Dear Friends of the Center for the Study of War and Society,
We invite you to hear Dr. Susan Eastman (UTC) speak on “The Evolution of the Veterans’ Writing Group at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga” .
The free event takes place Feb. 25 (Thursday), noon, in the seminar space in Hoskins Library, 2d floor.
Bio:
Dr. Susan L. Eastman is a Lecturer in English at UTC. Her father is a Vietnam veteran and she received her PhD in American literature and culture from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She has a forthcoming book with the University of Tennessee Press, in 2017, entitled The American War in Viet Nam: Cultural Memory at the Turn of the Century.
Here is a UTC press release (March 11, 2015) on the Veterans Writing Group:
“For a military veteran, adjusting to college life may be a difficult transition. In an effort to help assist student veterans and their families, the UTC Student Veterans Organization (SVO) has teamed up with the Department of English to offer a new veterans writing group.
The group meets several times a semester for a creative writing workshop. Participants are encouraged to express their thoughts through fiction, memoir, poetry, screenplays, song, and more.
Supported by the UTC Department of English and the Chattanooga Community Foundation, the purpose of the writing group is to facilitate a space of normalcy and a healthy sense of community among veterans at UTC.
“Their writing is varied. It’s not all autobiographical. Tones from the pieces range from humorous to patriotic to anti-war,” Dr. Susan L. Eastman, Lecturer in the UTC Department of English and Co-Facilitator of the writing group, said.
“Though we focus on improving their writing during the workshop, I hope students and their families can form a close knit support system,” she continued.
Jordan Betbeze, an Army veteran and member of SVO, approached the English Department after hearing about a similar group at another university.
“One of the goals of the SVO is for veterans to experience college, not just attend classes. This group helps veterans spend time with other veterans and hopefully help ease the transition from military to civilian life,” he said.”
(One of the earliest veteran writers, Thucydides)