Last week I attended the Association of Writers Program annual conference- a glorious feast of writers talking about craft, business, trends, discoveries.  To be amongst so many fellow writers exhilarated and replenished me.  On the last day I attended a panel discussion about teaching writing to veterans.  Though I had begun realizing that many people around the country have been dedicating themselves to helping vets re-integrate themselves back into civilian life and healing spiritually and emotionally, this panel discussion opened my eyes to how deep and wide the river of attention is running.

The Hospitalized Veterans Writing Project: the mission of which is “to encourage veterans to write, through the coordinated efforts of volunteers and/or VA medical center staff. Veterans often experience traumatic and life-changing experiences in the service of their country. Writing serves as therapy for many veterans who participate through VA medical centers.” www.veteransvoices.org/mission

The National Endowment for the Arts’ Operation Homecoming: brings “the transformative power of writing to men and women who have undergone enormously challenging experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. In historical terms, it gives voice to the troops who have served in this war.” “Since 2004, the NEA Operation Homecoming writing program has collected the stories of U.S. military personnel and their families. With support from The Boeing Company, Operation Homecoming has brought more than 60 writing workshops to troops at more than 30 domestic and overseas military installations from Camp Pendleton in California to USS Carl Vinson in the Persian Gulf and Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.” www.arts.endow.gov/national/homecoming/index.html

VetArt Project – “creates opportunities for veterans and their family members to work in collaboration with artists from all disciplines to create new art about war for public performance and viewing. Our goals are to support our veterans, create stronger voices among our veterans, provide new opportunities for artists, and offer a venue to hear the voices of our veterans and artists, and foster discussions about how war affects us all.” vetartproject.com/

Warrior Writers – “creates a culture that articulates veterans’ experiences and provides the opportunity for a creative community for artistic expression among veterans. We provide witness to the lived experiences of warriors. Through writing/artistic workshops that are based on their experiences in the military, Afghanistan and Iraq, participants connect with other veterans on a personal and artistic level. Art is compiled into books, performances and exhibits that provide a lens into the hearts of people who experienced war. www.warriorwriters.org/

The Iraq Veterans Writing Workshop: a free, non-partisan outreach program offered by the New York University Writing Program to the veterans’ community in and around New York City.  contact person- zachary.sussman@nyu.edu

Many other colleges and universities- too many to list- also now offer writing workshops and classes specifically for veterans, who are attending school after deployment in record numbers.  If you are a veteran attending school and are interested in exploring how writing can help you, contact your veterans’ co-ordinator or the school’s writing program.

Vet’s Midwest Writing Workshop – April 23-25, 2010 midwestvetswritingworkshop.com/

VetsWrite4Life – “Veterans of war, ANY war, or veterans of the wounds of living, particularly if you are suffering from PTSD, join with a community of people who are WRITING their way back from shame. We’re following method developed by Maxine Hong Kingston in her ongoing veterans writing workshops. Tell your story as it happened or in fiction. Prose, poetry or whatever is OK as long as it’s honest. You can request feedback or not. You can ask for comments or critiques about a specific aspect of your writing that will make it clearer and stronger.” groups.yahoo.com/group/VetsWrite4Life/

The plethora of writing and art programs for veterans is testimony to the healing power of art.  As one panelist said last week at the AWP conference, “Writing kept me alive.”

If you are not a veteran but wish to be of service to those who are, almost all of the programs listed above need volunteers.  Contact them.  My work and conversations with veterans have been invaluable to me.  I hope I have given to them as much as their honesty and courage to reveal their pain have given to me.

The Multigenerational Ripple of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)