Lauren Belski over at Electric Literature’s blog, The Outlet, covered last week’s Brooklyn Reading Works special Veteran’s Day event, Writing War, which featured veterans who write fiction (and memoir) about Vietnam and Iraq. Here’s an excerpt:

Back when I was in public school I used to know it was Veterans’ Day because we had a day off. Now I know because of NPR. On 5th Avenue in Park Slope at 8pm last Thursday, the street felt the same as ever–sushi shops and happy hour crowds collecting in the usual numbers. But back in the Old Stone House in Park Slope, a place that is known for withstanding centuries of gentrification, not to mention the savage beginnings of the Revolutionary War, Louise Crawford, curator of Brooklyn Reading Works, knew what kind of mood to set for the latest installment of her series, “Writing War.” “Indeed the sight of the Battle of Brooklyn,” she announced as she welcomed the crowd, “one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War, is an appropriate setting for this literary event which will highlight writers who know war first hand.”

A video of the reading, recorded by Park Slope filmmaker Leslie Topping, is viewable at Vimeo.