Writing the Next Generation of American War Literature

The Spring 2010 issue of VQR includes a short essay I wrote on Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans in MFA workshops. The piece examines how the structure and ethos of the MFA workshop might affect the next generation of American war literature, and vice versa. Below are short stories, poems, and essays written by some of the writers I interviewed for the essay. For those particularly interested in the topic, I have also included links to a military-themed writers’ workshop and a literary magazine focusing on the culture of war in America, both founded by writers who appear in the piece.

• Roy Scranton: “Rome Unit I”, “War Porn 3”
• Roman Skaskiw: “E-mail From Afghanistan”, “Home Fires”
• Brian Van Reet: “Blood Groove”, “Tower Six”
• Sally Drumm: Milspeak Foundation
• George Kovach: Consequence Magazine