All Library locations will be close early Wednesday, November 27, at 5 p.m. & will be closed Thursday, November 28, for Thanksgiving.
2022 Veterans Writing Workshops
Thursday, August 25, 2022
The Veterans Writing Workshop is designed to help veterans, active military, and their family members develop writing and narrative skills that can empower them to tell their stories. Each of the sessions is free and conducted by professional writers and educators, providing the same high level of instruction as a college or university writing course.
Veterans Writing Workshop sessions take place October 7, 8, and 15 at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St. The workshop series is free and open to past or present military members and family members of veterans over the age of 16. Minors must be accompanied by guardian. Lunch is provided.
Attendees must register for each session and are strongly encouraged to attend all three. For questions or to register for the series, visit the links below or call 816.701.3425.
Presented by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. and Missouri Humanities Council. Co-sponsored by the Kansas City Public Library, and Moral Injury Association of America.
2022 Sessions
Registration required for each session; lunch will be provided.
Lecturers and Discussion Leaders:
Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, Dr. Thomas McGuire, Dr. Katherine McGuire, Dr. Virginia Brackett, Dr. H. C. Palmer, Shana Youngdahl
| Session 1 - Friday October 7, 2022 | |
|---|---|
| 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Moral Injury and Its Effects |
| 12:30 – 1 p.m. | Lunch break – meals provided |
| 1 – 4 p.m. | Negotiating Your War Story in Prose |
| Event Details | RSVP Session 1 Here | |
| Session 2 - Saturday, October 8, 2022 | |
|---|---|
| 9 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Negotiating Your War Story in Poetry |
| 12:30 – 1 p.m. | Lunch break – meals provided |
| 1 – 4 p.m. | The True War Story |
| Event Details | RSVP Session 2 Here | |
| Session 3 - Saturday, October 15 | |
|---|---|
| 9 a.m. – 11:45 p.m. | Audience and Emotional Truth |
| 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. | Lunch break – meals provided |
| 12:15 – 4 p.m. | Writing to Find Truth |
| Event Details | RSVP Session 3 Here | |
About the Presenters
Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock is a leading American theologian and an expert on moral injury in combat veterans, frontline caregivers, first responders, and international humanitarian aid workers. She has offered training in recovery strategies for veterans, their families, mental health workers, professional chaplains, spiritual caregivers, social workers and the general public.
Dr. Katherine McGuire is a clinical psychologist. She specializes in trauma resolution work, including war trauma, family trauma from war, and PTSD.
Dr. Thomas McGuire is a poet. He is editor of the acclaimed literary journal, War, Literature and the Arts. He is a professor at The United States Air Force Academy and a Fulbright Scholar.
Shana Youngdahl, MFA writes poetry and prose. She currently teaches writing in the MFA program at Lindenwood University. The author of the poetry collection History, Advice and Other Half-Truths (SFSUPress), and several poetry chapbooks, Shana’s debut novel As Many Nows As I Can Get, was a Kirkus Best Book of 2019, and a New York Public Library top-ten book of 2019 (Dial/Penguin Teen). Her second novel A Catalog of Burnt Objects is forthcoming.