Mil-Writing Workshop, Brookings, S.D., Feb. 28-Mar. 1

The Veterans Writing Project's Ron Capps will be conducting a free writing workshop, from Sat., Feb. 28 to Sun., Mar. 1, on the campus of South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.

The workshop was inspired in part by a conversation at the 2014 Great Plains Writers' Conference, also hosted by the university, in which students, military science and English faculty members, veterans agencies and offices, and other stakeholders explored opportunities for mutual support.

Based in Washington, D.C., the Veterans Writing Project facilitates literary writing workshops nationwide; supports research on writing as a therapeutic intervention in healthcare; and promotes military-themed writing through its "O-Dark-Thirty" on-line and print journals. Workshop participants–including service members, veterans, and family members–learn about techniques that are applicable to writing fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and plays.

Amber Jensen, an instructor at SDSU, also notes that Capps' South Dakota seminar is an extension of a writing workshop that meets regularly on the campus of South Dakota State University. Attendance ranges from 4 to 8 participants, and meetings are every other week. "Our goal in the workshop is to create a sense of community, and to ensure that our military-affiliated students and community members know that we value their stories," she writes.

Space in the Veterans Writing Project weekend workshop is limited. Lunch is provided. To register for the workshop, contact Jensen via e-mail: amber.l.jensen AT sdstate.edu

Thank You, Vonnegut! Thank You, Doctrine Man!!

Photo of cover and poem recently published in third annual issue of "So It Goes: the Literary Journal of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library," which was organized around a theme of creative process. Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing ceramics with lacquered resin mixed with metallic powders. Originating in the 15th century, the practice celebrates an object’s history and imperfections, while also keeping it in service. Ashikaga Yoshimasa and Tom Albers are each real people, but only one was a citizen-soldier in the Iowa Army National Guard.

At risk of sounding like that inscrutable "Thank U" song by Alanis Morrisette, I am thankful for a rewarding year of writing. My work continues on various research, writing, and goof-off projects related to the history of the U.S. 34th Infantry "Red Bull Division. Meanwhile, I grew more confident in my production of military-themed poetry (should that be "light verse about the light infantry"?), and more aggressive in seeking venues for its publication.

To paraphrase Alanis: "Thank you, India! Thank you, (war on?) terror! Thank you, disillusionment!"

Writing and publishing poetry probably distracted me from larger career targets, but it also provided an outlet for exploring fragments that might otherwise have ended up unexplored. Receiving a coin from a former commander, for example. Or what it felt like to work in a Tactical Operations Center. It's amazing what sticks with you. It's amazing what comes back. And, it's fun to share.

Just this year, I saw more than 12 poems published, in print and on-line.

I benefited in this effort, I know, from a 2014 boomlet of venues seeking to publish veterans' lit. At one point, I counted a dozen journals and anthologies actively soliciting military-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and more. Whenever possible, I tried to pass along news of these opportunities to my fellow mil-writers via the Red Bull Rising blog. I also tried to encourage other practitioners via on-line interviews (here and here), and via workshops and presentations.

Nearly five years out of uniform, and I'm still doing lessons-learned ...

Last spring, I shared my publishing methods and insights at the Great Plains Writers' Conference, Brookings, S.D. and at Writing My Way Back Home, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I'm looking forward to other such opportunities in 2015—including the Military Experience and the Arts Symposium in Lawton, Okla., May 14-17.

Some venues for veterans' voices are well-established. Southeast Missouri State University, for example, recently published its third annual "Proud to Be" anthology. Editors have already issued a call for submissions toward a fourth volume. The dead-tree version of the Veterans Writing Project's literary journal "O-Dark-Thirty" is a joy that arrives quarterly to my mailbox (subscribe here!), although you can also read its issues free on-line here.

Other publications emerged, such as Line of Advance and The Pass In Review. Special themed issues popped up like 25-meter targets. Scintilla magazine, for example, dedicated an entire issue to veterans' writing. And The Iowa Review continues its annual (?) Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for writers who are veterans.

Of course, the literary terrain is always shifting. Publications come and go. Funding, staffing, energy, and interest quickly become obstacles to a clockwork publication schedule. The Pass In Review, for example, went on hiatus after two issues. I'm told they're refitting and cross-leveling their intellectual ammunition for 2015.

Rather than publish four separate journals, Military Experience and the Arts is consolidating its family of non-fiction, fiction, trauma-writing, and poetry journals under one cover, now titled "As You Were." The inaugural issue is here.

Some military-writing sites, like Doonesbury's "The Sandbox," live on as on-line archives. Others, such as Milblogging.com, have left the net altogether.

In this season of reflection, I am proud and humbled to have had my work appear in many of these publications. I am thankful for the hard work that writers and designers and editors invest in bringing these products to life. Moreover, I am thankful to be part of a larger community of veterans (and readers!) that seeks to encourage the expressions of others.

Thank you for your words. Thank you for reading some of mine.

In the meantime, have a safe and rewarding Thanksgiving. Remember to check on your buddies, remember to hug your kids.

Give thanks.

Essayons.

*****

Here's a quick list of places in which to read some of my 2014 work, as well as that of writer-veterans. Please support these venues with your attentions and patronage, as appropriate:

• "Café Sessrúmnir," The Pass In Review No. 1 (reprinted on-line here on Doonesbury's The Sandbox)

• "quiet as TOC-rats," The Pass In Review No. 1 (also reprinted on-line here)

• "combat patch," The Pass In Review No. 1 (also reprinted on-line here)

• "bullet proof me," The Pass In Review No. 1 (reprinted on-line here on The Pass In Review)

• "dawn patrol", O-Dark-Thirty

• "leaving empty," Scintilla No. 6

• "your squad leader writes haiku," The Pass In Review No. 2

• "wait for it," The Pass In Review No. 2

• "the TOC-roaches write haiku", Red Bull Rising blog

• "carry on," Line of Advance No. 2

• "your convoy leader writes haiku," Line of Advance No. 2

• "Kintsugi," So It Goes: The Literary Journal of the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library No. 3

• "Suburbistan," Proud to Be anthology, Vol. 3
  

Notes from the 2014 Great Plains Writers' Conference

The 2014 Great Plains Writers' Conference featured a discussion among

civil-military stakeholders on the campus of South Dakota State University. Photo: GPWC.

For three days, last week's 38th Annual Great Plains Writers' Conference in Brookings, S.D. delivered inspiring conversations around the theme of "Coming Home: War, Healing, and American Culture." The event took place on the campus of South Dakota State University.

The event was scheduled from Sunday evening, March 23 to Tuesday evening, March 25. Daytime sessions allowed students and faculty to take full advantage of visiting regional and national experts, and to present their own research and writing to the public. Session formats included panel discussions, authorial readings and how-tos, historical overviews, and more. Evenings featured longer-form readings by visiting authors. Via a blog, Facebook and Twitter, organizers posted insights and updates on-line.

My own notebook is full of takeaway tips and memorable moments:

Francis Whitebird, a Vietnam Veteran and 

son of Code Talker Noah Whitebird,

shows off pins that represent the wars

in which his family has fought. The top one

represents the Indian Wars, the last 

one Afghanistan and Iraq. Caption and photo 

by U.S. House of Representatives.

Vietnam War veteran Francis Whitebird and his sons Colin and Brandon, both veterans of the Iraq War, talked about the warrior tradition in their immediate family, and in the Rosebud Sioux tribe. The elder Whitebird talked of how his community would gather and celebrate departing soldiers. "They would sing them off, and then, they would feed everybody," he said. (The practice reminded me of National Guard send-off and homecoming ceremonies.)

Upon their return from war, veterans would be honored by seating them in groups, according to the conflicts in which they served. "In Lakota Country, we have songs about every war, and we had war songs about individuals. My aunt had one of them made up for me." Returning warriors could also take part in "centering" ceremonies, which would bring peace to themselves.

His sons now participate in tribal events as warriors themselves, connecting them to a larger history and culture. Said Connor, "Dad used to wake us up by singing Army Infantry cadences. How you grow up makes a difference. We had chores before school. We made our beds with hospital corners."

"After I got shot in the chest, I decided to go back [to Iraq.]," he continued. "It was a little bit of pride, but I was also thinking about the people who went before me."

*****

It was through a reading by Katey Schultz, author of "Flashes of War," that I came to understand the potential poetic connections of flash fiction and prose-poetry. Flash fiction is described as single-perspective stories that range in approximate length from 250 to 750 words. In her short fiction, Schultz, who has no direct connection to military service, has distilled words and observations into rounds that ring true and on target. The result is part poetry, part story-telling.

Schultz, by the way, also described her technique of generating story prompts from photos and other media. Check out a YouTube video here, which features some of the images she used as cues for short fiction.

*****

GPWC Twitter feed during Charlie Sherpa's presentation on
"Finding and Creating Opportunities in Writing about Military Life."

Founder of the non-profit Veterans Writing Project, Washington, D.C., Ron Capps noted that his organization welcomes participation by military family members, as well as current and past military service members. "Working with Special Forces, we had a saying: 'One is none,'" he said. "There always has to be a back-up. There always has to be a wingman. When you get out, particularly if you're in the National Guard or reserves, your family becomes your wingman."

*****

Rosalie Owens, an on-line course designer and creative-writing instructor for American Military University, noted that her class participants—many of whom currently serve in uniform overseas—recently asked that military ranks be dropped from class discussions. The implied hierarchies were getting in the way of good discussions and communications.

*****

One particularly notable panel brought together campus veterans coordinators, university officials and faculty, and military-science instructors. In that session, presenters considered questions such as:

• How could faculty incorporate military professional development reading lists (here's an example) into their curricula?

• How could military cadet and/or student-veterans use their skills and experiences to document South Dakota veterans' experiences, through writing or other media?

• Could departments or campus groups help establish reading circles or writing workshops to help breach the civil-military divide?

*****

In one evening's event, David Abrams ("Fobbit") and Patrick Hicks ("The Commandant of Lubizec") explored the surprisingly rich common ground between their respective works. Abrams' "Fobbit" (2012) is an Iraq War satire in the spirit and tone of Joseph Heller's novel "Catch 22" (1961).

Hicks' just-released historical novel is a dark and lyrical story of World War II extermination camps.

In short, one would have a hard time imagining two war-themed works more dissimilar than the Fobbit and the Commandant. The connection and comparison suggested by moderator Steven Wingate, however, was in each author's wrestling with the "euphemisms and engines of war." It was one of those magic moments that could only take place at a conference such as this, with creative and thoughtful people sitting face to face, exchanging ideas and insights.

*****

In the conference's culminating evening event, Ron Capps warmed up the crowd gathered for poet Brian Turner (2005's "Here, Bullet" and 2010's "Phantom Noise"). With self-deprecating humor, Capps said he felt his role was similar to that of George Thorogood, who opened for The Rolling Stones in the 1980s. Capps read selections from his upcoming memoir "Seriously Not All Right: Five Wars in Ten Years."

When Turner took the stage, he asked for the house lights to be brought up in the black-box space, creating an opportunity for more conversation. The poetry reading that followed was less rock concert, and more "MTV Unplugged"—alternating blasts of word-music with thought-provoking commentary. "How many have we lost in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," he asked during one interlude. "Now, what happens if I change the way I say that: How many have we lost in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?" The slight change in emphasis unlocked whole new layers of meaning.

*****

Disclosure: As a presenter myself at this year's event, my lodging and some land travel was underwritten by the 2014 Great Plains Writers' Conference. The next event is scheduled for March 22-24, 2015, and will explore literary themes and intersections with agriculture, ecology, environmental design, architecture, and more.

Writers' Event to Focus on 'War, Healing, and Culture'

The schedule for the 2014 Great Plains Writers' Conference, March 23-25, Brookings, S.D., has been published. The theme of this year's event, conducted since 1976 on the campus of South Dakota State University, is "Coming Home: War, Healing and American Culture." All events are free and open to the public except as noted.

A downloadable PDF of the schedule is available here.

The website for the event is here.

A Facebook page for the event is here.

*****

SUNDAY, MARCH 23 at South Dakota Art Museum

6:00 p.m. Invitational reception for campus and community military personnel 

7:00 p.m. Opening remarks, Larry Zimmerman, South Dakota Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

7:30 p.m. Screening of documentary film, "Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience" (2007)

*****

MONDAY, MARCH 24 at Campanile Room and Hobo Day Gallery, Student Union 169

9:00 a.m. "Reading & Writing the American Indian Military Experience," Francis, Colin, and Brendan Whitebird 

10:00 a.m. "Home Fronts Then and Now," South Dakota State University instructor Amber Jensen and student Haley Wilson 

11:00 a.m. "Beyond PTSD: Stories of Reintegration," Brian Turner and Ron Capps 

1:00 p.m. "Inside/Out and Outside/In: Distilling the Personal in the Military Experience," David Abrams 

2:00 p.m. "On the State of Teaching Military Writing Today," Ron Capps  

3:00 p.m. "A Long Shadow: The Great War at 100," Patrick Hicks 

4:00 p.m. Oakwood literary journal presents 2014 prize-winners: Marcus Bear Eagle, Great Plains Emerging Tribal Writer Award; and Christine Starr Davis, Great Plains Emerging Writer Prize

7:00 p.m. David Abrams and Patrick Hicks: A reading and conversation. Reception follows

*****

TUESDAY, MARCH 25 at Campanile Room and Hobo Day Gallery, Student Union 169

9:00 a.m. "Film and Literature of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars," Jason McEntee and South Dakota State University graduate students 

10:00 a.m. "A Field Report: Teaching Creative Writing Online to Military Personnel," Rosalie Owens, American Military University 

11:00 a.m. "Finding and Creating Opportunities in Writing about Military Life," Randy Brown, military journalist 

1:00 p.m. "A Reading and Conversation on 'Flashes of War,'" Katey Schultz 

2:00 p.m. Planning Session and Discussion: "Creating a Military Writing Presence at South Dakota State University," Brig. Gen. Keith Corbett, Dean, College of General Studies; Col. Clarke Pleasants, Air Force ROTC; Lt. Col. Aaron Schultz, Army ROTC; South Dakota State University Coordinator of Veterans Affairs Brian Mahaffy; English faculty 

3:00 p.m. Celebration reading for the Jerome R. Norgren Poetry Contest and Paul Witherington Creative Writing Contest for South Dakota youth, reception follows

TUESDAY, MARCH 25 at Pioneer Room, Student Union 265

3:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m. "Writing the Military Experience: A Hands-on Writing Session," conference guests and faculty

TUESDAY, MARCH 25 at Fishback Studio Theater, Performing Arts Center

7:30 p.m. Brian Turner: A reading and conversation. Reception follows

Military-Writing Event is March 23-25, Brookings, S.D.

The 38th Annual Great Plains Writers' Conference will be held March 23-25, 2014 at South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D. This year's theme is "Coming Home: War, Healing, and American Culture."

The free, 3-day event features an impressive list of writers on military themes and topics. Speakers include:

• David Abrams: author of "Fobbit"

• Donald Anderson: editor of the War, Literature, and the Arts Journal, and professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy

• Ron Capps: founder of the Veterans Writing Project, and author of the upcoming memoir "Seriously Not All Right: Five Wars in Ten Years"

• Poet Jehanne Dubrow, author of "Stateside"

• Patrick Hicks, author of the upcoming "The Commandant of Lubizec: A Novel of The Holocaust and Operation Reinhard"

• Katey Schultz: author of "Flashes of War," a collection of short stories

• Poet Brian Turner: author of "Here, Bullet" and "Phantom Noise"

Somewhat lower on the playbill, the writer of the Red Bull Rising blog will also conduct a workshop titled, "Finding and Creating Opportunities in Writing about Military Life." Through that presentation, both aspiring and professional writers will learn how to target ideal markets and venues for publishing their works, on-line and in print.

"I'm going to present a list of editorial 'best-practices'—complete with concrete examples—that I hope veterans, service members, and family and friends will use to share their military experiences with others," says Randy "Sherpa" Brown. "At the same time, I want to arm those writers to protect themselves, their stories, and their copyrights."

Brown is a former editor of national trade and consumer magazines, as well as community and metro newspapers. In 2010, he was preparing for deployment to Eastern Afghanistan as a member of the Iowa Army National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division—a division with historical roots in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska.

After he dropped off the deployment list, Brown retired with 20 years of military service and a previous peacekeeping deployment. He then went to Afghanistan anyway, embedding with Iowa's Red Bull units as a civilian journalist in May-June 2011.

Brown's military-themed poetry and non-fiction have been published in Tom Ricks' "The Best Defense" blog; The Journal of Military Experience; Doonesbury's "The Sandbox" blog; The Pass In Review journal; and two volumes of the anthology "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors"(volume 1 and "volume 2"), published by the Southeast Missouri State University Press. He is a past winner of a Military Reporters & Editors blog-writing competition, and a past Milblogging.com "Mil-bloggies" finalist in the veteran and reporting categories.

For the website of the Great Plains Writers' Conference, click here.

For a Facebook page, click here.

For a pre-event publicity PDF poster for the event, click here.