Many students are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with stories to tell. Oxnard College is offering veterans a place and time to reflect and write about their experiences through free writing workshops in March and April. The workshops are open to anyone on campus or in the community who has served in any war and is looking for a supportive environment. The workshops will culminate with an anthology, and participants, as well as war veterans from the community, will be invited to submit work.
The free writing workshops will be held in the Student Lounge at Oxnard College, 4000 South Rose Avenue, Oxnard, on Tuesdays evenings from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on the following dates: March 16, March 23, April 6, April 13, April 20, and April 27.
The facilitator of the writing workshops is Elijah Imlay, a published poet whose work appears in Veterans of War, Veterans of Peace. He is a member of California Poets in the Schools and Maxine Hong Kingston’s Veteran Writers’ Group. He has facilitated writing workshops for veterans of war in the past. Elijah was attached to the 101 Airborne, stationed in Viet Nam in 1971. His poetry manuscript, Monsoon Blues, which recounts his experiences in Viet Nam, is forthcoming from Tebot Bach Press. Elijah works as a psychotherapist in the Transitions Program at Ventura County Behavioral Health and is also a mentor for the Institute for Applied Meditation.
This program is sponsored by Oxnard College, Poets & Writers, Inc. through a James Irvine Foundation grant, and PEN Center USA Freedom to Write. Oxnard College disabled student veterans are encouraged to attend.
For additional information, please contact Leo Orange, Oxnard College, at (805) 986-5830 or lorange@vcccd.edu. |
