Writing Contest for Veterans

The Iowa Review has a new veterans writing contest. Here are the details:

The Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans

This new contest is open to U.S. military veterans and active duty personnel writing in any genre.

The winner will receive $1,000 and publication in an upcoming issue of The Iowa Review literary magazine.

The final judge is Robert Olen Butler.

Deadline: June 15, 2012

Entry fee: $15

For online submission guidelines, please visit iowareview.submishmash.com.

For paper submission guidelines (and more information), visit http://iowareview.uiowa.edu/veteranswritingcontest.

Please e-mail iowa-review@uiowa.edu with any questions.

So much has happened . . . where to begin

After finishing my drama therapy internship at the Institute for Therapy through the Arts I moved to Akron. Many changes in my life and the lives of my family. It's good to be back in the Midwest and back in the Buckeye state. It's true: Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye!

I'm working at Freedom House, a shelter for formerly homeless veterans. I'm leading a stress reduction workshop series--my second of many more to come. I use all my skills as a drama therapist and incorporate playwriting, dance/movement, drawing, poetry, collage making, music, and more into the storytelling process that occurs in this group setting. I'm also privileged to help attend the flag raising and lowering outside the shelter at sunrise and sundown when I'm working as a housing specialist.

The Vet Art Project is also doing a weekly dance/movement program called BeatRoot at First Grace UCC in Akron. This is a "spiritual journey through movement" where participants come in and explore their feelings through movement inspired by different rhythmic patterns from around the world. We move for an hour--nonstop! Believe it or not you can, too.

The University of Akron is another venue for Vet Art Project programming. We'll be offering workshops for students as part of their Wellness Day program in late March and a program for faculty and staff from this and other area universities in early April.

I've also become a regular participant in Warriors Journey Home circles where veterans, family members, and people of strong heart gather to share in community stories of war and service. (Check out http://www.warriorsjourneyhome.com/)

Also Shianne Eagleheart and her Red Bird Center (http://www.redbirdcenter.org/) is a wonderful healing space that's opened to veterans and family members the last weekend of every month. There's time for sharing, storytelling, art, and healing lodges. And everyone has an opportunity to be refreshed and reconnected to the land and to their brothers and sisters.

There are grand people here in Northeast Ohio and this is a fine foundation to grow strong roots. Stay tuned for further updates as the Vet Art Project continues to transform all who participate in her programming.

A Life-Altering Teaching: The Medicine Wheel & 12 Step Program for Women

Hello My Friends,
I'm just back from an amazing workshop in Colorado Springs. Offered at the Wellbriety Institute (whitebison.org). This program incorporates the principles, values, and teachings of Native American elders into a program that teaches you how to live a more connected life--more connected to the land, our place in the world, a path to wellness without using substances to mask or enhance experiences, and to build communities of support. I learned, too, that the AA philosophy and its founders were influenced by Native American traditions, which Dr. Bob & Bill Wilson explored as they created their own paths to wellness.
This organization offers a variety of programs for adults and youth; they've even started a program to help those transitioning out of prison. On the White Bison Web site you can find listings for weekly Talking Circles that are held around the country to help people find the strength, support, and spirit to continue to take care of themselves and others to build stronger communities.
I am grateful to Don Coylis for building a welcoming home; to Sharyl Whitehawk and Marlin Farley for their teachings, their welcoming spirits, and their support; to my sisters from around the U.S. and Canada who encouraged, supported, welcomed, and sustained my spirit throughout the day, from greeting the sun, through our workshop day, and into the evenings exploring the breathtaking lands of Colorado.

I also want to share a wonderful book by Jamie Sams titled The 13 Original Clan Mothers: Your Sacred Path to Discovering the Gifts, Talents, & Abilities of the Feminine Through the Ancient Teachings of the Sisterhood. Originally published in 1993 by Harper Collins, this book came into my life because I was ready for it. I hope you're ready for it, too. It's an opportunity to invest in yourself, explore and acknowledge your talents and abilities, and move through the world with a renewed mission to self and helping others.

News from Vet Art Project Seattle

Caroline Brown, Lead Artist, Vet Art Project Seattle

My name is Caroline Brown and I am currently the lead artist for Vet Art Project Seattle. December 6th marks our fifth workshop and I am in awe of how our process has unfolded so far.

I was inspired to pursue the Vet Art Project Seattle after learning of Lisa Rosenthal’s project in Chicago. I have an extensive background using the arts—particularly performance—as a tool to help individuals and communities express themselves as a means of healing and advocacy and have wanted to work with veterans for some time. I began researching programs that were set up to support veterans’ return to civilian life and ironically found the Vet Art Project Webpage the day after the February performance at the Chicago Cultural Center. I immediately contacted Lisa via e-mail to inquire about the idea of using the Chicago project as a model for a similar one in Seattle. Before I even left the coffee shop from where I was e-mailing, Lisa had left me a voice mail offering her full encouragement of my endeavor.

Lisa’s support has been instrumental in helping me get the Seattle project off the ground, particularly during the preliminary stages of planning and organizing. During our first phone conversation, Lisa answered all of my questions regarding how the Chicago project was shaped and immediately provided me with the project’s mission statement and logo. From there, she put me in touch with Soldier’s Heart Seattle, the veteran’s return and healing project based on the writings of Dr. Edward Tick. The director of Soldier’s Heart Seattle, Sally Jo Gilbert de Vargas, has since become one my strongest allies in promoting the project and helping me network within the veteran’s community.

As I began to research funding for the project, Lisa agreed to serve in an advisory role for a grant that I applied for and also provided me with a great bit of narrative for the application. We are lucky to have the wonderful Freehold Theatre serve as our project’s host and fiscal sponsor here in Seattle.

In addition to offering professional support and resources, Lisa also understands the personal challenges and triumphs that one can face in pursuing projects of this nature. She continues to be a wonderful sounding board and positive reinforcement for the process.

After seven months of networking, researching, grant writing and coordinating, the Vet Art Project Seattle held its first meeting between artists and vets in October. In just four short workshops, we created a safe space of trust and openness where veterans and artists alike are able to share, create, explore and learn.

I am extremely humbled by the risks that individuals are willing to take outside of their comfort zone and I am inspired by the work that is being created through the partnerships between artists and vets.

I emphasize the term learn because even though it is very clear that there is no political agenda for the project, conversations still inevitably arise around individuals’ different experiences, opinions and perspectives. The workshops provide us with a safe environment where extreme disparities can finally be shared, witnessed and embraced rather than ignored or disrespected.

I have great hopes for the Vet Art Project Seattle and where the creative process will lead us over the course of the next three months. Week after week, our community continues to grow as new participants join and dialogues continue to build. I am confidant that we will continue to embrace the diversity of human experience amongst our group and collectively build a creative context where it may be healed, celebrated and honored.

I think I can speak on behalf of our project here in Seattle when I say that we are very proud to be recognized as Chapter Two in the many Vet Art Projects that are being pursued nationwide.

To learn more about our upcoming performance in mid-March or to join our mailing list, please send an e-mail to Caroline.e.brown@gmail.com or visit our Web page at http://web.mac.com/c.e.b/iWeb/Site%202/Vet%20Art%20Project%20Seattle.html.

Vet Art Project Phoenix Is Born!

Hello My Friends,

Vet Art Project Phoenix was born earlier tonight. Spearheaded by the multi-talented Tessa Windt, we are very excited to bring her into the family. She knows the value of storytelling and the importance of building strong bridges to unite communities. You can contact her at twindt@yahoo.com.

Rainbow Sightings, begun 2008 - ongoing

Online archive of rainbow photographs: www.rainbowsightings.com

Impressions After Witnessing the New Art About War Performance by the Vet Art Project

Two friends & I were impressed by the art work, short plays and essays performed for the Vet Arts Project at the Chicago Cultural Center last Tuesday.

It was so good to see Lisa Rosenthal, the creator/leader, at the end of the program, call to the stage all the people involved in
the production. What a work of art to coordinate this varied group.

I have been thinking about the different pieces such as the female veteran of the Iraq conflict and the father struggling to understand both the loss of his older brother in the Vietnam war and his son preparing to be a Navy Seal.

Only Lisa Rosenthal could lead artists to explore this troubling, difficult part of our existence as North American U. S. citizens.

I was glad to see Ted Hogarth, a skilled saxophonist perform with the veteran inspired musical group toward the end of the program.

I am grateful to have experienced the Vet Arts Project and share it with others.

Charlotte

My Dad's Stories, Contributed by Dani Brzozowski

My dad and I only rarely have fruitful conversations. When we do, they're frequently, morbidly, pragmatically, about his mortality, and the steps I (and my expert opinion--honed from WebMD and Reader's Digest) suggest to delay said mortality. It is out of the ordinary for us to discuss much beyond the trans fat content of a bag of pretzels. I occasionally call him out on his erratic behavior, and even more occasionally, he responds with less an explanation of the cause of his behavior and more a reminder that he loves my mother, he loves me, etc.

He knows he has PTSD and we all know, too. But none of us knows what it means for him or for any of us. It's less an elephant in the room and more the room itself, all of us living in it, unsure of ourselves, in the cavernous confines, echoing space PTSD opens up.

Dad has been a soldier ever since I can remember and, as his retirement draws near (he swears this time it's for real, this time he won't chicken out), he's turned reflective, opening up in a way that is at once fascinating and uncomfortable.

His stories are my stories, and hearing these stories is essential--it's how I build out my personal history, the sage of my family. As a writer, being denied these stories has always pained me. I (selfishly) thought it was unfair for them to be withheld, thought he was being cruel by keeping from me the secrets that I thought held the key to his identity and subsequently my own.

Working with the Vet Art Project gave me the opportunity to confront some of those secrets, to discover things about my DAd I didn't know. It gave me a chance to have a fruitful, honest conversation with him , and it forced me to be honest with myself. His stories do not belong to me. They belong to him and him alone, and I know now that this, not selfishness, not cruelty, is why he hasn't shared them before.

I know there are hundreds of secrets he clings to, dozens he'll probably never let go of, but I'm grateful to have witnessed the stories he's been willing to share, and I'll continue to keep my ears perked up, just in case he decides to share again.

Veterans lead the way at latest Vet Art Project Outreach Program

The DuPage Writers Group hosted the most recent outreach program for the Vet Art Project at the Carol Stream Public Library. A dozen of us gathered to share stories about war and learn about the plans for the Vet Art Project at the Chicago Cultural Center in February 2009. And while I came with a lot of prepared material, we were treated to a great learning experience with the help of J.D. Kammes (Iraq War and Kosovo War veteran), a member of the NIU Veterans Group, and Gerald L. Lundby (WWII veteran). J.D. talked about how sharing his war experiences with his family helped his uncle share some of his experiences during the Vietnam War for the first time. Ilona Meagher, author of Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops (www.igpub.com) and creator of the PTSDCombat.com Web site also attended and provided these photos.

Thanks to Beth Orchard of the DuPage Writers Group who organized this event. Thanks, too, to the other writers of the group who are helping to record the stories of veterans that will be published early in 2009. More details to come soon.

Illinois Humanities Council Awards Grant

The Vet Art Project was awarded a mini-grant from the Illinois Humanities Council for the February 2009 program planned for the Chicago Cultural Center Studio Theater. This project will connect veterans and their family members with artists from all disciplines to collaboratively transform stories of war and its affect on us all into art for public performance and viewing. The project will culminate at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 23, 2009 when community members are invited to bare witness to these stories and this art. More details at www.vetartproject.com including how to reserve tickets to this performance, which is free, but advance reservations are required.

Official announcement here: www.prairie.org/news/illinois-humanities-council-awards-mini-grants-seven-local-nonprofits.

In Their Own Words: Veterans Day Program plans are set!

Friends,

I hope you'll come out and show your support for our veterans and current arms services personnel, not by shopping, but by truly honoring their service to our country. We, the collective of artists affiliated with the Vet Art Project and American Theater Company, have come together to honor our troops. Using original writing submitted over the years to the National Vietnam Veterans Museum, we have recreated the journey of a soldier. This will be a staged reading performance in the lobby of the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum. I hope you'll join us.

Tuesday, November 11th, 6 p.m.

National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum

1801 S. Indiana Avenue

Chicago

312.326.0270

Veterans Day Program at the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum

With the help of the affiliated artists of American Theater Company in Chicago, I set out to go through a file cabinet filled with writing by veterans, submitted over the years to the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum (NVVAM). What we found was writing reflecting the transformation and journey of a soldier. Poetry, prose, even a coloring book explaining with words and pictures of the Vietnam War were among our finds. After several selection meetings we created a one-hour program that will be presented on Veterans Day to honor our veterans. The performance will be held at the NVVAM. This is an outreach program of the Vet Art Project that we hope to be able to share with others. (Check back here for more information if you cannot be in Chicago at the NVVAM on Tuesday, November 11th at 6 p.m.) And if you can, please share this special event with a group of very talented actors and directors.

Here are the details:

In Their Own Words: A Collection of Veterans' Writing

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

6 p.m.

National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum

1801 S. Indiana Avenue

Chicago, IL

312.326.0270

Admission to the museum: free for members, $10 general public, $7 students

Admission to this after-hours performance only: by donation

Vet Art Project Events

An Introduction to the Vet Art Project for Artists and Interested Chicago-Area Residents

Saturday, August 9, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

University of Chicago

Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Space

5640 S. University Avenue

Hyde Park

The Vet Art Project is a month-long project in residence at the Studio Theater at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of their Incubator Series. This event on August 9th is an orientation to explain how you can get involved. There are different phases to this project and there is a place for both artists and concerned citizens to participate. The Vet Art Project Incubator at the Chicago Cultural Center will include community-building exercises among participants, be a writing workshop to help veterans share their voices, create new art from the stories of veterans—a collaborative effort between veterans and participating artists, use various media to tell these stories (drama, dance, song, film, visual art, and more), share this new art with the community in a public performance. This project is partially supported by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs’ Theater Department.

Soldier’s Heart: An Introduction to War and the Soul

Thursday, October 9, 6:30 p.m.

Roosevelt Chicago Public Library

1101 W. Taylor Street, Chicago 60607

(312) 746-5656

Thursday, October 16, 7 p.m.

Bucktown-Wicker Park Chicago Public Library

1701 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago 60647

(312) 744-6022

Thursday, October 30, 7 p.m.

Sulzer Regional Branch Chicago Public Library

4455 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago IL 60625

(312) 744-7616

Wednesday, November 12, 7 p.m.

Mt. Greenwood Chicago Public Library

11010 S. Kedzie Avenue, Chicago 60655

(312) 747-2805

Mini-workshop for veterans and community members demonstrating how war affects us, the soul wound from combat, ways to assist veterans, ourselves. Ed Tick’s War and the Soul and Chicago-area veterans writing groups and the Vet Art Project will be discussed.