Tag: Photography

Posted on

“Secondhand” in New Letters

As noted in earlier posts, my essay, “Secondhand,” was recently published in New Letters. Since publication in the print journal, we’ve worked together to make the full text available online. You can now read the essay here: Secondhand. It was important to me that this piece, in particular, be made as easily accessible as possible.

Additionally, as a follow-up to the essay, New Letters has a Special Feature wherein I answer some questions elaborating on the context and craft of the piece. It also includes some of my photography from our return trip to Vietnam with my father, John Musgrave. The feature can be found here: Getting Ahold of the Heart.

Lastly, in not-my-writing-news, my father’s memoir is now available for preorder. I recommend it for a whole host of reasons, perhaps most of all because it’s a really good book that has important things to tell us all about war and the costs we pay to wage it. The Education of Corporal John Musgrave.

Posted on

Dole Institute Program– Youtube link

Thank you to all who tuned in live to view the program “Marines Return to Vietnam” via the Dole Institute of Politics. Given 2020, and my father’s allergic reaction to modern technology, this was the first time I got to ‘see’ my father since December (2019).

For anyone who may have missed the program or who wants to view it again and/or share it with others, the Dole Institute has created a permanent recording of it on their Youtube channel. I have embedded the video below or you can visit the link directly at: Marines Return to Vietnam (on Youtube).

As always, if you would like to read more about John Musgrave, get updates about his upcoming memoir (third quarter 2021), or contact him, visit his personal site at JohnMusgraveVeteran.com.

Posted on

Dole Institute Panel Discussion- “Marines Return to Vietnam”

John Musgrave at Con Thien, 2018

This Thursday, Sept 10, I’ll be part of a panel discussion about the trip I took with my father, John Musgrave, for his first return to Vietnam in over 50 years. The program can be accessed and watched live at 3:00 CST via the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at KU. It will also be made available via their Youtube Channel to view asynchronously. Though the talk will be moderated, we’ll also be taking questions from the live-stream. I don’t anticipate speaking much, but a selection of my photographs from the trip will be part of the presentation.

The talk is well timed, as I have a short narrative nonfiction piece coming out in the Summer 2020 Issue of New Letters (arriving soon). The piece, “Secondhand,” is about the ways being raised by a combat veteran influenced me both explicitly and subconsciously. It focuses on three periods of my life when the interaction between his past and my future felt most tangible. And, perhaps also, most dire.

If you get a chance, stop by the stream and ask a question. I assure you you will not be disappointed, though you may experience deep emotions.