Of the New York Times’ use of sanitized, sensually provocative front-page photos glamorizing modern warfare, author David Shields argues, “This is how war gets sold: war is portrayed not as hell but as heck, or even as heaven.” Same could be argued with writing. This workshop will confront how to write about war and its aftermath honestly, accurately and ethically.
Staffed by Jamie Broady, Elizabeth Marro & Rolf Yngve
Jamie Broady is a veteran and adjunct writing professor for Pacific University. In addition to facilitating writing workshops for women veterans with the Returning Veterans Project based in Portland, she is also working on a memoir about coming to know her father, a Cuban exile who immigrated as an unaccompanied minor during the Cold War.
Elizabeth Marro is the author of Casualties (Berkley), her gritty debut novel that Kirkus avers, “unrelentingly addresses painful issues of war, suicide, and the shady dealings of defense contractors … It isn’t a happily-ever-after story, but Marro casts a ray of hope that a good life can be lived after terrible tragedy.” New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt (Pictures of You) calls it, “Moving and full of heart.” And bestselling author Alan Russell (A Cold War) concludes, “With its gripping plot and seasoned prose, it is hard to imagine that Casualties is Elizabeth Marro’s debut novel.” A long-time resident of the “North Country” region of New Hampshire, Elizabeth now lives in San Diego. Her work has appeared in The San Diego Reader, The Gloucester Daily Times, LiteraryMama.com and elsewhere.
Rolf Yngve is a veteran of thirty-five years with the US Navy. He has published short fiction in a wide range of literary journals. His work has also been anthologized in Best American Short Stories, 1979, Sudden Fiction, and has received many Pushcart nominations. His most recent work is a novel, Any Watch They Keep.