolf argued, at representing the private discourses of women’s lives to the public? Or does the memoir better afford women the opportunity to write themselves into history? What can a novel do that a memoir cannot, and vice versa? Is there a reason why more women veterans have turned to memoir than to fiction?

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Ballroom A, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
F149. Strong Medicine: The Poetry of Addiction. (Dawn McGuire, Kaveh Akbar, Lynn Emanuel, Owen Lewis, Nick Flynn)
From Horace to Hass, poets have both lauded and vilified getting high. The “milk of paradise” can lead to masterworks, while addiction deserts ambition and destroys lives. In this panel, five award-winning poets, including two physician-poets, explore the swerve from inspiration to ruination from different perspectives and diverse writing styles. Themes of addiction in self, family, mentors, patients—e.g., post-9/11 veterans—as well as the seductive intimacy of shared intoxication, are featured.

1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Room 11, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
F222. Go Home! Asian American Writers Imagine Home Beyond a Place. (Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, Gina Apostol, Karissa Chen, Rajiv Mohabir, Esmé Weijun Wang)
For many immigrant writers, home is more and less than a place. Home might be found in a language that one is losing one’s grasp of. Home might have been lost in the aftermath of war. Home might be an impossibility. The writers on this panel, all contributors to the new anthology Go Home!, discuss how they navigate ideas of home in their writing. How can fiction, nonfiction, and poetry approach home? What does it mean to write for people with different ideas of home?

1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Room 17, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
F228. Above, Beyond, and After Duty: Teaching Creative Writing to Veterans. (Steve Kistulentz, Jesse Goolsby, Seema Raza, Lovella Calica, Matt Young)
Working artists across multiple genres discuss the challenges and rewards of teaching writing to veterans and active duty service members. In our panel discussion, we will cover institutional and individual approaches to pedagogy, why this work is worth doing, and how to do this emotionally exhausting and occasionally triggering work sustainably in university and community settings. Panelists will also discuss how their own writing has been influenced by working with this unique population.

3:00 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Room 23, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
F266. The Role of the Expatriate Writer in Times of Political Upheaval. (Connie May Fowler, Xu Xi, Donald Quist, Abayomi Animashaun)
During periods of deep political turmoil, do expatriate writers bear special responsibilities? Do we return home and resist or do we, from our perches abroad, seek to create a more nuanced, globally informed narrative? Our panelists live in far flung reaches—Hong Kong, Mexico, Paris, Southeast Asia—and will discuss how they deal with urgent issues such as dissent, war, American policy, terror, and climate change as both writer and other in a world in which being neutral is not an option.

***** SATURDAY, March 10, 2018 *****

9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Florida Salon 5, Marriott Waterside, Second Floor
S114. Conflict, Crisis, Verse: Four Poets in Conversation. (Peter Molin, Jehanne Dubrow, Dunya Mikhail, Benjamin Busch, Brian Turner)
During a period of political exigency and social anxiety, how can poets and poetry teach, inspire, connect, and heal? Four widely published and celebrated poets—two military combat veterans, an Iraqi-American emigre, and the spouse of a military officer—draw on the urgency and insight born of their experience of war to trace the dynamic relationship of poetic voice and technique, personal circumstance and perspective, and turbulent national and global events.

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Meeting Room 1, Marriott Waterside, Second Floor
S144. The Value of Redemption When Writing YA Literature About Protest and Violence. (Ann Angel, Debra Brenegan, Heather Lee Schroeder, Artress Bethany White)
Recognizing the conflict inherent in protest and how protest ignored can lead to violence and war, writers instinctively examine the redemptive qualities found in protest and transform their communities by opening readers to diverse ideas and challenges. This panel of writers and writing teachers provides a powerful opportunity to help participants recognize the many ways that protest can effect redemptive resolutions through the written word.

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Meeting Room 9 & 10, Marriott Waterside, Third Floor
S146. Crossings and Crosses: Caribbean Women Writers on Immigration, Deportation, and Identity . (Jennifer McCauley, Donna Aza Weir-Soley, Fabienne Josaphat, Anjanette Delgado, Katia D. Ulysse)
Long before the Trump era, Caribbean writers have long been concerned with issues surrounding immigration. As subjects of colonial powers "crossing the sea" has long been our preoccupation whether it was to seek out opportunities for economic advancement, to pursue higher education or to fight in various wars for our colonial "Mother country." Our writing, like that of Junot Díaz or Ana Menendez, addresses immigration including assimilation, acculturation, nostalgia, identity, and deportation.

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Room 1, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
S151. Giving Voice to Nontraditional Populations Through Storytelling. (Deborah Finkelstein, Robert McKenzie, Alfonso Ramirez, Charles Rice-Gonzalez)
How do we give voice to nontraditional populations? Through storytelling. We will discuss successful methods of working one-on-one or in groups with members of nontraditional populations including the elderly, veterans, the incarcerated, young adults with special needs, and multilingual speakers. We’ll demonstrate exercises for sharing stories with actors to create a collaborative piece as well as methods for individuals to write their stories as short stories, monologues, poetry, and plays.

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Room 11, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
S155. Subverting the Stereotypes: Performances by Warrior Writers and Combat Hippies. (Lovella Calica, Nicole Goodwin, Hipolito Arriaga, Allen Minor) Military veterans and service members are often used as commercial and political props. This reading will offer performances by two veteran-focused literary organizations challenging veteran stereotypes that not only stifle constructive dialogue about war and its consequences, but also fuel US militarism. These poetic performances will present veterans as the diverse social group they are, while also encouraging other veterans to speak truth to power.

12 noon to 1:15 p.m.
Room 14, Tampa Convention Center, First Floor
S188. Not Heartwarming: Beyond Military and Feminine Tropes in Veterans’ Stories. (Dorothy Hasson, Krista Tucker, Sonya Lea)
How do we create new narratives in a culture dominated by conventional war stories? Stories of women veterans are less emphasized in our culture, and are often challenging to write and teach, due to the fragmentation resulting from military sexual trauma and PTS. Two mentors discuss working with under-represented populations alongside two of their students—a young veteran forced to alter her gender to survive a war, and a mature veteran who broke traditional female roles to survive the military.

Tennessee Group Announces Veterans-Writing Retreat

Blog editor's note: The following post is based on press release materials. No endorsement is necessarily to be implied.

Sundress​ ​Academy​ ​for​ ​the​ ​Arts (SAFTA)​, Knoxville, Tenn., ​announce​s ​its​ ​first​ ​writing​ ​retreat​ ​for​ ​veterans​ ​will be held​ ​Oct. 7-8,​ ​2017.​ ​This​ ​2-day​ ​retreat​ ​at​ ​SAFTA's​ 45-acre ​Firefly​ ​Farms​ ​is​ ​for​ ​military​ ​veterans​ ​and​ ​current​ ​service​ ​members​ ​and​ ​will​ ​be a​ ​space​ ​for​ ​creativity,​ ​writing​ ​exercises,​ ​discussions​ ​on​ ​ways​ ​to​ ​write​ ​about​ t​rauma,​ ​advice​ ​on​ ​publishing,​ ​and​ ​more.​ ​This weekend​ ​will​ ​be​ ​an​ ​opportunity​ ​to​ ​express​ ​shared​ ​experiences​ ​and​ ​learn​ ​to​ ​write​ ​your​ ​story​ ​for​ ​a​ ​non-military​ ​audience.

A​ ​weekend​ ​pass​ ​includes​ ​one-on-one​ ​and​ ​group​ ​instruction,​ ​writing​ ​supplies,​ ​food,​ ​drinks,​ ​and​ ​all​ ​on-site​ ​amenities​ ​for $75.​ ​​ ​Tents,​ ​sleeping​ ​bags,​ ​and​ ​other​ ​camping​ ​equipment​ ​are​ ​available​ ​to​ ​rent.

The​ ​event​ ​will​ ​be​ ​open​ ​to​ p​eople​ ​of​ ​all​ ​backgrounds​ ​and​ ​experience​ ​levels​ ​and​ ​provide​ ​an​ ​opportunity​ ​to​ ​work​ ​with talented,​ ​published​ ​fiction​ ​writers​ ​and​ ​poets,​ ​including​ ​Jeb​ ​A.​ ​Herrin​ ​and​ ​Jan​ ​LaPerle.

Jeb​ ​A.​ ​Herrin​ ​was​ ​a​ ​medic​ ​with​ ​the​ ​3r​d​​ ​Infantry​ ​Division​ ​during​ ​Operations​ ​Iraqi​ ​Freedom​ ​and​ ​New​ ​Dawn.​ ​He​ ​earned​ ​his BA​ ​in​ ​English​ ​and​ ​MFA​ ​in​ ​Poetry​ ​from​ ​the​ ​University​ ​of​ ​Tennessee,​ ​where​ ​he​ ​was​ ​the​ ​2016​ ​winner​ ​of​ ​the​ ​John​ ​C.​ ​Hodges Award​ ​for​ ​Creative​ ​Writing​ ​for​ ​Poetry.​ ​His​ ​work​ ​can​ ​be​ ​found​ ​in​ ​​Political​ ​Punch​​ ​and​ ​​O-Dark-Thirty​.​ ​Jeb​ ​has​ ​future​ ​plans of​ ​blending​ ​the​ ​world​ ​of​ ​composition​ ​with​ ​creative​ ​writing​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​finding​ ​ways​ ​to​ ​make​ ​the​ ​voice​ ​of​ ​the​ ​veteran​ ​heard. He​ ​lives​ ​in​ ​Knoxville​ ​with​ ​his​ ​wife,​ ​son,​ ​and​ ​two​ ​dogs.

Jan​ ​LaPerle​ ​lives​ ​in​ ​east​ ​Tennessee​ ​with​ ​her​ ​husband,​ ​Clay​ ​Matthews,​ ​and​ ​daughter,​ ​Winnie.​ ​She​ ​has​ ​published​ ​a​ ​book​ ​of poetry,​ ​​"It​ ​Would​ ​Be​ ​Quiet"​​ ​(Prime​ ​Mincer​ ​Press,​ ​2013);​ ​an​ ​e-chap​ ​of​ ​flash​ ​fiction,​ ​​"Hush"​​ ​(Sundress​ ​Publications,​ ​2012); ​a story​ ​in​ ​verse,​ ​​"A​ ​Pretty​ ​Place​ ​To​ ​Mourn" ​​(BlazeVOX,​ ​2014);​ ​and​ ​several​ ​other​ ​stories​ ​and​ ​poems,​ ​and​ ​in​ ​2014​ ​she​ ​won​ ​an individual​ ​artist​ ​grant​ ​from​ ​the​ ​Tennessee​ ​Arts​ ​Commission.​ ​LaPerle​​ ​was​ ​on​ ​active​ ​duty​ ​at​ ​Fort​ ​Campbell​ ​for​ ​three​ ​years and​ ​has​ ​spent​ ​12​ ​years​ ​as​ ​an​ ​Army​ ​reservist,​ ​most​ ​recently​ ​as​ ​a​ ​career​ ​counselor.

We​ ​have​ ​two​ ​full​ ​scholarships​ ​available​ ​for​ ​the​ ​retreat​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​limited​ ​partial​ ​scholarships​ ​for​ ​those​ ​with​ ​financial​ ​need. To​ ​apply​ ​for​ ​a​ ​scholarship,​ ​send​ ​a​ ​brief​ ​statement​ ​on​ ​why​ ​you​ ​would​ ​like​ ​to​ ​attend​ ​this​ ​workshop​ ​and​ ​an​ ​optional​ ​packet​ ​of no​ ​more​ t​han​ ​eight ​pages​ ​of​ ​creative​ ​writing​ ​to​ ​Erin​ ​Elizabeth​ ​Smith​ ​at​: ​​erin AT sundresspublications DOT com​​ ​no​ ​later​ ​than Sept.​ ​15,​ ​2017.​ ​Scholarship​ ​recipients​ ​will​ ​be​ ​announced​ ​shortly​ ​thereafter.

Space​ ​at​ ​this​ ​workshop​ ​is​ ​limited​ ​to​ ​15​ ​people,​ ​so​ ​reserve​ ​your​ ​place​ ​today​ ​at: https://squareup.com/store/sundress-publications/item/veterans-writing-retreat

The​ ​Sundress​ ​Academy​ ​for​ ​the​ ​Arts​ ​(SAFTA)​ ​is​ ​an​ ​artists'​ ​residency​ ​that​ ​hosts​ ​workshops,​ ​retreats,​ ​and​ ​residencies​ ​for writers,​ ​actors,​ ​filmmakers,​ ​and​ ​visual​ ​artists.​ ​All​ ​are​ ​guided​ ​by​ ​experienced,​ ​professional​ ​instructors​ ​from​ ​a​ ​variety​ ​of creative​ ​disciplines​ ​who​ ​are​ ​dedicated​ ​to​ ​cultivating​ ​the​ ​arts​ ​in​ ​East​ ​Tennessee.

Lessons-Learned on Pitching & Producing AWP Panels

M.L. Doyle, Matthew Hefti, and Randy Brown were part of a panel titled "The Middle Americans: How Flyover Country Responds to War."
Photo by Andria Williams

I attended my first national conference of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs in Minneapolis, 2015. At that event—an annual gathering of 12,000 writers, editors, publishers, instructors, and academics—I was impressed with the number of offerings that focused on war themes. These included both panel discussions and author readings. While I skipped Los Angeles in 2016, I vowed that I'd help add to the war-writing conversation by proposing a few such events for the 2017 conference in Washington, D.C.

As I quipped at the end of this year's event, paraphrasing that ubiquitous quote attributed to Gandhi, "Be the proposer of panels that will contribute to the change you want to see in the world."

The 2018 event will be held in Tampa. The window for event proposals will open in mid-March, with final deadline of May 1, 2016. I thought I'd document and share a few lessons-learned, in hopes that other war-writers will add their voices to the mix.

There are many little rules to proposing an AWP event. It's a little like simultaneously filling out your tax forms, calling your friends on the telephone, and playing a tabletop war game. Thankfully, the association offers a detailed how-to manual and video. To give you a flavor, however:

• Moderators/organizers can propose up to three events. A maximum of two can be accepted.
• Prospective participants can themselves be listed on up to three event proposals, but can only be on two accepted events.
• Of multiple proposed events, only one can be a "reading."
• You have 500 characters—not words, characters—to describe your proposed event.
• You have an equal number of characters to describe the qualifications of your panelists.

Acceptance rates for AWP event proposals averaged around 39 percent for years 2013-2016. In 2017, I was fortunate to have two out of two approved. At their respective links, you can read my 500-character descriptions for "Citizen-Soldier-Poet; How to use Poetry to Bridge the Civil-Military Divide" and "The Middle Americans: How Flyover Country Responds to War." That's because the words you use in your pitches are the words that show up in the conference agenda.

Here's what worked for us, both in terms of pitching and conducting AWP panels:

1. Emphasize diversity

Find panelists who represent diversity in age, gender, color, life and work experiences, and publishing experience. Strive for balance. In the war-writing context specifically, I subscribe to the notion that every citizen has an experience with the topic of war, regardless of whether or not they've ever served in uniform. Remember: "We're all in this together" and "Everybody has their own war. " In our two sessions, then, we featured both civilians and military veterans, from a variety of branches and deployments. Some were just starting out in their publishing careers. Others had multiple published book credits. I'd like to think that, in many ways, our panels demographically reflected our audiences. And we can always do better!

2. Keep your shot-groups tight

Panel math is like beer math: Keep it simple, and know your limits. Don't show up with a list of 10 in-depth, doctoral-thesis questions. Narrow it down to two three formal questions. Make sure to share those prompts with your panelists prior to the event, so they can consider their responses without over-rehearsing. 

Assuming five panelists, if each panelist responds to a given question with a 3-minute answer, three questions will eat up 45 minutes. This will leave 20-30 minutes for questions from the audience. (Depending on venue and schedule, some audience members may have to leave earlier than the official 75-minute end-time.) People like Q&A. Most likely, the people in your audience are fellow practitioners. They want to interact with your panel. Engage them in conversation.

3. Conduct a leader's recon

As moderator/organizer, I arrived to the conference a day early, on Wed., Feb. 8, to make sure there were no unforeseen obstacles. The AWP registration staff helped me run a last-minute check on whether our panelists had properly registered for the event. I also helped coordinate one panelist's last-minute request for press credentialing on behalf of a Washington, D.C.-based media contact. 

I'd told my colleagues on our Thursday morning panel that we'd meet at the Veterans Writing Project's table (seize the key terrain!) on the Bookfair floor, and walk together to the conference room. 

One panelist, however, had spent an hour Wednesday getting eyes on the target, and determined out that our Thursday morning venue wasn't as easy to find as I'd assumed. Instead of being located in the convention center, it was one-quarter mile below ground in a hotel across the street from the main venue. His early-bird information saved us from collectively showing up late and in the wrong place. 

Also, our second panel, unlike the cozy meeting space of our first, turned out to be located in a ballroom the size of a small airplane hanger. You get the space you're randomly assigned, of course, but knowing that ahead of time would have been good information to share with my fellow panelists.

4. Look for ways to make connections & continue the conversation

With only 15 minutes between events, conference schedules often get in the way of exchanging business cards at the end of panel event. Our fix was to publish a two-sided 8.5 x 11-inch hand-out for each panel, complete with author published credits, and contact information. Listing complete biographies cuts down on spending valuable discussion time on introductions. Also, offering public-facing ways of communication (e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) gives introverts an easier way to contact authors after the conference. 

(For panelists, we also published an internal list of telephone numbers and private e-mail addresses, in case of emergencies and dinner coordinations. In fact, we treated information like we would in an infantry squad: Everybody should know the plan.) 

Following our poetry panel, one of our colleagues was immediately approached by a literary journal editor, who inquired regarding a work that had been read aloud. So, having debuted at AWP, the poem will soon see print, later in 2017! It's all about helping make connections!

We published 50 hardcopy handouts per session, assuming that number would likely exceed our maximum attendance. (We had from 35 to 50 people attend each session.) Just in case, however, we also posted a link to an electronic copy of each document at the Red Bull Rising blog. Later, we posted MP3 audio files of each session. Not production-quality, but good enough for note-taking. When the original files proved too huge for his iPod, a blog reader helped us out by compressing those files for easier portability.

So, to recap, here are some takeaways and recommendations for future panel events:

• Promote diversity in panel composition
• Plan for 3 to 4 formal questions, tops
• Arrive early; get eyes on your venues
• Offer handouts with author contact info
• Post audio recordings (But try to keep file-sizes small!)

I'm not the only one musing and reflecting on their AWP17 experiences, of course. Check out what these other war writers have been are saying about their experiences:

• David Abrams, author of "Fobbit" and the forthcoming "Brave Deeds," in his "Quivering Pen" e-newsletter here.

• Eric "Shmo" Chandler, at the "Shmotown" blog: "Guts, Generosity, and Gratitude: AWP17 Highlights"

• Matthew Komatsu: "Hugging It Out at #AWP17"

• Peter Molin, at the "Time Now" blog: "The Watched Pot Begins to Boil: War Writing at AWP17"

• Andria Williams, author of "The Longest Night"; editor of "The Military-Spouse Book Review" blog; and Official Photographer of the War Writers Social Club, offers some words here.

AWP2017: How Flyover Country Responds to War

"Middle Americans" and writers, from left to right: Mary Doyle; Matthew Hefti; Randy "Sherpa" Brown; Kayla Williams; Angela Ricketts. Photo by Andria Williams

(Blog editor's note: Updated February 14 to include photo of panelists and MP3 audio file link.)

Today is Fri., Feb. 10, 2017. I'm pleased to be moderating the following session at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs convention in Washington, D.C. As previously noted on the Red Bull Rising blog, this is one of many AWP2017 sessions related to war-writing.

Session F110: "The Middle Americans: How Flyover Country Responds to War"
Marquis Salon 6, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two
Fri., Feb. 10, 2017: 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

By various measures, rural Americans are more likely to enlist in the US armed forces. Despite isolation from traditional centers of publishing and military power, voices with Midwestern roots have sprung forth like dragon's teeth to deliver clear-eyed, plainspoken views of war, service, and sacrifice. The civilians and veterans of this stereotype-busting panel of published writers offer their insights regarding themes, trends, and markets in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

A downloadable PDF listing of panelists, including biographies and contact information, is here.

(Posted February 14: A downloadable MP3 audio file of the session, good enough for note-taking, is here. Smaller file here.)

Panelists include:

RANDY BROWN

• "Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire" (poetry collection)
• "Reporting for Duty: Citizen-Soldier Journalism from the Afghan Surge, 2010-2011" (editor; non-fiction collection)

*****

MARY DOYLE

• The Master Sergeant Harper mysteries
• "The Bonding Spell" (urban fantasy)
• "I'm Still Standing: From Captive Soldier to Free Citizen—My Journey Home" (w/ former POW Shoshana Johnson)

*****

MATTHEW HEFTI

• "A Hard and Heavy Thing" (novel)
• "The Road Ahead: Stories of the Forever War" (contributor; short-story collection)
• "See Me for Who I Am" (contributor; non-fiction)
• "Retire the Colors" (contributor; non-fiction)

*****

ANGELA RICKETTS

• "No Man's War: Irreverent Confessions of an Infantry Wife" (memoir)

*****

KAYLA WILLIAMS

• "Plenty of Time When We Get Home" (memoir)
• "Love My Rifle More Than You" (memoir)
• "The Road Ahead" (contributor; short-story collection)

AWP2017: Using Poetry to Bridge the Civil-Military Gap

Panelists and poets, from left to right: Eric "Shmo" Chandler; Randy "Sherpa" Brown; Frances Richey; Tessa Poppe; Susanne Aspley. Photo by Joy Riggs

(Blog editor's note: Updated February 14 to include photo of panelists and MP3 audio file link.)

Today is Thurs., Feb. 9, 2017. I'm pleased to be moderating the following session at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs convention in Washington, D.C. As previously noted on the Red Bull Rising blog, this is one of many AWP2017 sessions related to war-writing.

AWP 2017 Session R144:
"Citizen-Soldier-Poet: Using Poetry to Bridge the Civil-Military Gap"
Supreme Court, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four
Thurs., Feb. 9, 2017, 10:30 to 11:45 a.m.

With a boot on each side of the civil-military divide, America's citizen-soldiers and their families are uniquely positioned to bridge the gaps between our armed forces and the society they serve. Five civilian and military-veteran writers of poetry, memoir, and fiction read from their works and discuss how they have specifically used poetry in published, practical ways to promote peace, respect, understanding, and empathy.

A downloadable PDF listing of panelists, including full biographies and contact information, is here.

(Posted February 14: A downloadable MP3 audio file of the session, good enough for note-taking, is here. Smaller file here.)

Panelists include:

RANDY BROWN

• "Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire" (poetry collection)
• "Reporting for Duty: Citizen-Soldier Journalism from the Afghan Surge, 2010-2011" (editor; non-fiction collection)

*****

SUSANNE ASPLEY

• "Granola, MN: Love and War in a Nutty Little Town" (novel)
• "Ladyboy and the Volunteer" (novel)
• "I Know How To ..." series (children's foreign-language immersion books in verse)

*****

ERIC CHANDLER

• "Down In It" (e-book; military fiction)
• "Outside Duluth" (e-book; non-fiction)

*****

TESSA POPPE

• "A Bird," (2017 short fiction winner, "Proud To Be: Writing from American Warriors," Vol. 5, Southeast Missouri State University Press)
• 34th Parallel Magazine: "I woke up this morning thinking about Afghanistan" (poem)
• Veterans Writing Project's O-Dark-Thirty journal: "The Grass" (poem)

*****

FRANCES RICHEY

• "The Warrior: A Mother's Story of a Son at War" (poetry collection)
• "Voices of the Guard" (chapbook)

Re-posted: War-Writing Events at AWP2017

Blog-editor's note: Much of this post first appeared on the Red Bull Rising blog Nov. 2, 2016.

The annual Association of Writers & Writing Programs (A.W.P.) national conference is this week, from Feb. 8 to 11, 2017. It will be the 50th anniversary of the event. This year, it's being held in Washington, D.C.

The annual event brings together approximately 12,000 writers, educators, students, editors, and publishers, and travels to different cities each year. A concurrent bookfair showcases more than 800 exhibitors.

A searchable, on-line schedule for the event appears here.

At his Time Now blog, military-lit critic and U.S. Army veteran Peter Molin has posted After Action Reports from earlier AWP conferences. He often comments about a growing cohort of "war writers," who leverage the AWP as something of a moveable feast. Here are some of his reports:

• Minneapolis, AWP2015
• Los Angeles, AWP2016

While the motivational value of networking with fellow travelers and cocktails with friends should never be discounted, much of the intellectual energy of the conference is to be found in panel discussions and presentations. Good topics challenge our perspectives and presumptions, and it is particularly notable that AWP2017 includes potential conversations about transnational, multimedia, gendered/queer, poetic, regional, and "imperial" interpretations and applications of conflict, both past and present.

In the spirit of Sherpatudes Nos. 1 and 15, here's what we know so far about "war writing" panels, presentations, and readings at AWP2017. After a quick-and-dirty Internet search, some of the authors below are linked book listings at Amazon. I have also annotated Military Writers Guild memberships in brackets. I look forward to filling in more biographical information in the weeks to come—each of the panelists, I believe, are worthy of seeking out, regardless of an easy hyperlink. Also note this list does not include off-site events, which can be expected to grow in number and intensity in the months to come.

One final caveat: The writer of the Red Bull Rising blog is participating in two of the following panels.

Please direct corrections and suggested edits/additions to: sherpa AT redbullrising.com.

***** THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9 *****

Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017: 9:00 to 10:15 a.m.
Archives, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four 
R121. Writing in a Time of Terror and Environmental Collapse.
(Imad Rahman, Jacob Shoes-Arguello, William Wenthe, Anne Sanow, Jacqueline Kolosov) How do writers give shape to the experiences of war, terrorism, and the disregard for life endemic on this planet? Muriel Rukeyser believed that denying the responsiveness to the world could bring forth "the weakness that leads to mechanical aggression... turning us inward to devour our own humanity, and outward to sell and kill nature and each other." Given global terrorism and the spoliation of the planet, the stakes in being able to respond are terribly high. Writers working in poetry, prose, and hybrid forms, will discuss their ways of meeting this challenge in their works past and present, including the difficulties they face and the sources from which they take inspiration.

Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017: 9:00 to 10:15 am
Room 101, Washington Convention Center, Level One
R122. What Journalists Can Teach Literary Writers. (Yi Shun Lai, Valerie Boyd, Steven Levingston, William Gray, Moni Basu)
In nonfiction, is it ever okay to fudge facts, timing, or quotes? For journalists, the answer is no, but literary authors can struggle with the balance of craft and facts. Nonfiction storytelling is an increasingly hybrid form, yet few creative writing students learn the journalism basics—how to interview people, attribute sources, or successfully incorporate research. This panel of print and broadcast journalists emphasizes the magic combination of accurate reporting and literary technique.

Thurs., Feb. 9, 2017: 10:30 to 11:45 a.m.
Supreme Court, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four
R144. Citizen-Soldier-Poet: Using Poetry to Bridge the Civil-Military Gap. (Randy Brown, Tessa Poppe, Frances Richey, Susanne Aspley, Eric Chandler [MWG member])
With a boot on each side of the civil-military divide, America's citizen-soldiers and their families are uniquely positioned to bridge the gaps between our armed forces and the society they serve. Five civilian and military-veteran writers of poetry, memoir, and fiction read from their works and discuss how they have specifically used poetry in published, practical ways to promote peace, respect, understanding, and empathy.

Thurs., Feb. 9, 2017: 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
Monument, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four
R209. From Verse to Stage and Screen, Veterans Adapt. (Brian Turner, Benjamin Busch, Maurice Decaul, Jenny Pacanowski, Peter Molin [MWG member])
This panel features four war writers who are adapting verse and memoir into more public modes of expression: stage, screen, opera, and performance. The panelists will discuss the challenge of moving beyond the word to theatrically present the events and emotions inherent to combat and military life. Offering insight into issues of craft and collaboration, the panel explores how private modes of literary representation can be transformed into dramatic artworks produced and experienced socially.

Thurs., Feb. 9, 2017: 4:30 to 5:45 pm
Liberty Salon N, O, & P, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four
R279. The Politician as Writer: The Rise of the Political Autobiography. (Rachael Hanel, Jesse Goolsby [MWG member], Keith Urbahn, Stephanie Sheu-Jing Li)
Cash donations, an advising team, focus groups—and a book? Barack Obama’s 2004 book, Dreams From My Father, started the recent trend of politicians who first hint at a national campaign by releasing an autobiography. Join the discussion as a literary agent, a novelist and former Pentagon speechwriter, and professors who study English and public relations critically examine these books from literary and marketing perspectives. Can a book be promotional and still have literary merit?

***** FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10 *****

Fri., Feb. 10, 2017: 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Marquis Salon 6, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two
F110. The Middle Americans: How Flyover Country Responds to War. (Randy Brown, M.L. Doyle, Kayla Williams, Matthew Hefti, Angela Ricketts)
By various measures, rural Americans are more likely to enlist in the US armed forces. Despite isolation from traditional centers of publishing and military power, voices with Midwestern roots have sprung forth like dragon's teeth to deliver clear-eyed, plainspoken views of war, service, and sacrifice. The civilians and veterans of this stereotype-busting panel of published writers offer their insights regarding themes, trends, and markets in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

Fri., Feb. 10, 2017: 10:30 to 11:45 a.m.
Capital & Congress, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four
F150. Workshopping War: The Challenges of War Writing in the Classroom. (Whitney Terrell, Jayne Anne Phillips, Matt Gallagher, Teresa Fazio, Anne Kniggendorf)
Narratives about war and military life present unique challenges in workshop. How does personal trauma become a story? How can a teacher with no military experience advise a veteran? Or vice versa? Should war writers be encouraged to consider, say, the stories of Iraqis? How do gender and race enter the conversation? The panel pairs teachers of writing with students at work on narratives about war and the military. All have experience in MFA programs or veteran workshops like Words After War.

Fri., Feb. 10, 2017: 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
Marquis Salon 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two
F207. U.S./Pacific Poets Confronting U.S. Empire. (Collier Nogues, Brenda Shaughnessy, Lawrence-Minh Bùi Davis, Lehua Taitano, Lyz Soto)
U.S. military infrastructure in the Pacific enables both global US imperialism and the militarization of local communities there and throughout the US. Join five poets with ties to Okinawa, Guåhan (Guam), Vietnam, the Philippines, and Hawai‘i as they invite the audience to collaboratively envision how writers can use language and performance in our local, national, and international literary spheres to resist the linguistic and cultural violence of military imperialism.

Fri., Feb. 10, 2017: 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
Virginia Barber Middleton Stage, Sponsored by USC, Exhibit Halls D & E, Convention Center, Level Two
F224. Voices of Main Street. (Katie Manning, Yehoshua November, Colin D. Halloran, Leslie McGrath, Charlie Bondhus)
Five winners of the Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award from 2009 to the most recent will read from their books. The reading will be moderated by Main Street Rag's publisher.

Fri., Feb. 10, 2017: 4:30 to 5:45 p.m.
Marquis Salon 3 & 4, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two
F272. 90 Years and Counting: A Reading Celebrating Prairie Schooner. (Ashley Strosnider, Brian Turner, Kevin Simmonds, Safiya Sinclair)
A perfect time capsule of the diverse, experimental trends in American literary publishing, Prairie Schooner’s ninety-year legacy of uninterrupted quarterly publication charts the course of a little journal on the prairie and its path to becoming a key player among literary journals, publishing major contemporary American voices alongside an increasingly global list of contributors. Hear poets and fiction writers read work that speaks to where we’ve been and where we’re headed next.

***** SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11 *****

Sat., Feb. 11, 2017: 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Room 202B, Washington Convention Center, Level Two
S128. I Wouldn’t Go there if I Were You: Literary Journalism and the Craft of Writing Dangerous Places. (Benjamin Busch, Jennifer Percy, Elliot Ackerman, Deni Béchard)
When writers of poetry, creative nonfiction, or fiction serve as overseas correspondents, the narratives they craft are deeply felt and unique. From travel and interpreters to notes and drafts, these writers ventured to the fringe to experience their stories. This panel explores how four writers chased curiosity into endangerment to bring back stunning portraits of war, disease, humanity, and environment in crisis and how they teach ways to write literary reportage in workshops and MFA programs.

Sat., Feb. 11, 2017: 10:30 to 11:45 a.m.
Room 102B, Washington Convention Center, Level One S154. Translating Iraq. (Alana Levinson-LaBrosse, Neil Shea, Heather Raffo, Andrew Slater)
Since before the Iraq War began in 2003, Americans have worked to understand Iraq: a country incomprehensible to many of its own citizens. The major and minute divisions and the competing desires can overwhelm even the most conscientious observer. The participating American writers of this panel have lived and worked in Iraq. Bringing home Iraq's realities, whether through poetry, fiction, documentaries, Instagram, plays. or operas, is an act of delicate artistic and cultural translation.

Sat., Feb. 11, 2017: 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
Marquis Salon 9 & 10, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two
S206. The New Normal in Nonfiction: Diverse Voices in Nonfiction from The Normal School. (Jericho Parms, Jaclyn Moyer, Sarah Minor, Steven Church, Matthew Komatsu [MWG member]) Four nonfiction writers representing diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives consider questions of race, identity, family, culture, and consciousness. Representing emerging writers, students, farmers, first-book authors, and tenured MFA program faculty, the panel members have all been published recently in the literary magazine The Normal School. They celebrate a variety nonfiction styles, from the more traditional narrative essay to lyric essays and research-driven work.

Sat., Feb. 11, 2017: 3 to 4:15 p.m.
Room 202A, Washington Convention Center, Level Two
S258. The Art of War: The Power and Role of the Writer in Times of Crisis. (Pireeni Sundaralingam, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Lidia Yuknavitch, David Shields)
As an increasing percentage of the world is plunged into conflict, our panel brings together award-winning novelists, poets, and nonfiction writers to explore how creative writing can shape, distort, and challenge the way we understand war. Drawing on examples from our own work and the work of others, we will discuss the power of the written word in relation to image and other forms of propaganda, and share our personal experiences of how our books have influenced a wider political discussion.

Sat., Feb. 11, 2017: 4:30 to 5:45 p.m.
Marquis Salon 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Two
S272. Writing War, Teaching Craft: Veterans & Cadets in the Creative Writing Classroom. (Mary Stewart Atwell, Kevin Powers, Ron Capps, Benjamin Busch, Katey Schultz)
The upsurge in literary work by veterans has sparked an interest in teaching writing to this population, but a less-noted phenomenon has been the recent increase in course offerings in creative writing at service academies and military colleges. A panel of writers and teachers who have worked with both veterans and cadets—those returning from war, and those preparing to serve—put these two groups into new and enlightening conversation.

Sat., Feb. 11, 2017: 4:30 to 5:45 p.m.
Liberty Salon N, O, & P, Marriott Marquis, Meeting Level Four
S277. Poetry in the Age of the Drone: A Reading. (Corey Van Landingham, Solmaz Sharif, Philip Metres, Nomi Stone, Jill McDonough)
How does poetry function in the age of the drone? Can poets avoid the anesthetizing remove enacted by the drone when writing about political subjects from a safe distance? What is the role of poetry in a time of perpetual war—does it, as Auden says, make nothing happen? Five poets read work that shows the different ways poetry reacts to, and interacts with, the idea of the militarization of the drone, targeted killing, and the difficulty of writing about war from afar.

11th Annual Ride Remembers 'Red Bull' Soldier

Photos: Dan Sesker Memorial Poker Run

Organizers of the 11th Annual Dan Sesker Memorial Poker Run are taking on-line registrations for the Sun., May 29, 2016 event, which takes place during Memorial Day weekend.

The event commemorates Iowa Army National Guard Sgt. Dan Sesker, killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (I.E.D.) on April 6, 2006 in the vicinity of Tikrit, Iraq. He was nine days short of his twenty-third birthday.

The event will start and finish in Ogden, Iowa. Day-of-ride registration and sign-in will be 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the Ogden city park.

In a poker run, registered participants are dealt random cards and each stop along a designated route. At the final stop of the day, the participant with the highest poker hand wins a pot of cash. Raffles, T-shirt sales, and other fund-raising efforts may also take place during the event. There will be food, drinks, and entertainment at the end of the ride, according to organizers, and the event will be held rain or shine.

James "Juice" Justice and Dan Sesker

Sesker was a member of Troop C, 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment (1-113th Cav.), both then and now part of the Iowa's 2nd Brigade, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division. In his role as a citizen, he was a youth counselor and part-time police officer. He learned his fiancée was pregnant with their first child while he was deployed, and looked forward to his future role as a father. S

esker was friends with many citizen-soldiers, including Staff Sgt. James "Juice" Justice, who was himself killed in action during a later brigade deployment to Afghanistan. Proceeds for 2016 poker run event will go to:

• The Gage Sesker Trust Fund
• Iowa C.O.P.S.
• Sesker Memorial Scholarship

A Facebook page for the event is here.

A website is here.

When available, the 2016 route map will be posted here. Via social media, organizers have announced stops will include:

• Ogden
• Boxholm 
• Grand Junction 
• Jamaica 
• Woodward 
• Ogden

'Patriot Place' to Provide 50 Veterans' Housing Units

Des Moines, Iowa architects ASK Studio has previously designed other patriotic-themed buildings, including the Iowa Gold Star Museum, located on Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa. PHOTO: ASK Studio

Editor's note: The following is a news release issued by Healing Our Heroes, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It is presented here for news purposes only. No endorsement by the Red Bull Rising blog or author of the blog is necessarily implied.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA—Healing Our Heroes, in partnership with Seldin Company, is holding news conference and reception to introduce the "Patriot Place" veterans' permanent supportive housing project. The announcement will take place 12 noon Fri., Dec. 11 at the historic Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The approximately $9 million, veteran-specific, low-income housing facility will provide 48-50 apartment units with an additional approximate 10,000 square feet for veteran supportive services. Ten percent of the units will be set aside specifically for homeless prevention.

The project will be funded by a non-competitive Iowa Finance Authority (I.F.A.) tax-credit award. Additionally, the Cedar Rapids City Council has already passed a resolution of support granting a 10-year tax abatement. A capital campaign to raise $1.5 million to cover the funding gap is already underway.

In addition to unveiling the architectural rendering provided by architect Brent Schipper of ASK Studio, Des Moines, several area agencies will also be present to highlight a few supportive services that will be available to residents. The facility will be located directly behind the VA Outpatient Clinic located on the corner of Wiley Blvd. and Wilson Ave.

Founded by Executive Director Kelly Ridenour, the non-profit Healing Our Heroes is located at the Veterans Memorial Building, a facility managed by the Veterans Memorial Commission. Ridenour thanked the commission for its support. "As the wife, daughter and granddaughter of men who all raised their hand in service of God and country, I am proud to have the opportunity to be of service as well. The Veterans Memorial Commission has provided us with the resources needed to serve our veterans and we look forward to continuing that service with this exciting new endeavor,"
says Ridenour.

Seldin Company is multi-family management organization headquartered in Omaha, Neb. The company manages and leases more than 17,000 apartment homes across seven states, focusing on innovative, locally integrated projects that promote sustainability and community growth. "This project was a natural partnership," says Jim Rieker, executive vice president of Seldin Company. "Homelessness and helping veterans is a soft spot for us and, when approached, it was something we wanted to be a part of and feel honored to help."

The Healing our Heroes board will also be involved in making sure the community engages with the project going forward. "I'm so pleased to be involved with a project that will enhance the services provided in our community by serving those who have served our country," says Ashley Hinson, Healing our Heroes board member. "It's great that the community can get on board with supporting this project's ultimate goal of keeping our veterans engaged and off the street. We as an organization will continue our work to make sure we repay those debts to our vets."

$20K Helps Iowa Remembers Warm Up for Sept. 27 5K!

Iowa Remembers, Inc., a Des Moines-area non-profit that funds an annual retreat for surviving military families of the Global War on Terror, was a $20,000 beneficiary of fund-raising efforts at the Sept. 9-10, 2015 annual convention of Group Benefits, Ltd., Urbandale, Iowa.

Iowa Remembers is best-known for its annual 5k Iowa Remembrance Run fund-raiser, which draws fields of more than 1,000 runners and walkers to West Des Moines' Raccoon River Park.

The 6th Annual Iowa Remembrance Run event is Sun., Sept. 27. Race start will follow ceremonies commencing 9:45 a.m. A signature array of flags and memorials lines the path to the finish line.

The public and media are invited to attend the event. Pre-race activities include a roll call of more than 100 Iowans who have lost their lives in service to their country since 2001. This year's speaker will be Mysty Stumbo, mother of U.S. Army Spc. Daniel L. Sesker, who was killed in action in Iraq April 6, 2006.

Registration for the run is open until Sept. 24. There is no day-of race registration. Click here to register on-line.

Sponsors for the race event include:

• American Legion Riders

• Casey's General Stores

• Enlisted Association of the National Guard – Iowa

• Fareway Stores, Inc.

• Green Family Flooring

• Group Benefits, Ltd.

• Iowa National Guard Officers Auxiliary

• MidAmerican Energy

• Nationwide Insurance

Contributing organizations include:

• American Legion Post 396, Bondurant, Iowa

• RoadID

• Fitness Sports, Des Moines

Volunteer organizations include:

• American Legion Riders – Post 232, Polk City, Iowa

• Wells Fargo Veterans Team Member Network

• Team Red, White and Blue

• Nationwide Insurance

In addition to survivor family retreats, Iowa Remembers also funds and organizes arts projects that commemorate and support Iowa service members and military families. For more information about the 501(c)3 non-profit organization, or to make a donation, e-mail: iowaremembersinc@live.com