Join us for Saturday May 15, 2021 for a special virtual event. The Muse Writers Center and Armed Services Arts Partnership welcomes veterans and accomplished poets: Steven Blythe, Bill Glose, Libby Kurz, and Tony Mena for an evening of readings and discussions. Award winning poet and educator will moderate the discussion. This is a free event for all. Question will be taken during the program.

Pre Register for the webinar to reserve a spot and receive a link and reminder email on the day of the event. https://us02web.zoom.us/.../reg.../WN_zl74YLNvThucsJJOCZLwFQ

Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP) builds communities for veterans and their families to thrive through the arts. Since the pandemic hit, ASAP has reached veterans and military family members in 45 states and 5 countries with free virtual classes and workshops. Visit Armed Services Arts Partnership (ASAP) asapasap.org to learn more.

The Muse Writers Center is proud to offer free classes, workshops and events for active duty, veterans, family, and caregivers of the U.S. Armed Forces all year round. This event and others made possible in part through the National Endowment for the Arts.

José B. González was born in San Salvador, El Salvador, and emigrated to the United States at the age of eight. He received a BS from Bryant University, an MA from Brown University, and a PhD from the University of Rhode Island. González is the author of When Love Was Reels (Arte Público Press, 2017) and Toys Made of Rock (Bilingual Press/Editorial Bilingüe, 2015). The recipient of a 2012 Fulbright Scholarship, he teaches at the United States Coast Guard Academy and lives in Quaker Hill, Connecticut.

Steven Blythe received his B.A. degree in Creative Writing and Philosophy from Georgia State University in 1998. His poetry has appeared in American Poets Abroad , The Blue Monday Review, Crab Creek Review, The Moth Magazine, Permafrost, The Poet’s Billow, Tulane Review, Tule Review and Wasafiri Magazine. He also served as the Contest Committee Chair for the Poetry Society of Virginia from 2017 to 2019. He lives in Minneapolis, MN, where he is an MFA candidate in Poetry at the University of Minnesota.

Bill Glose is a former paratrooper and combat veteran. The author of five books of poetry, his stories, poems, and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including The Missouri Review, The Sun, Narrative Magazine, and The Writer. In 2011, he was named the Daily Press Poet Laureate and in 2017 he was featured by NPR on The Writer’s Almanac. Other honors include the F. Scott Fitzgerald Short Story Award, the Robert Bausch Fiction Award, and the Dateline Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Postscript to War won the 2020 Main Street Rag Poetry Book Award. Uniting his own combat experience with those of other veterans, Bill Glose examines the long-lasting effects of battle and the injuries that are often invisible to the naked eye. The poems in Postscript to War peel away the scab of memory to reveal the raw and tender emotions that lie within. The individual poems in this collection have won seven awards and two were nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Libby Kurz is a writer, poet, registered nurse, and US Air Force veteran. She holds a BS in Nursing from UNC-Charlotte and an MFA in Creative Writing from National University. Her work has appeared in Ruminate, Relief Journal, and Driftwood Press, among others. In 2019, Finishing Line Press published her poetry chapbook, The Heart Room, which chronicles her experiences working as a cardiothoracic nurse in Norfolk, Virginia. She has taught creative writing classes for The Muse Writers Center and the Armed Services Arts Partnership. After a decade of moving cross country with the military, she now resides in Virginia Beach with her husband, three children, and Swiss Mountain Dog.

Gerardo Mena is a decorated Iraqi Freedom veteran. He spent six years in Special Operations with the Reconnaissance Marines and was awarded a Navy Achievement Medal with a V for Valor for multiple acts of heroism while under enemy fire.
He is also a singer/songwriter and enjoys composing music and creating videos to accompany his poems.

The Muse Writers Center is a 501 c3 non profit organization and is made strong from the generosity of lovers of the literary arts like! Please, donate to the Muse today: https://the-muse.org/donate/

We have classes, workshops, and classes for all kinds of writers. Look at our online classes online now and register today. Remember, tuition assistance is always available to anyone who needs it.

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