Announcements |

Release of AS YOU WERE: THE MILITARY REVIEW, Vol. 21

Military Experience and the Arts, Inc. is proud to announce the publication of As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 21, an edition containing more than forty works of military-themed poetry, artwork, creative nonfiction, and literary fiction.

The work of the creators featured herein delves deeply into the human experiences associated with the presence of militaries. Each of the works is emblematic of our organization’s mission of peering behind the curtain of common societal perceptions of servicemembers, their families, and their affected peers to discover rich, multilayered nuances. These are works that corageously bare all to better inform society of truths often unheard.

They’re also resultant of intense effort. The pieces submitted to us are the products of immense amounts of study, experimentation, and, quite often, vulnerability. Our editorial staff collaborates with writers to polish and perfect their creations with these things in mind.

The final piece of the puzzle is you, the reader. It’s with appreciation that we find you here ready to peruse the latest edition. We hope you enjoy the selections in As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 21. Thank you!

AS YOU WERE: THE MILITARY REVIEW, Vol. 20 Released

MEA is proud to announce the release of As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 20. This issue contains more than thirty individual works of painstakingly created poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and visual art.

Our publication seeks to initiate and explore serious inquiries into the human condition within military contexts. These are the voices and visions of active-duty servicemembers, veterans, military families, friends, and neighbors, all of whom have reflections on the myriad effects of the presence of militaries the world over, sharing what they know and feel. The individuals behind the works have worked tirelessly to craft and refine their creations, often with the mentorship of an editor on our staff who similarly believes in the value and necessity of such expressions.

The results of all of these efforts is a collaboration known as As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 20. We hope you’ll take the time to peruse this edition. Perhaps you will find humor in unexpected places or uncover tremendous depth in the seemingly mundane. Maybe you’ll laugh. Maybe you’ll be moved. Certainly you will come away with a broadened understanding of how military service affects us all.

AS YOU WERE: THE MILITARY REVIEW, Vol. 19 Released

We’re privileged to announce the release of As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 19.

This installment includes the works of nearly three dozen writers, artists, and poets, individuals who have chosen to artistically convey what they know and feel. These works are not simply war stories. The presence of militaries in societies has incredibly broad impacts whether those forces are at war or not. Service can incur significant health risks. Children’s parents serve at home and abroad, reshaping family dynamics. Spouses and partners deal with absences as well as the joys and potential hardships of their loved ones’ return. Friends and neighbors agonize over the fate of children born into military families, wondering if they’ll carry on a fraught legacy. These many perspectives are representative of only a few of the many ways in which military service affects us all.

The works included in this edition are also emblematic of the intense efforts involved in crafting creative work. Each finished piece or poem comes only at the end of a long, difficult process involving countless drafts and iterations before their creators submitted them to us. In most cases they have continued the process of revision with our editors, who collaborate with them through draft after draft, honing their skills in their respective crafts and polishing their works in preparation to bring them to you, our readers.

Everyone involved shares in the conviction that this is a necessary labor in order to ensure that our society is informed, and that the human experience is recorded. We deeply appreciate your role in this endeavor and hope you can find entertainment, enrichment, and edification in the pages of As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 19.

AS YOU WERE: THE MILITARY REVIEW, Vol. 18 Released

MEA is proud to announce the release of As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 18. This edition contains over thirty works in literary fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and artwork.

The works in this volume are representative of the full spectrum of those impacted by military service – combat veterans, war orphans, or citizens who’ve felt the pull of history. They are all important additions to the literary and artistic canon surrounding military service.

These additions are the result of sincere and immense effort on the part of their creators, too, many of whom have worked closely with our editors to hone their respective crafts. The work is not easy – our editors are exacting and the rigors of creative expression are demanding. This edition, like the others, is built word by word, brushstroke by brushstroke, and draft by draft, an intense labor of the mind and quite often an act of vulnerability of the heart. These writers, poets, and artists, though, understand that such effort and forthrightness is crucial in creating an empathetic space in which we can learn about the lives of others as well as our own.

See what you can learn about others, yourself, and our society in As You Were: The Military Review, Vol. 18.