Tag Archives: war writing

“Tango” NY Film Premiere & More!    

Last year, Voices From War partnered with Tango on the Balcony, a narrative short film project telling the visceral story of a veteran dealing with post-traumatic stress after service in Iraq.

The NY Premiere of Cyprian Films‘ narrative short film Tango on the Balcony is this weekend!

==> Tango on the Balcony NY PREMIERE

SUNDAY, JUNE 12th, 11:00 a.m.

at the SoHo Film Festival
RESERVE your TICKETS here:  http://www.tangoonthebalcony.com/screenings/

PLUS!

COME SEE one of our Voices From War workshop participant’s own work on stage!

==> Phil Nerges’s show!  “Don’t Feed The Cats”

Talented writer, songwriter, and poet, PHIL NERGES, served as a contractor in Iraq. His humility, intelligence, and soulful way with words have impressed many of us! Whether you’ve met Phil in the Voices From War classroom, heard him read at our event last November, or haven’t yet had the chance… we hope you can come see his exciting new production in NYC before it heads to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland!

NEXT WEEK in Brooklyn!

THURS., JUNE 16th, 7:30 pm (Doors Open)
http://www.lomtheater.org/swordraiser-x.html

FROM the Producers:

“A brand new blues-rock greek tragedy about war profiteering, explosive highways and hungry cats. Give our show a NYC send off before we sail over the Atlantic to present at this year’s EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL!”

THANK YOU to all of our workshop participants – and our supporters! – this Spring. What a great season!

With a special THANK YOU and “Shout Out” to…

Host of our NYC Manhattan workshop – the 14th Street Y!
NYC co-instructor NATE BETHEA! and NYC participant mentor AMANDA BRIGGS!
Our BRONX collaboration – The CRAFT of WAR WRITING with JEREMY WARNEKE!
Host to The CRAFT of WAR WRITING – the Morris Park Library and the NYPL!
Support from POETS & WRITERS’ Readings & Workshop Series (Manhattan)!
Support for The CRAFT of WAR WRITING from the BRONX  COUNCIL on the ARTS!

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NEWS “Bites” (+ Open House!)

News & Updates - VfW, Writing Workshop for Veterans, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Voices From War  –  NEWS “Bites”
from our email Newsletter on Friday, February 5, 2016

Happy weekend!

A few quick updates from Voices From War for your weekend! Whether or not you’re getting ready for Sunday’s Super Bowl… we look forward to seeing a crowd of you at our OPEN HOUSE! That’s THIS SUNDAY!   Voices - Logo

Voices From War – OPEN HOUSE
SUNDAY, February 7th, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
HOST:  14th Street Y, 344 East 14th Street, NY, NY  10003

Giving you time to stop by, stay a while, and make it home for the big game!

RSVPs appreciated:  info@voicesfromwar.org

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Voices From War’s Writing Workshops for Veterans
NEW SEASON – Starts Soon!

*Flyer attached

WINTER-SPRING WORKSHOPS* start in Manhattan on FEBRUARY 23rd – with 10 Tuesday evening sessions between Feb. 23rd and MAY 24th.
REGISTRATION:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OgAh0CfROPg9jl24Q48Ybk5HH-OR4L45enGKPUnZRl4/viewform?c=0&w=1

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DETAILS:  https://voicesfromwar.org/workshop

Questions?   Come by Sunday’s Open House!  Can’t make it to the open house?  Email us at info@voicesfromwar.org

QUICK NEWS & UPDATES

A READING!
  • TWO Voices From War veteran-writers recently read new work at The On and Off Series at Over the Eight in Brooklyn! It was wonderful to hear exciting fiction and non-fiction from Mario Bonifacio and Jeremy Warneke! Thanks to hosts Daniel Zee Husson and Mx Bean for their wonderful reading series – and check back on their FB page for more upcoming readings! (And if our pictures aren’t too blurry, we’ll post some of those soon too!)

https://www.facebook.com/events/557940791025306/

PUBLICATION!
  • Jeremy Warneke, a prior Voices From War participant (and valued member of the veteran-writing community, plus upcoming instructor) recently had an important essay published by Task & Purpose. Jeremy shares some of his own experiences along with research about the under-discussed topic of accidental deaths in the military.

http://taskandpurpose.com/the-tragic-truth-of-accidental-deaths-in-combat-zones/  Jeremy_Warneke_in_Task&Purpose_1-28-16

THE NEW YORK TIMES!
  • If you missed VOICES FROM WAR leader and co-instructor NATE BETHEA‘s recent Op-Ed in the New York Times, be sure to check it out now. Well reasoned, thoughtful, emotionally powerful, and fantastically written, “The Truth About PTSD” is a Don’t Miss for veterans and civilians, whether familiar with experiences of post-traumatic stress (PTSD) or new to its effects.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/23/opinion/sarah-palin-this-is-what-ptsd-is-really-like.html   IMG_4598(1)

If you missed all of our exciting DECEMBER NEWS, be sure to stop by the website!

(We’re working to get our fall Newsletters posted on the blog page!)

https://voicesfromwar.org/blog/  Voices from War_Pen-Paper

DECEMBER:  https://voicesfromwar.org/2015/12/29/december-newsletter/

HOPE to see you for the VOICES FROM WAR OPEN HOUSE on SUNDAY!

Best wishes,
Kara & the Voices From War Team

Please keep in touch through our Facebook page and Twitter (and Instagram now too) — and don’t forget to check back on our blog and website:

http://voicesfromwar.org
@voicesfromwar

Kara Krauze
Founder, Director
Voices From War
Writing Workshops for Veterans
VoicesFromWar.org
Email: kara@voicesfromwar.org

         WRITING with Voices From War

Voices From War – Season 5 at the 14th Street Y – Starts Tonight!Voices_VfW_blue_

Excited for more great discussions as we begin our THIRD YEAR of workshops:

 

http://goo.gl/forms/QdOLknkzHz

 

Weekends & News

Blog - In the media, Writing Workshop for Veterans, , , , , , , ,

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17th, 2015

Weekends are the ideal time for lazy readings of the Voices++_about_VfW_blue__12-2014newspaper, a new book or a favorite old one. And weekend days offer time to catch up. We have news about our Winter-Spring 2015 NYC workshop… and our Voices From War fundraiser, with only 3 days to go!

You may have missed some of the exciting perks available through the Voices From War fundraiser – and they’re only available until January 20th!

news-bit_perks_1-17-15*FICTION from Vietnam veteran (& publisher of Blue Heron Books) Bathsheba Monk * MEMOIR with HISTORY on the Cold War by writer Mary Lawlor * A year’s worth of fantastic WRITING from TIN HOUSE Magazine (only one subscription left!) * And more GREAT PERKS! *

There’s not much time left!

We send citizens to war, we welcome them home—and now we ask not for silence but for complicated experiences put into words. Now we listen.

If you want to show your support for Voices From War’s free writing workshops for text-block-B_blog_1-17-15veterans and help make possible our first publication, Voices from War, Volume 1, showcasing the stories of participants from the first year of Voices From War, please consider making a modest donation.

And please share our appeal with others who care about veterans and about writing.
(THANK YOU if you have already given! And if you have shared news about Voices From War!)

You can read about our progress and success stories—

and what Voices from War strives to do—here:

http://igg.me/at/VoicesfromWar

We have only 3 DAYS left to reach our Indiegogo goal!

Don’t forget to refer your friends and colleagues through the Indiegogo site, via social media, or by sharing this email!

Any questions, suggestions, introductions, or collaborations—please reach out to  info@voicesfromwar.org.

With thanks,

Kara
Kara Krauze
Founder, Director
Voices From Warnews-block-2B_1-17-15
Writing Workshops for Veterans
VoicesFromWar.org

 

NYC Veterans Alliance

Stand Beside Them

Women Veterans Empowerment Day

Voices from War_Pen-Paper

 

 

 

 

 

Stories, Respect, and the News

Blog - In the media, Uncategorized, Writing Workshop for Veterans, , , , , , , , , ,

photo 1(1)With so much sad news and divisiveness in our city and the world, I’ve been trying to remind myself of the small actions people can take to bridge divides in experience and perspective and to make sense of their own experiences. I started Voices from War and our writing workshops for veterans in 2013 with this in mind: the gaps between people’s experiences, the silence, the voids of comprehension, the need on the individual level for this to be different, and what it does for broader communities to be able to speak of or explain what seems unspeakable or inexplicable.

Readers of this blog know that experiences of war are complex, often difficult to explain; and veterans have too few places to share them, or simply make sense of them for oneself. Narrative helps bring disparate and contradictory actions, emotions, relationships, together. Writing helps in creating a sense of order from disorder. Without hostility; with respect.

I keep thinking of the mutual respect we share within the Voices from War workshops – among different generations and backgrounds, different political groundings, while engaging with harsh realities – and the community that arises alongside the discussions and stories, both fiction and non-fiction. Divides within ourselves and between ourselves and others are bridged in the workshops – in the room and with writing – and through related outreach, publication, and public events.

In this difficult period of strife and too-frequent bad news… in this period of generosity of spirit, family, and festive lights… may there be more support for civil discussion, mutual respect, telling and hearing, with empathy, each others’ stories.

Please consider supporting Voices from War and our work during this season of giving. Our first fundraising appeal is going on now through Indiegogo.

We need your support to sustain and grow what we do.

Thank you – and Happy Holidays to all.photo 4(2)

Kara Krauze

New York City, Dec. 22, 2014

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https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/voices-from-war   photo 3(4)

You can read about our exciting perks on the Indiegogo page, including great books, subscriptions to Tin House literary journal, our own logo Notebooks and Totes – and more!

You can also help by sharing on Facebook and Twitter, or by email.
http://igg.me/at/VoicesfromWar


Our Workshops for Veterans – and the New VOICES from WAR Logo!

Blog - In the media, , , , , , , , , , ,

Today, we want to use this space to respond to a question in our Comments section. Our response covers topics that might interest other visitors to the Voices from War site. And don’t miss details about our upcoming collaboration “JOURNEYS IN STORIES” at the end of this post!

THANK YOU to a veteran-writer in Illinois for prompting us. Here is his QUESTION:

“I live in Illinois and cannot attend a workshop. Is there a webinar plan for future workshops? Also, do I have to attend a workshop in order to submit my work for consideration? Thanks.”

And our REPLY:

Hi, Thanks for your inquiry and your interest in Voices from War. We are aware of interest outside of our local base in New York City. Webinars are one future possibility; another is establishing other workshops in areas with interested veterans and a qualified writer, whom we would train. If you think you have a group of interested participants, please feel free to email — info@voicesfromwar.org — and we will explore possibilities when we have expanded capacity.

At the moment, we are only including writing from the Voices from War workshops in our upcoming publication Voices from War, Volume 1. We may offer other publication opportunities in the future. Please sign up to receive occasional newsletter updates and follow the blog.

Upcoming blog posts will cover some strategies and information sources for submitting work to other publications, some with a specific interest in veterans’ stories and some more generally looking for good stories (fiction and non-fiction) on a variety of topics — which we know should include stories from war and those who served.

In our Voices from War workshops, we focus attention on reading as well as writing. Reading offers inspiration and reminds writers of different ways to tell a story. We also post occasional quotations and reading selections we recommend — both here on the website and on the Voices from War Facebook page. (If you are a Facebook user, please “Like” the Voices from War Facebook page to receive those updates in your news feed.)

Please do keep writing — or just begin if you are new to it. And stay engaged here for tips, suggestions, and updates.

Good luck in telling your stories.

Kara & the Voices from War team

Voices from War_Pen-Paper

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◊◊  THANK YOU to Designer eperez for the new Voices from War LOGO!  ◊◊

Voices from War - Logo

** A huge THANK YOU to Poets & Writers and The New York State Council on the Arts for their help in supporting another season of Voices from War, A Writing Workshop for Veterans. And an ongoing THANK YOU to the 14th Street Y, supporter and host, welcoming the workshop and its participants each week. **

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SAVE THE DATE!   SUNDAY, NOV 9th – JOURNEYS in STORIES – From the Front to the Home Front in Words
PRESENTED by: Veteran Artist Program (VAP) w/ Voices from War

FEATURING:  National Book Award Nominee PHIL KLAY with poet, librettist, playwright, MAURICE DECAUL, poet and educator LAREN MCCLUNG, and essayist (first-hand from Afghanistan) and fiction writer, NATHAN BRADLEY BETHEA.

Moderated by Kara Krauze (Founder, Voices from War)
– Sunday, November 9th, in FIT’s Katie Murphy Amphitheatre – NYC –

Followed by THE TELLING PROJECT – Don’t miss this incredible ensemble performance by veterans sharing their experiences of war, live on stage.

– Ticketing – AVAILABLE Now –

via the EVENT PAGE

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*  Voices from War is now a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.  Please visit the sidebar or bottom of this page for details and to make a secure online donation.  *

 ♦♦ Check back for more information about our first Voices from War publication and NYC Reading. We look forward to introducing more readers to these talented writers!  ♦♦

Start telling your story.

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Voices from War’s Writing Workshop for Veterans in NYC – FALL 2014 is running now.
Come work on your story in a supportive community of fellow vets.
Space Limited.
Next Class (#4 of Season 3): Oct. 7th.
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Voices_from_War__Flyer__FALL_2014
Voices_V+Pen_logo-image

A decade of war—stories shape history

Blog - In the media, Writing Workshop for Veterans, , , , , , , , ,

Who should tell us about the experiences of a decade of war? Veteran voices need to be part of the national dialogue, cultural and literary, on what it means to go to war; reminding all of us of the multiple perspectives, complex feelings and experiences of serving and fighting.

History is shaped by the accounts that emerge in the living years following historic events, including events we may perceive as less ‘historic’—individual accounts of departing, serving, waiting (whether a spouse back home or a soldier waiting for deployment), and return.

Stories—whether true accounts in the form of essays or memoir, or fictional narratives born of lived truths—shape how all of us see, how we remember. Stories create bridges of understanding, among veterans and between veterans and civilians.

“The autumn countryside around them felt gloomy and forlorn at this hour. The train which was to take both Masha and Ivanov to their homes was somewhere far off in grey space. There was nothing to divert or comfort a human heart except another human heart.”

        – Andrey Platonov, “The Return” *

From the past, we learn about the present; and from the present we inform the future.

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 *"The Return," by Andrey Platonov, from The Return and Other Stories, by Andrey Platonov, transl. by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler and Angela Livingstone; reprinted in Let's Call the Whole Thing Off: Love Quarrels from Anton Chekhov to ZZ Packer, selected by Kasia Boddy, Ali Smith, and Sarah Wood, © 2009.

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** A huge THANK YOU to Poets & Writers and The New York State Council on the Arts for supporting another season of Voices from War, A Writing Workshop for Veterans. And an ongoing THANK YOU to the 14th Street Y, supporter and sponsor, welcoming the workshop and its participants each week; and building Voices from War. **

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Start telling your story.

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REGISTRATION open for Voices from War’s Writing Workshop for Veterans – Winter-Spring 2014.
Come work on your story in a supportive community of fellow vets.
Space Limited.
Next Class (#3 of Season 2): Feb. 23rd.
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Telling a true story—through facts or fiction

Blog - In the media, Writing Workshop for Veterans, , , , , , , ,

Writing things down, telling a true story or turning it into fiction, helps us make sense of complex or fragmented memories and experiences. By looking back, writers are moving forward. Sharing experiences opens up possibilities for dialogue, between individuals and more broadly, in communities and nationally.

Whether we write for ourselves, our friends and family, or with the intent of reaching a wider audience, putting words on paper matters. We are communicating; we are building community; we are acknowledging the past and building the future.

“From the events of war he had wrested the lonely elements of maturity. He wanted, now, discoveries to which he sensed himself accessible; that would alter him, as one is altered, involuntarily, by a great work of art or an effusion of silent knowledge.”

        – Shirley Hazzard

From The Great Fire, by Shirley Hazzard, ©2003

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Start telling your story.

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OPEN HOUSE— SUNDAY, JANUARY 26th—NYC
4:00-6:00pm
RSVP – info@voicesfromwar.org
344 East 14th Street, NYC
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REGISTRATION open for Voices from War’s Writing Workshop for Veterans – Winter-Spring 2014.
Come work on your story in a supportive community of fellow vets.
__________

Writing about war—history became personal

Blog - In the media, Writing Workshop for Veterans, , , , , , , , ,

Historian and World War II veteran William Manchester writes about the urge to revisit his own memories of service during World War II, after working and writing as a historian of the era for years:

“The dreams started after I flung my pistol into the Connecticut River. It was mine to fling: I was, I suppose, the only World War II Marine who had had to buy his own weapon.”
“For years I had been trying to write about the war, always in vain. It lay too deep; I couldn’t reach it. But I had known it must be there. A man is all the people he has been. …[L]ike most of my countrymen, I am prone to search for meaning in the unconsummated past.”
“…I couldn’t define what I sought….”

– William Manchester

From Goodbye, Darkness: A Memoir of the Pacific War, ©1979

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What’s your story?

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REGISTRATION open for Voices from War’s Writing Workshop for Veterans – Winter-Spring 2014.
Come work on your story in a supportive community of fellow vets.
__________