Proud to be

de Susan Swartwout

Overview: The anthology Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors showcases writing from military veterans and their families from across the nation, including writing about WWI and WWII, Vietnam, the Gulf Conflict, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The books also sponsored a veterans' writing competition, judge by stellar writers Mark Bowden (Black Hawk Down), William Trent Pancoast (WILDCAT), and soldier-poet Brian Turner (Here, Bullet and Phantom Noise). The winners and finalists are spotlighted in the front of the book. The anthology is the first in an annual series published by Southeast Missouri State University Press in cooperation with the Missouri Humanities Council's Veterans Projects and the Warriors Arts Alliance. The Missouri Humanities Council plans to expand the partnership to include additional organizations that are both concerned and supportive of American veterans.