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A series of summer programs conducted by the William Joiner Center for the Study of War and Social Consequences reached out to schools, teachers, writers, and the Hispanic community, and overseas to Vietnam.
In early June four noted writers visited selected public schools in Boston to instruct Latino students in the art of writing. The week of instruction by Alan West, Charley Trujillo, Yrene Santos, and Naomi Ayala culminated in a day-long conference at UMass Boston for some 170 students who participated in a morning workshop and an afternoon reading of their work.
The 12th annual Writers' Workshop attracted over 160 participants for a two-week conference, which featured recipients of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize among its faculty. From June 20 through July 2 participants attended classes, workshops, panels, seminars, and faculty readings on the subject of war and writing. Coordinator T. Michael Sullivan opened the workshop with an address on Writing and Wonder.
Four writers from Vietnam &emdash; Nam Ha, Thu Bon, Ngan Vinh, and Quang Huy &emdash; joined Irish writers John F. Deane and Eva Bourke and a US faculty highlighted by Grace Paley, Tim O'Brien, Robert Creeley, Yusef Komunyakaa, and Carolyn Forche.
As part of a weekend for the Hispanic community, authors Demetria Martinez, Martin Espada, Alan West, Norberto James, and Pedro Pietri, offered readings, panels and classes at neighborhood locations in Boston. The Hispanic Workshop was coordinated by Jaime Rodriguez of the Joiner Center and Jack Fagan, S.J., pastor of St. Mary of the Angels Church in Roxbury.
Workshop panels presented the experiences of Vietnamese writers from both sides of the conflict as well as the views of American veteran writers, including Doug Anderson, Bruce Weigl, and Larry Heinemann. Lady Borton, a humanitarian worker in Vietnam, presented three documentary films. Christopher Merrill, a poet, offered his insights into the Balkan conflicts.
The Vietnam Institute, a three-day seminar focusing on teaching the war in Vietnam in the secondary school curriculum, hosted 25 high school teachers from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. This year's theme was The Veteran as Witness: Bringing Vietnam Veterans into the Classroom. Coordinator Paul Atwood outlined students' perceptions of the war in his remarks. In addition to exchange of methods and materials, the institute focused on how teachers might prepare students and veterans for classroom oral histories.
Presenters included Stephen Sossaman, a professor of English at Westfield State College and a Vietnam veteran who has recruited and trained veterans to speak in high schools as a co-founder of the Veterans Education Project, and Jerry Lembcke, an army veteran of Vietnam and professor of sociology at Holy Cross College and author of The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory and the Legacy of Vietnam, a work challenging the notion of the abusive homecoming for veterans while acknowledging the hostile atmosphere. Christian Appy, author of Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers in Vietnam, discussed the class distinctions that saw a disproportionate number of working-class soldiers involved in the war.
Another Brother, a PBS documentary, offered a look at the problems confronting black soldiers upon their return to civilian society. The film was presented by Elena Schwolsky-Fitch, who was part-producer. Marilyn Young, a professor of history at New York University, again moderated the discussions.
Last, Vietnam Today, a collaborative program with the East Asian Studies Program and International Relations, brought students to Hue, Vietnam, for three weeks of instruction in the history, culture, literature, and politics of Vietnam. Participants in the program regularly interact with Vietnamese people and visit the cultural landmarks of the country. Nguyen Ba Chung, educational outreach specialist at the Joiner Center, served as the coordinator of the study-tour. -- T. Michael Sullivan |
