Brooklyn Reading Works presents: Writing War: Fiction, Memoir, Poetry from Vets curated by Peter Catapano of the New York Times at the Old Stone House, site of the first and bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War. $5 Suggested donation includes wine and refreshments.
In honor of Veterans Day, veteran/writers provide insight into what it means to be a soldier in the 21st century. This is a must-see event. Important. Powerful. Pertinent.
Anthony Swofford, acclaimed author of Jarheadand a new memoir Hotels, Hospitals and Jailswill be on hand, as well as Maurice Decaul, Matt Gallagher, Philip Klay, Mariette Kalinowski and Roy Scranton
When: Thursday, November 15 at 8PM:
Where: The Old Stone House (336 Third Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215 between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, 718-768-9135 or 718-288-4290) site of the very bloody Battle of Brooklyn, the first and largest conflict of the Revolution.
BIOS OF THE PARTICIPATING AUTHORS:
Maurice Decaul is a former Marine who served in Iraq in 2003. He is a poet, essayist and librettist whose work has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek.com and Sierra Magazine, and has poems forthcoming in Barely South Review. He recently appeared as a poet and performer in the multimedia show “Holding It Down,” which premiered at Harlem Stage in September.
Matt Gallagher is Senior Fellow at the nonprofit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. A former Army cavalry captain, he is the author of the Iraq war memoir “Kaboom” and co-editor of the forthcoming Fire and Forget.
Mariette Kalinowski served in the U.S. Marine Corps between 2002 and 2010, deploying twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her short story “The Train” will appear in “Fire and Forget.” She currently studies fiction in the Hunter College Master of Fine Arts program.
Phil Klay is a Marine Corps veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and a graduate of the MFA program at Hunter College. His work has been published by The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Granta and elsewhere. Forthcoming, he has a story in “Fire and Forget” and a short story collection to be published by Penguin Press in 2013.
Roy Scranton is an Iraq War veteran whose poetry, fiction and essays have appeared in LIT, The Massachusetts Review, New Letters, the New York Times, Theory & Event, and elsewhere. He is a co-editor of “Fire and Forget.”
Anthony Swofford, a veteran of the first Gulf War, is the author of the memoirs “Jarhead” and “Hotels, Hospitals, and Jails” and the novel “Exit A.” He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and daughter.
Peter Catapano, the curator of the event, is an editor in the opinion section of The New York Times, where he develops and edits series fo the Times website, including Home Fires, which features the writing of United States military veterans. His writing has appeared in several publications in the past 15 years, including Salon, The New York Times, ARTNews, Killing the Buddha and elsewhere.