Vernon Invites Veterans To Tell Their Stories

Press release from:

Sept. 9, 2020

You are invited to a free writing workshop intended to teach Veterans how to tell the stories of their service in the armed forces. The workshop is scheduled for Sunday, September 20, 2020 at Arts Center East, 709 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon. The workshop is sponsored by Arts Center East, the Vernon Arts Commission, and Poetry Rocks.

Two Veterans who have written poetry about their time in the military will lead the workshop.
Dr. Michael Lepore, a retired orthodontist from Glastonbury, is a Navy Dental Corps veteran and Glastonbury’s Poet Laureate. His active duty service was with the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina from 1968 to 1970. He has written four books of poetry about the Vietnam experience, “Forgotten Heroes,” “Vietnam Voices,” “Moral Injury” and “My Inner Eye.” He has won awards from the Military Writers Society of America.

Jennifer Glick of Wethersfield, a poet and veteran of the Army Nurse Corps, served in Vietnam at the 67th Evacuation Hospital in Qui Nhon and at the 6th Convalescent Hospital in Cam Ranh Bay. She will join Lepore in leading the workshop. She is an active member of two writing groups, the Back Room Poets and the Veterans’ Writing Group.

A poetry reading by Lepore, Glick and Rockville High School student poet Maddy Brouillard will follow the workshop.

Because of social distancing guidelines, attendance at each event is limited. The workshop is limited to six people, seated six feet apart. The reading is limited to 20 people, first come, first seated.

DATE: Sunday, September 20, 2020

TIME: 2 p.m. – Workshop
3 p.m. – Poetry reading

PLACE: Arts Center East, 709 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon

To register for the workshop, please contact Vernon Poet Laureate Pegi Deitz Shea at pegideitzshea@aol.com.

This press release was produced by the Town of Vernon. The views expressed here are the author's own.