Military Experience & the Arts

16/07/2024

"Giant Robot Poems" are on the march, on the move, and in mailboxes worldwide! Where is *your* Giant Robot? Where is your Giant Robot taking you?!

"Giant Robot Poems: On Mecha-Human Science, Culture & War"
Kindle e-book: https://amzn.to/4bq7AN7
Print: https://amzn.to/3xKtrjx

15/07/2024

Submissions for artwork, fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry are now open!

About the Publication and Organization Military Experience & the Arts invites submissions from veterans, family members, and civilians exploring military themes in the genres of fiction, nonfic…

08/07/2024

Submissions will be open from July 15, 2024 to July 30, 2024, and we're looking for military-themed creative nonfiction, literary fiction, poetry, and artwork. See our submissions page for more details!

About the Publication and Organization Military Experience & the Arts invites submissions from veterans, family members, and civilians exploring military themes in the genres of fiction, nonfic…

26/06/2024

Brig Berthold’s nonfiction piece, “One Day,” describes a situation that is perhaps more common than often discussed, in that some have significant struggles before joining the military.

by Brig Berthold The sadness started small. I don’t know when but it always seemed to be there. I remember when sadness felt weak and I turned to anger. When anger proved fruitless, I returned to s…

25/06/2024

Elvis Leighton’s essay, “After Action Review,” is a compelling, frightening look at what amounted to an average operation during the Iraq War

by Elvis Leighton The relentless Iraqi sun slants through the open windows of the Hemtt. Dust devils pirouette around our four-vehicle convoy, miniature sandstorms taunting us and reminding us we a…

25/06/2024

Michael Staelens had a surprising tour in Vietnam with the Air Force during which he became a radio DJ. Read about it in his fascinating nonfiction story, “FM Tuy Hoa”

by Michael Staelens It was Vietnam, 1969. I was on my way north, flying in a noisy, shaky cargo plane ready to report to my new assignment. Marines, soldiers, and airmen were strapped to ribbon sea…

24/06/2024

Richard H. Smiley’s account of serving with an advisory team in Vietnam details what it was like to have a bounty on one’s head

by Richard H. Smiley Many years after the Vietnam war, I learned the Viet Cong put prices on the heads of certain American advisors. As a 1st Lieutenant, twenty-three years old and leading a mobile…

23/06/2024

Gabrielle Nigmond’s powerful essay reflects on her time as a military spouse and what it's meant for her life

by Gabrielle Nigmond 2004 The first time Kevin farted in front of me, I had been driving him back to base at 0530. We had just finished having what I like to call “ice-pack-worthy” s*x …

22/06/2024

Catherine Smart’s compelling creative nonfiction essay, “Ten Years, Eight Months, Five Days,” is a must-read for those who wonder what challenges women face in the military

by Catherine Smart I didn’t know where to sit. The back rows were too far away to see the ceremony, so I ruled those out. I drove almost an hour in DC Friday traffic for this. Each front seat bore …

21/06/2024

Next up in creative nonfiction is Caroline Neal’s recollection of her harrowing experience with an off-base peeping tom in Hawaii, “In the Dark, 1985”

by Caroline Neal I’m sweaty. The streetlamp’s light spills in and out of the room. The trees rustle. Somewhere inside the house slides a centipede. A few nights ago, I saw the creature slither over…

20/06/2024

“That Damned Dust” is a powerful story of memory and growth involving a Marine’s experience in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province

by Bob Ritchie The sun rests on its mid-morning perch. The steep angle of the summer rays reflect off of every surface, scorching all that lack shade while the humidity seals in the heat like a Tup…

19/06/2024

Chris McClelland’s tale tells the story of a troubled Vietnam veteran’s imaginative escapism in “No More Tragic Kingdoms”

by Chris McClelland The first time I met Galen Brookline was at his intake appointment with me for occupational therapy almost two decades ago. He came in with his older sister, Laura, a portly ste…

18/06/2024

Richard D. Hudson’s indelible experience in the Reserve Officer Training Corps is the subject of his first published creative nonfiction piece, “Short Time”

by Richard D. Hudson It was June 1981. Synchronizing our pace, my dad led me to Carlisle Hall, headquarters of the military science department on the University of Texas at Arlington campus where I…

17/06/2024

Libby Gerdes’ creative nonfiction story, “First,” is evocative mediation on the concept of heartbreak from the perspective of a daughter whose father served in Afghanistan

by Libby Gerdes “I wanna make you fall in love as hard as my poor parents’ teenage daughter,” I sang along to Phoebe Bridgers as I drove through Kentucky countryside in the floral delivery van. Tho…

16/06/2024

June 16
Title: “Fakarava Shores”
Artist: Travis Weaver
Medium: watercolor
Size: 4.5” x 7”

15/06/2024

Title: “Knocking Off Early”
Artist: Mary Senter
Medium: pen and ink
Size: 7” x 20”

14/06/2024

Title: “Find Another Word for Guilt – Pride”
Artist: Michelle Cyr
Medium: oil on aluminum panel
Size: 18” x 20”

13/06/2024

“Hilton Adviivka” by Sándor Jászberényi’s short story, “Hilton Adviivka,” is a fictional story based on his time as a war correspondent on the front lines in Ukraine

by Sándor Jászberényi The apartment building had shattered windows. In the darkness at the entrance, a BTR stood with its door ajar. A fifty-year-old man, barefoot, sat in the armored vehicle, smok…

12/06/2024

Ali Watts’ short story, “WBLN,” artfully blends the humorous absurdity and tragic horror that characterized the Iraq War

by Ali Watts We are four weeks out from REFRAD (Release From Active Duty) and Weber and Marion’s constant chorus of “Won’t be long now!” is running on serious repeat. Last week, it got annoying eno…

11/06/2024

Ryan Hunke’s “Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant: A Villanelle,” is a touching tribute to a departed military officer and an examination of the often-felt regret at having lost touch

by Ryan Hunke (“Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant” mobile version) For CPT John King—“¡Viva Brasil!” “Go Pack!” Dear John— I saw you died on Facebook. I’m so sorry that you’re gone. …

10/06/2024

Phil Carson’s poem, “After the War,” touches on the dark silence in which wartime service is often shrouded

by Phil Carson (“After the War” mobile version)   He doesn’t come home at night To return, or to stay and weep, He doesn’t talk about the war. Tributes to forgotten friends, Rememb…

09/06/2024

“21 Words,” a poem by Philip Venzke, looks at the heart-wrenching brevity of a telegram, the historical method by which family members were notified that a loved one had been killed or wounded

by Philip Venzke – Farmer right forearm on barn face in elbow left hand yawning above the weeds crumpled telegram of twenty-one words forever lost – – – Philip Venzke grew u…

08/06/2024

Susan Shea’s poem, “Hanging On,” explores the memories and meanings among the objects left behind by a father who’s passed on

by Susan Shea – I was the last one to be in your empty condo, taking the final walk around before surrendering the key to the new owners checking everything was in order I found your world wa…

07/06/2024

Faye Srala’s poem, “Who Amongst Us Can Judge,” takes a look at a tumultuous marriage on the fringes of poverty that often touches military families

by Faye Srala (“Who Amongst Us Can Judge” mobile version) -“Anyplace is heaven, just as long as I’m with you.” —“Just as Long as I’m With You” Pat Boone, released in 1956 – He wa…

06/06/2024

Brandi Zinnel’s poem, “Sifting Sand through Our Toes with Military Friends on the Beach in Monterey, California,” recalls a special evening on a beach

by Brandi Zinnel (“Sifting Sand Through Our Toes on a Beach in Monterey, California” mobile version) Beneath me I see pale limbs, Disappearing into granules of sand, White bulb toes pus…

05/06/2024

“The Curtain I Have Drawn for You,” a poem by J.D. Isip, offers its readers an examination of the juxtaposition of the natural world with the weapons of war

by J.D. Isip -The(“The Curtain I Have Drawn for You” mobile version) Nellis AFB, 1994 Half-a-dozen pairs of gold eyes refract the moon or the bug-smeared spot glowing against the nose …

04/06/2024

Benjamin Bellet penned a delightful paean to the kind of character often encountered during military service in his poem, “Paean for Richard Wilson”

by Benjamin Bellet – Private Wilson, I’ve had it with you. Close your cock-holster and get in line. It’s time for weapons issue and no-one here gives two sh*ts about your dead mama, your dea…

03/06/2024

Irene Winslow’s wonderful rendition of the exposure to and blending of the regional differences within the US as experienced the melting pot of the military is encapsulated in her poem, “Yankee Sensibilities”

by Irene T. Winslow – My first breakfast —–in the Army ———-Fort McClellan —————Alabama I can’t believe —–they are servi…

02/06/2024

The machinery of modern war leaves a heavy imprint on its character, as is detailed in “CH-47 OEF,” a poem by Earl Weigelt

by Earl Weigelt (“CH-47 OEF” mobile version)   Should something called “aircraft” resemble a hippo? Or maybe a buffalo, perhaps a rhino? Great bulbous goggle-eyed flying machine th…