7th Veterans-Lit Anthology Deadline: June 1, 2018!

Deadline for submissions to a seventh 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, 2018. The project is open to all military personnel, veterans, and family members.

According to the call for submissions, each category carries a first-prize of $250. 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.

The tradition of excellence continued with the fifth and sixth issues.

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 original series editor Susan Swartwout, click here.

Submissions must be made through the Southeast Missouri State University Press Submittable page here. According to guidelines:

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

• Limit one submission in each category per person.

• Poetry: up to 3 poems (5 pages maximum). Keep poems in one document (with 1st poem as title).

• 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, 2018.

Is Midwestern Military Writing Officially a Thing?

Whether you call it "war writing," or "military writing," or "writing about military experience," the literary terrain of the American Middle West is an increasingly fertile frontier in which to grow civil-military discourse.

Although I was born on the West Coast into an active-duty Air Force family, I claim Iowa as a home state. I graduated from high school here. I'm raising a family here. In journalism jargon, I'm a bit of a booster. I write poetry and edit books about Midwesterners in the military. I've even, with a little help from friends and colleagues, presented a panel discussion in Washington, D.C. about how "flyover country" responds to war. Unnumbered Sherpatude: "In writing about war, everyone grinds their own axe." Mine is the American Middle West, and how good people who serve our country are often overlooked by cultural and political power centers.

There are many, many different ways to describe and conscribe the Middle West as a region. If you want to start a quasi-religious debate, just ask what states other people include in "Midwest." My personal blend includes all the area between the Ohio and Missouri Rivers, and even the southern states whose territories were acquired in the Louisiana Purchase. I further note with pride that, of the many conflicting maps that are available of the Midwest, the inclusion of Iowa is never questioned.

Still, the old journalist in me adheres to the even-older rule: A single example could just be wishful thinking. Two examples could be coincidence. Three examples, however, equals a trend.

I am writing today to declare that Midwestern military writing is officially a thing.

Example No. 1: Now in its sixth cycle of production, the "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors" series from Southeast Missouri State University Press, with the support of the Missouri Humanities Council, is the established flagship anthology of military writing. While there have been and will be other anthology projects, none has yet achieved the consistent quality and quantity of the "Proud to Be" series.

(There's still time to submit fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photography, and more before the "Proud to Be, Vol. 6" deadline of June 1, 2017. Click here for details.)

Example No. 2: The Chicago-based on-line literary journal Line of Advance recently announced the results of its 2nd Annual Darron L. Wright military writing award. Underwritten by the Blake and Bailey Foundation, the contest serves as a living memorial for a fallen soldier, by incubating fresh words and stories on war.

Example No. 3: The Deadly Writers Patrol, headquartered in Madison, Wis. has successfully evolved from a community of Vietnam War-era writers into an engaged, inclusive community that stretches to 21st century veterans. The group has published 11 editions of its print journal since 2006. With its just-released issue No. 12, the annual publication will increase production frequency to twice a year. There is also a new website design, and submissions to the publications are now made via Submittable.

(Order the latest Deadly Writers Patrol issue here!)

There are other, supporting indicators of a growing population and presence of military-writing voices from the Midwest. In 2015, the second Military Experience & the Arts Symposium was hosted in Lawton, Okla. Based at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, David Chrisinger ("See Me for Who I Am") incorporates writing workshops in his programming efforts both on campus and via non-profits such as Team RWB and The War Horse.

And, because some literary critics focus solely on book-length work and nothing else, there are palletsful of Midwestern war books. Matthew Hefti's "Hard and Heavy Thing" has its heart in Wisconsin. Susanne Aspley's "Granola, MN" is full of the quirky humor of the region. Journalist Whitney Terrell, based in Kansas City, Mo., gave us "The Good Lieutenant." And genre-jumper M.L. Doyle, who grew up in Minnesota, has delivered a number of titles—mystery, urban fantasy, and more—each infused with war themes.

Memoirist Anglea Ricketts ("No Man's War") speaks with plain-spoken insight and humor of Indiana, while Iraq War veteran Kayla Williams ("Love My Rifle More than You" and "Plenty of Time When We Get Home") and does the same from her Ohio origins. And, while Andria Williams set her first novel "The Longest Night") in Idaho for historical reasons, I'd argue the work illuminates and radiates a particular familiarity with the archetypical Midwesterner's emotional landscape. She got her MFA in creative writing at the University of Minnesota, you know.

Finally, writer Roy Scranton ("War Porn") is now faculty at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind. He grew up in Oregon, but, like many people, perhaps he's decided the Middle West is as good a place as any to wait out the Anthropocene.

The bottom line, for right now? Midwestern military writing is a thing. And, with all this Midwestern sense and sensibility brought to bear, I'm certain that we'll soon have this whole Forever War thing figured out in a jiffy. You'll find that we're full of practical, polite solutions and highly accomplished at barely suppressing timeless reservoirs of rage and aspiration. We have been since "The Great Gatsby."

In the meantime, please enjoy this pending new Sherpatude: "War may be hell, but we'll bring hotdish."

*****

Full disclosure: The writer of the Red Bull Rising blog was a poetry finalist in this year's Darron L. Wright writing awards, administered by Line of Advance. He been previously published in the Deadly Writers Patrol journal, and in the "Proud to Be" anthology series.

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.

'Pleiades' Seeks Flash & Fiction for Veterans-Only Issue

Editors at Pleiades, a twice-annual print magazine based at the University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, Mo., have issued a special call for flash-fiction and fiction written by military veterans. A veterans-only issue will be published June 2016. Deadline for submissions is Oct. 15, 2015.

Poetry and non-fiction are not solicited for this issue.

Attached as either .DOC or .PDF formats, send up to 5,000 words of original and previously unpublished work to project editor Seth Brady Tucker, along with cover letter and biography: sbradytucker AT gmail.com

Tucker is himself a Desert Storm-era veteran of the U.S. Army.

Simultaneous submissions are accepted. Notices of acceptance or rejection will be sent by late November. If accepted, editors will ask for brief essay (under 500 words) describing how being a veteran affects your aesthetic and writing.

A Facebook page for the magazine is 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.

Traveling 'Citizen-Soldier-Artist' Previews June 26-27

The traveling "Citizen-Soldier-Artist" exhibition was first previewed to the public at Mid-America Arts Alliance headquarters in Kansas City, Mo. earlier this month. It will be available for public view again June 26-27, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For a Facebook slideshow, click here.

"Citizen-Soldier-Artist," a traveling adaptation of artist-veterans' work, will be previewed at the Mid-America Arts Alliance (M-AAA) headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., Thurs., June 26 and June 27., from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The address is 2018 Baltimore Ave., Kansas City, Mo.

The "Citizen-Soldier-Artist" exhibition features drawing, painting, print-making, photography and more by artist-veterans who are geographically located or originating in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, or Texas. Also featured is the poem "Welcome Home," by writer Jason Poudrier of Oklahoma.

As part of its mission, the M-AAA develops traveling exhibitions to be featured in its "ExhibitsUSA" or "NEH on the Road" touring programs. The original 2013 exhibition was presented in Michigan City, Ind., at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts' Hyndman Gallery, Michigan City., Ind. Independent scholar, archivist, and art consultant Tara Leigh Tappert curated the works presented in each effort.

According to the arts organization:

Citizen–Soldier–Artist is an exhibition exploring how veterans in the United States are using the arts to constructively process and heal from the physical and psychological wounds of war. In addition to the images, music, and poetry they produce, a grassroots network of organizations has also grown to nurture and support these artist veterans.

This show, which is in early development for a touring exhibition, offers a compelling and moving look at the person inside the uniform as they struggle to reintegrate into civilian life.

A slide show of the exhibition preview is available on the M-AAA organizational Facebook page here.

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.

Artist-Veterans Sought for Kansas City, Mo. Exhibit

A regional arts non-profit is seeking the work of visual artists in six Southern Plains states who are also military veterans. The pending June 2014 exhibition is an adaptation of a "Citizen Soldier Citizen" exhibition that originated at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts, Michigan City, Ind.

Mid-America Arts Alliance is seeking artists working in 2-D formats such as drawing, painting, print-making, paper-making, and photography, who are geographically located or originating in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, or Texas. Deadline is April 7, 2014.

The exhibition focuses on the artists' experiences as members of the armed services. The original Indiana show was previously mentioned on the Red Bull Rising blog here.

Submission of photographs documenting an artist's work can be made via e-mail. Send to: tim@maaa.org

If sending digital discs or print photo submissions by postal mail, in advance please call 816.421.1388 ext. 224 or e-mail. Mail to:

Tim Brown
Mid-America Arts Alliance
2018 Baltimore Ave
Kansas City, MO 64108

2nd 'Proud to Be' Delivers New Military Voices, Insights

Review: "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, Vol. 2"

Released in early November 2013, "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, Vol. 2" is a must-read manual on taking down barriers that exist not only among civilians and veterans, but among generations of veterans themselves.

One objective of creative expression—whether poetry, fiction, essay, journalism, photography, or art—is to allow a viewer to encounter new ideas and experiences. Literature and art can make the foreign familiar, or, conversely, re-cast the familiar in fresh ways. As both a contributor and a reader, I'm pleased to report that "Proud to Be, Vol. 2" is full of those surprises and encounters.

The 320-page trade paperback is part of an anthology series published by the Southeast Missouri State University Press, with assistance from the Missouri Humanities Council and the non-profit Warriors Arts Alliance.

This is essential reading for those of us who seek to breach obstacles not only among civilians and veterans, but among generations of veterans themselves. By way of example, here are some insights gained through reading random selections from Volume 2:

Insight No. 1: "Veteran" is not one tribe, but many.

Consider the variety of winning writing (there is a companion contest to the annual anthology) to be found in its pages:

• An essay about a Vietnam War-era B-52 bomber.
• A coming-of-age short story about a Korean War veteran's legacy.
• A poem about a life-saving moment in the Iraq War.
• An interview with a British Land Girl.

That's a lot of time and terrain covered, and an all-eras and -branches choir of veterans' voices.

Additionally, each piece of writing and art is accompanied by a short biography of the author or artist. I enjoyed reading these almost as much as I enjoyed the articles and stories. Learning a little about each creator is itself an opportunity for revelation and reflection; this practice should be copied by the editors of other publications.

That said, future issues of the "Proud to Be" series would be further improved were all of the prose to be explicitly labelled as fiction or non-fiction. Beyond the winners and honorable mentions, readers of this volume are left to categorize each piece on their own, based on clues contained in the biographies.

Of course, borrowing slightly from Tim O'Brien: "All war stories are true."

*****

Insight No. 2: Haircuts are moments of surprising intimacy.

At Fort Knox, Ky., during my basic military training in the late 1980s, one of the guys in my platoon had brought a barber kit from home. On some nights, he'd have a line of us formed up on the barracks stoop, waiting to get our high-and-tights cleaned up enough for the next day's inspection. He didn't take money, but got a great peer-rating out of the deal.

It was a memorable lesson in buddies taking care of buddies.

When deployed to Egypt, I'd make sure to visit the on-post barber shop on specific days of the week. It's a personal thing to ask someone to run their fingers through your hair, after all, and I went only on days when my favorite cutters would be present. Sometimes, a guy was my favorite because he cut well and spoke a little English. Sometimes, it was just because he washed his hands.

On some bases in Afghanistan, reportedly exotic Eastern European women worked in the barber shops and salons. Soldiers would tell punny stories about getting some ... action. Like O'Brien's war stories, all of these stories were true, too.

All of this came to mind while reading a prose-poem by Minneapolis-based writer Charity Tahmaseb. In her work, titled "Land of the Free (Haircuts)," Tahmaseb tells a story of a private moment conducted in public, a haircut between a deployed wife and her equally deployed husband. Despite the close quarters, the sense of separation is almost painful.

[...] Paul sees me and the scissors snap shut.
He holds himself to impossible standards
while in uniform.
No PDA goes without saying,
but if he can run his hands over every single
scalp in Echo Company, there's no reason
he can't touch mine. [...] [p. 200]

Despite (or maybe because of?) my earlier experiences with haircuts in the military, Tahmaseb's words took me to a different place and fresh perspective. I will never again think about haircuts and loneliness in quite the same ways.

That's good writing.

*****

Insight No. 3: The voice at the other end of the conversation hurts, too.

As an Army radio guy working in a Tactical Operations Center ("TOC"), one of my worst fears was the absence of a voice at the distant end. Until the final rush of static, it's all about your connections with the soldiers at the other, more dangerous end of the conversation.

I found echoes of those sentiments in the words of retired Minnesota Air National Guard pilot Eric Chandler, callsign "Shmo." While downrange, a buddy working in an Army TOC once e-mailed Chandler some battle-damage photos from an enemy I.E.D. "As we are often 5 miles away from the excitement in an air-conditioned cockpit, I was curious to see what the guys on the ground see," writes Chandler. "I got an eyeful." [p. 205]

Later, back home in Minnesota, Chandler recounts a sudden emotional reaction to his son's request for a military-theme birthday party:

[...] Shelley said that our son Sam wanted an Army theme for his party. I asked her to explain. She said that there'd be little Army Humvees on the napkins and the cake and that there'd be a piñata in the shape of a Humvee. 

Something about the idea of my son taking a bat to a Humvee, destroying it and having candy fall out of it, made me feel physically ill. I still don't know why it would effect me. I'm the fighter-jock glory hound who's never been near any actual blood. I had no reason to get upset, but tears filled my eyes. 

I told Shelly there was no way in hell our son was having a party where he attacked a Humvee with a bat. She was surprised at my reaction. Not nearly as surprised as I was. [...] [p. 206]

"Everyone has their own war," I like to say. In other words, everyone has their own experience of it. Collectively, this book helps tell that story, while also illuminating how individually varied those experiences can be.

Read it. You'll be surprised.

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.

Reflections On ... 'China Beach'

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, I developed a crush on an Army nurse stationed in Vietnam. She was a character on TV, on a show called "China Beach."

The character was Colleen McMurphy, played by actress Dana Delany. A woman in uniform with a sarcastic tone, a bobbed haircut, and Irish name. ("I got a case of unopened beer," goes one McMurphy quote. "It's all formaldehyde but totally free.")

Writing that down, I realize now that she's a partial reflection of a few real-life girlfriends. Some before McMurphy, some after.

The television show aired from 1988 to 1991, during which time I was training part-time to join the Army. I graduated from college just in time to see the bombs drop on Baghdad in January 1991, during the start of Operation Desert Storm. My girlfriend at the time got pulled out of school, and deployed as a Missouri National Guard soldier. I, on the other hand, went to school for my country, learning about Army radios and telephones. By the time I got back, the shooting was over. So was the girlfriend.

The opening credits to "China Beach" featured The Supreme's 1967 hit, "Reflections." (Click here for a YouTube snippet of the first-season opener. While you're watching it ... remember how "broadcast in stereo" was such a big deal in the 1980s?)

Through the mirror of my mind
Time after time
I see reflections of you and me [...]

Pretty girly stuff. Then again, so is quoting music lyrics in blog-posts. And, come to think of it, so was "China Beach."

"China Beach" was a character-driven drama, centered on a location based on My Khe beach, near the major port city of De Nang. Unlike "Tour of Duty" (1987-1990), which was more of an action-based TV drama, "China Beach" included a number of strong female characters. There was an equal male-female ratio, if not an outright matriarchy.

Welcome to the fictional 510th "Five and Dime" Evacuation Hospital and Rest and Relaxation facility!

The female characters included a number of archetypes Donut Dolly, a hard-charging head nurse, a hooker with a heart of gold. There was the ambitious news reporter, and a USO dancer. Cutting edge, I guess, for its times.

On the male side of the barracks, there was also a womanizing male doctor, who, like me, pined after McMurphy. And a bartender named Boonie, who had a dark secret about why he wasn't out patrolling along with his infantry buddies. And an introverted mortuary affairs soldier.

In short, and using the military slang of today, it was all pretty FOBby.

You can always tell when people have been through a traumatic or cognitive crisis when they tell you, "It was just like in the movies" or "It was just like on TV." As someone who fancies himself a word-guy, I try not to rely on such conversational crutches. Still, what's my go-to way of describing my 2003 peacekeeping deployment to Egypt's Red Sea Riveria, along with a battalion of Iowa National Guard infantry soldiers? "It was just like 'China Beach.'"

It was, too. We had a beach, and a squad soldiers trained and tasked full-time as lifeguards. I managed an outdoor movie theater, and an Armed Forces Radio and Television Service station. There were at least five official and semi-drinking establishments on our main base, plus a library, a laundry service, an education center, and a convenience store. We also flew out to our desert Observation Posts in UH-1 "Huey" helicopters, Vietnam-era machines celebrated for the distinctive chop-chop sound of their twin blades. They were purported to be the last Hueys still in the active-duty Army inventory. Other equipment may fly, the saying goes, but Hueys beat the air into submission.

The Multinational Force and Observers (M.F.O.) mission has been monitored the treaty between Egypt and Israel since 1982. Until the United States' contribution to the had been handed off to the U.S. National Guard in the early 2000s, the low-key job had always gone to active-duty Army battalions, who used the time to relax and reset.

The infantry guys went a little stir-crazy. After all, there was a perfectly good war on, only a couple of countries over. When U.S. troops found Saddam Hussein hiding in a spider hole in Iraq, we were kicked back on a beach in B.F. Egypt.

Reflections of ...
The way life used to be

Of course, I encountered the Mother of All "China Beach" Lookalikes when I traveled to Bagram Airfield ("BAF") in 2011. I flew in some Hueys there, too—contract birds that ferried personnel and equipment around Afghanistan.

Coincidentally, a couple of years ago, there was an attempt a "China Beach"-style prime-time drama about Afghanistan, but "Combat Hospital" lasted only one season. You can special-order it
on DVD. Click here for an musical excerpt from that show.

For the first time, "China Beach" will soon be available on DVD. More on that in a minute. Also, for now, I'll save telling the story about a minor part I recently played in the product launch.

Like "Tour of Duty" and other Vietnam-themed programs of its era, the original producers of "China Beach" reportedly didn't lock down the music rights, making producing a DVD after-the-fact very difficult. Time-Life Books, however, has apparently cracked the code. According to press materials, the complete series will be available in boxed sets—and will feature most of the original music.

Using a different strategy a few years ago, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released "Tour of Duty" on DVD
with knock-offs of its original music, including its trademark theme—the Rolling Stones 1966 hit "Paint It, Black." The soundalike soundtrack didn't go over well with online commenters.

Click here for a YouTube snippet of the "Tour of Duty" opening credits, with the original song.

A mil-blogger friend of mine zapped me the good news, however, that the complete "China Beach" series—complete with original music—will soon be available from Time-Life Books, the same people who brought you the boxed DVD sets of "Six-Million Dollar Man" and the "The Carol Burnett Show." Click here for details on "China Beach" DVD sets, or read the advertising link below.

To this day, I can't hear a Huey without humming along with The Supremes.

Or thinking of Vietnam, although I've never been there. Or Egypt, where I have. Or Afghanistan.

The American way of war, after all—the one I finally encountered, with its coffee shops and casualty collection points and modern inconveniences—was just like on TV.

*****

ADVERTISING LINK: Pre-order "China Beach: The Complete Series"! 62 episodes on 21 DVDs plus over 10 hours of bonus features and collector's booklet! Pre-order today for 5 easy payments of $39.99 (Price: $199.95) and get Free Shipping at TimeLife.com!

Group Launches Second Mil-Writing Contest, Anthology

The Warriors Arts Alliance has published a call for submissions to a second volume of military-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and photography. The non-fiction category includes creative non-fiction, essay, and oral history.

Both the anthology and a related contest are open to all military personnel, veterans, and military family members. As the group's website states, "This 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."

The group's first published work, titled "Proud to Be: Writing from America's Warriors," was published in November 2012. Both volumes are in partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council and Southeast Missouri State University Press.

A 5-minute video of a 2012 reading event celebrating the publication of the first volume is available here.

Contributors to the first volume will also read at a veterans' recognition reception titled "In Their Own Words" at Southeast Missouri State University Wed., Feb. 13, from 7 to 9 p.m. Monitor the Warriors Arts Alliance's website or Facebook page for forthcoming details.

Deadline for the second volume is July 1, 2013. Winners and contributors will be notified not later than Nov. 1, 2013. Submissions may be made electronically or in hardcopy. Additional details follow:

• Limit one submission in each category per person.

• Only previously unpublished work will be considered.

• Poetry: up to three poems (Five pages maximum).

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

• Photography: up to three good-quality photos. (The book will be published in black and white).

• Submissions exceeding the limits will be disqualified.

• Include a biography of no more than 75 words.

Writers may submit to the anthology only by mailing both the work and a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope (S.A.S.E.) for notification to: Warriors Anthology, Southeast Missouri State University Press, Mail Stop 2650, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701.

Writers my submit to both the anthology and a $250 contest by e-mailing previously unpublished work to: upress@semo.edu. Additional details follow:

• Entries must be submitted as Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx format).

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

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

A $250 first-prize will be awarded in each category. All contest entries will also be considered for publication.

*****

Note: 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.