Tag Archives: writing

On writing—and war stories we want to read

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Redepolyment & The Bosnia ListToday, some words of wisdom from wonderful writer and former U.S. Marine Phil Klay, author of the acclaimed new short story collection Redeployment.

“When I came back I had all these questions to think about that were interesting or important for me, and writing the book was one way for me to grapple with both what the experience meant to me and what the war in Iraq meant to our country and culture.”

        – Phil Klay, author of Redeployment

*interviewed by Kirkus Reviews (Megan Labrise)

Redeployment powerfully encompasses multiple perspectives and experiences of war. The collection recently received a fabulous review (an engaging read in itself, while informative about the qualities that recommend the review’s subject), by Dexter Filkins, author of The Forever War, in the New York Times Book Review.

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In April, The Center for Fiction, in midtown Manhattan, near Grand Central, hosts Phil Klay on Redeployment and Jennifer Vanderbes, whose new book The Secret of Raven Point, is about a brother and sister, soldier and nurse, stationed in Europe during World War II.

That’s April 10th at 7:00 p.m. in NYC.

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War literature is also coming up at Franklin Park’s Reading Series. You can catch Jennifer Percy, author of Demon Camp, about a returning Afghanistan veteran, along with Kenan Trebincevic and Susan Shapiro, writing about Trebincevic’s experiences as a Bosnian émigré and his trip back after the war in The Bosnia List, plus Liza Monroy, author of The Marriage Act, and essayist Melynda Fuller.

That’s this coming Monday, March 24th at 8:00pm – Franklin Park Bar and Beer Garden.

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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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Voices from War’s Writing Workshop for Veterans – Winter-Spring 2014 is running now.
Stay tuned for summer options.
Come work on your story in a supportive community of fellow vets.
Space Limited.
Next Class (#6 of Season 2): March 23rd.
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“Memory of places and comrades” and unheard stories

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Benjamin Busch, veteran and writer, penned the introduction to upcoming anthology, Standing Down (coming from the Great Books Foundation this October), which pulls together a wide-ranging assemblage of writing on war, an exciting addition to war literature collections.

Last November, Busch, author of the thoughtful and beautifully crafted memoir Dust to Dust (about war, grief, parents, childhood, living…), read a concise piece on the silences of war, looking back on his grandfather and World War II.  You can hear him over at Talking Service and read the transcript at NPR, along with an essay by veteran David Abrams on the incongruities of war, which Abrams so engagingly brings forth in his satiric novel, Fobbit.

Here’s some of the take-away from Benjamin Busch:

“There are 22 million veterans living in America today, civilians again, mowing their lawns and waiting in lines.

In the six years since I left the Marines, what always strikes me is a veteran’s enduring attachment to their unit, their clear memory of places and comrades, the stunning drama of their missions or unique situational comedy of their labors. Most of these stories are never heard, because no one ever asks for them.

We mention sacrifice on days like this, but sacrifice likely isn’t the thing a veteran will recall. It will be the stories. It’s these tales that make military experience comprehensible to those who never serve in this way. What if today — instead of thanking a veteran for their service and then passing by — you take a moment to ask them for a story? We’ve all got one to tell.”

– Benjamin Busch, on NPR, Veteran’s Day 2012

It’s well worth reading the short piece in its entirety.
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REGISTRATION open for Voices from War’s Writing Workshop for Veterans – Fall 2013.
Come work on your story in a supportive community of fellow vets.
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Colum McCann – stories building community

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Literary magazine Bodega offers an engaging interview with wonderful writer Colum McCann on his involvement with the new literary non-profit venture Narrative4, global storytelling.

“The core philosophy is: You step into my shoes, I step into yours.  You take responsibility for my life, I take precious care of yours.  Stories are the engine of who we are.  They are a mighty weapon.  Like kids, we must treat them with respect.”

“There is not a person who might not, potentially, benefit from the ability to exchange her story. That’s a bold statement but I think it’s true.”

– Colum McCann, in Bodega magazine

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REGISTRATION open for Voices from War’s Writing Workshop for Veterans – Fall 2013.
Come work on your story in a supportive community of fellow vets.
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Writer Roxana Robinson on the civilian-military divide

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Writer Roxana Robinson picks her five favorite war books for The Literarian, and writes of researching her new novel Sparta:
“I became fascinated by the world of the military—how different it is from the civilian world, how differently it’s structured, and how powerful and compelling and complex and ancient it is. Suddenly, I couldn’t get enough information about it. I read and read, and I went to veterans’ gatherings, and I interviewed veterans. I was caught up in the drama of a movement that was deeply connected to our lives, but which had nothing to do with them. I was struck by this fact—how separate the two lives are, and how impossible it seemed to be, to connect them. And I was struck by the way this seemed to have been true always, going back to The Iliad.”
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REGISTRATION open for Voices from War’s Writing Workshop for Veterans – Fall 2013.
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