Blue Streak: A Journal of Military Poetry | ISSN: 2331-5040
The first volume of Blue Streak: A Journal of Military Poetry features 54 poems by 43 poets. These poets range from veterans of the second World War, to veterans of the conflicts in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, to military family members attempting to capture the meaning of “service” in all of its forms. An outgrowth of the poetry component of The Journal of Military Experience, this volume was edited by Wanda Fries, a prolific author and poet whose works include In the Absence of Angels, Ash Grove, and Cassandra Among the Greeks. Each poet represented in this volume, regardless of time in service, previous publications, or worldview, was given the opportunity to work one-on-one with Military Experience and the Arts editors. Each poem, in its unique application of verse to military experience, was peer-reviewed and chosen for publication based on merit and originality.
View the first volume of Blue Streak: A Journal of Military Poetry as a PDF here.
Click on any work’s title below to view it individually:
Front Matter & Table of Contents
Introduction
— Wanda FriesNightmare
— Mike SukachDragon Fruit Cacti, Vietnam, 1970
— Bruce SydowTags
— AnonymousPassing Storm
— Craig W. SteeleIn Under a Minute
— Doug SelfIn Afghanistan’s Fields
— Chris HeatherlyMy Name Is Ruthie, Your Nightly Nurse
— Jack Thomas KirtMasks of PTSD
— Judy BellRadio Call
— William HowertonSunset over Baghdad
— William HowertonValhalla
— Virgil HustonRamp Ceremony
— Virgil HustonAfghanistan’s Flanders Fields
— Virgil HustonSoft Spots
— Mariecor AgravanteThe Afghan Blood House
— Gabriel TolliverHanging by a Thread
— Kevin HoughUnseen
— Heather SappCombat Infantry Bro (CIB)
— Robert MooneyhamWorking
— Jeremy CoxBlood Brothers
— Winfield GouldenHonor
— Joseph MillerOn Being the Only Veteran in English Comp II
— Jennifer ChildressThe Welcome Tour: Camp Smedley Butler, Okinawa
— David S. PointerThe High Score Scandal
— David S. PointerTraining Riley
— David S. Pointer2 Miles Down the Road
— Ryan BarryThe Poet As Survivor Assistance Officer
— Ed ColettiShowtime
— Ryan KochHe Never Shut Up
— Liz DolanArmy Surplus 1948
— Liz DolanWhen the Darkness Calls
— James Heavy HackbarthPull Out
— Monty JoynesViet Nam Village, Ft. Polk
— Monty JoynesThe Helicopters Came
— Michael LythgoeWolfman Jack
— Thomas Michael McDadeI Keep Moving
— Jennifer PacanowskiIn The Heat of Battle
— Kerry PardueQuartz Mountain Modern Art Exhibit
— Jason PoudrierThe Smell of Blood
— Suzanne S. RancourtWhy I Don’t Meditate
— Suzanne S. RancourtLZ Some Hill Somewhere
— Fred RosenblumTriggers
— Patricia Lee StotterAn AWOL God
— Dick HattanHomecoming
— Dick Hattan40 Years Too Late
— Dick HattanVeterans Day
— Dick HattanDivergence
— Dylan Reyes-CairoTHE ARMY (with apologies to Kipling)
— Geoff SuttonLethe
— Farzana MarieDamn Agent Orange
— Randall BergA War Film Documentary
— Stanley NoahParanoia
— Travis L. MartinRifling About
— Travis L. MartinThe Dead of Peleliu Speak
— William Lincoln Simon