Randy Brown
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About Randy Brown
Freelance writer and citizen-soldier by day, and secret (writing as "Charlie Sherpa") blogger by night, Randy Brown was preparing in 2010 to deploy as the sole "knowledge manager" for an Iowa National Guard unit of 3,000 soldiers. ("Historian, librarian, lessons-learned reporter--it was sexier to say my job was "Brigade Staff Jester,'" he jokes.) After a paperwork SNAFU dropped him off the list, he retired with 20 years of military service and a previous deployment.
He then went to Afghanistan anyway, embedding with his former colleagues as a civilian journalist. He continues to write about military topics at his blog, Red Bull Rising; about 21st century war poetry at the FOB Haiku blog; and about "military writing" techniques and markets at The Aiming Circle blog.
Brown is a three-time poetry finalist in the Col. Darron L. Wright memorial writing awards administered by the literary journal Line of Advance. He was the 2015 winner of the inaugural Madigan Award for humorous military-themed writing, presented by Negative Capability Press, Mobile, Ala. He was the 2012 winner of the Military Reporters and Editors' (M.R.E.) independent-blogging category, and was a finalist in the Milblogging.com awards' veteran (2011) and reporter (2012) categories.
He is the current poetry editor at the literary journal As You Were, published twice a year by the non-profit Military Experience & the Arts. He is also a member of Military Reporters & Editors, the Military Writers Guild, and the Military Writers Society of America.
He then went to Afghanistan anyway, embedding with his former colleagues as a civilian journalist. He continues to write about military topics at his blog, Red Bull Rising; about 21st century war poetry at the FOB Haiku blog; and about "military writing" techniques and markets at The Aiming Circle blog.
Brown is a three-time poetry finalist in the Col. Darron L. Wright memorial writing awards administered by the literary journal Line of Advance. He was the 2015 winner of the inaugural Madigan Award for humorous military-themed writing, presented by Negative Capability Press, Mobile, Ala. He was the 2012 winner of the Military Reporters and Editors' (M.R.E.) independent-blogging category, and was a finalist in the Milblogging.com awards' veteran (2011) and reporter (2012) categories.
He is the current poetry editor at the literary journal As You Were, published twice a year by the non-profit Military Experience & the Arts. He is also a member of Military Reporters & Editors, the Military Writers Guild, and the Military Writers Society of America.
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Blog postAuthor Steven L. Moore, a former Iowa National Guard citizen-soldier who deployed with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (B.C.T.), 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division (2-34th BCT) to Afghanistan in 2010-2011, will conduct book talks in Iowa City and Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 23 and Jan. 24, 2020.
A 2010 graduate of the University of Iowa and now a resident of Oregon, Moore wrote "The Longer We Were There: A Memoir of a Part-Time Soldier," a collection of essays that won the2 weeks ago Read more -
Blog postFeaturing more than 60 leading and emerging writers of military- and war-themed fiction, non-fiction, journalism, poetry, and more, the anthology "Why We Write: Craft Essays on Writing War" launches TODAY, Dec. 10, 2019 in both print and Kindle e-book formats! The Middle West Press LLC project is in partnership with the Military Writers Guild. Contributors include service members past and present, as well as scholars, historians, journalists, and civilians with experiences in internati2 months ago Read more
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Blog postIn a one-of-a-kind anthology, more than 60 leading and emerging writers—novelists, essayists, journalists, poets, podcasters, playwrights, and more—offer their professional how-to secrets, techniques, and inspirations around themes of war and the military.
Published in partnership with the non-profit Military Writers Guild, “Why We Write: Craft Essays about Writing War” is projected to be published Dec. 10, 2019. The line-up of notable and best-selling authors includes, in no partic4 months ago Read more -
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Blog postFiction Book Review: "Still Come Home" by Katey Schultz
Katey Schultz is an educator and author based in North Carolina. In 2013, Schultz delivered "Flashes of War," an award-winning collection of 31 short stories, generated around U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each story is each told from the perspective of a single character, and many resolved in only two or three pages. Writing in the mode of "flash-fiction" forces an author to pare down5 months ago Read more -
Blog postThe writer of the Red Bull Rising blog will be presenting as part of a panel at the 2019 National Convention for Americans for the Arts, Minneapolis, Minn. "Changing and Honoring the Narrative of Military Experience" will be presented from 1:45 to 3 p.m. Sat., June 15, at the Hilton Minneapolis, 1001 Marquette Ave., Minneapolis.
Randy Brown embedded with his former Iowa Army National Guard unit as a civilian journalist in Afghanistan, May-June 2011. He authored the 2015 po8 months ago Read more -
Blog postPHOTO BY: U.S. Army Sgt. Ken ScarThis post, written by the author of "FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire," originally appeared on the Red Bull Rising blog April 6, 2016.
When packing for one of my first training experiences with the U.S. Army, back in the late 1980s, I knew that free time and footlocker space would be at a premium. I could live without luxuries like my Walkman cassette player for a few months. I also wanted to avoid avoid too much gruff from drill s10 months ago Read more -
Blog postFive Iowa military veterans—four of them alumni of 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division—will share stories of their respective military experiences in the last installment of the Des Moines Register's "Storytellers Project" 2018 season. Stage performances are 5:30 and 8 p.m., Thurs., Dec. 6. 2018 at The Tea Room, 713 Walnut St. No. 600, Des Moines, Iowa.
Ticket information is here.
Previous 2018 performances in the series have included themes on rural l1 year ago Read more -
Blog postWhen military reporter Tom Philpott first encountered the tragic story of an Army family that lost its way during the wartime captivity of its patriarch, Floyd James "Jim" Thompson, he could hardly have predicted the journey would include more than a decade of reporting; publishing his work not as journalism, but as oral history; and soon to be an English-language opera to be performed Nov. 16-18 2018 on the campus of the Iowa National Guard's Camp Dodge, located in Johnston, Iowa.
1 year ago Read more -
Blog postAuthor, actor, and former U.S. Marine Benjamin Busch signs a copy of his 2012 memoir "Dust to Dust" at the 2018 War, Literature & the Arts conference conducted September 20 and 21 at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Photo: Jesse GoolsbyEditor's note: This blog post has been cross-posted from The Aiming Circle, where we cover news and tips regarding military-themed writing.
More than 600 academics, students, creators, and others attended the 2018 War, Literature & t1 year ago Read more -
Blog postEditors of "Flyway: The Journal of Writing & Environment" have announced that poet Randy Brown is the winner of their 2018 "Untold Stories" contest. The annual competition focuses on amplifying voices from marginalized populations.
This year's competition called for poetry, creative non-fiction, fiction, and hybrid forms produced by past and present military service members and family. Brown receives a prize of $250 for two new poems, "Better Hooches and1 year ago Read more -
Blog postDuluth-based author and U.S. Air Force veteran Eric Chandler signs a book after a Q&A discussion at the Spirit of the North Theater, Duluth, Minn., June 2. The free public event was part of a weekend "Bridging the Gap" workshop for military veterans, families, and others who are exploring military topics and themes in their writing. Photo by Andria Williams.Waves crashed against black rocks on a cold and blustery weekend in Duluth, Minn., while a small group of military write2 years ago Read more
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Blog postRandy Brown, author of the 2015 collection "Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire," was recently named a poetry finalist in the 2018 Col. Darron L. Wright awards. The award recognizes a new poem that unpacks the phrase "God willing," which is found in multiple languages.
Brown's poem, "Inshallah Mañana," explores the connections of language, as heard with the ears of a citizen-soldier. The soldier first encounters the phrase for &q2 years ago Read more -
Blog postJeff Sharlet during service in VietnamThe submissions window for a fourth Jeff Sharlet Memorial Award for Veterans writing contest opens Tues., May 1, 2018 and closes June 1, 2018. The contest is open to any service member or veteran writing in any genre, about any subject matter. (Current students, faculty, or staff of the University of Iowa, however, are not eligible to enter the contest.)
The contest is hosted by The Iowa Review and made possible by the family of Jeff Sharlet (192 years ago Read more -
Blog postU.S. Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Briana Popp donned her drill sergeant hat during a graduation ceremony at Fort Jackson, S.C. March 8, 2017. Popp earned the titles of Iron Female and Distinguished Honor Graduate and will be a drill sergeant with the 98th Training Division (Initial Entry Training). Popp was the first female Distinguished Honor Graduate in the past six cycles and happened to graduate in March, which is Women's History Month. Coincidentally, Popp's graduation day was International Wome2 years ago Read more
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Blog postIn her second electric collection, "Permanent Change of Station," poet, mother, and U.S. Marine Corps spouse Lisa Stice lovingly interrogates and illuminates life in a modern military family. The 96-page trade paperback is available for $11.99 U.S. purchase via Amazon and other booksellers worldwide. A $5.99 U.S. Amazon Kindle edition is available as well. Via Amazon's "MatchBook" program, a bonus Kindle copy is available FREE for instant download to purchasers of the print e2 years ago Read more
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Blog postPHOTO BY: U.S. Army Sgt. Ken ScarThis post, written by the author of "FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire," originally appeared on the Red Bull Rising blog April 6, 2016.
When packing for one of my first training experiences with the U.S. Army, back in the late 1980s, I knew that free time and footlocker space would be at a premium. I could live without luxuries like my Walkman cassette player for a few months. I also wanted to avoid avoid too much gruff from drill s2 years ago Read more -
Blog postIn her soon-to-be-published second collection of poetry, titled "Permanent Change of Station," Lisa Stice lovingly interrogates and illuminates life in a military family with a young daughter—exploring the in-betweens of separation and connection, and the quest for finding one’s place in the world.
With an anticipated on-sale date of April 23, 2018, "Permanent Change of Station" (100 pages, Middle West Press LLC) will be available in a $11.99 trade paper edition2 years ago Read more -
Blog postIn its Iowa premiere, the 2017 documentary "Journey to Normal: Women of War Come Home" will be shown in an exclusive, one-time engagement on the Boone, Iowa campus of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) at 7 p.m., Thurs., March 22, 2018.
A Q&A session with producer and director JulieHera DeStefano will follow the 93-minute film.
Hundreds of women service members were interviewed for the film project, and plans call for their stories to be archived an2 years ago Read more -
Blog postEditors at the literary journal "As You Were," published by the 501(c)3 non-profit organization Military Experience & the Arts, have published a special spring 2018 edition of the poetry journal "Blue Streak."
The issue features 27 poems from 25 military veterans and family members, and can be read on-line FREE here at this link.
The special project takes its name from a legacy poetry journal, which published its first and only edition in 2013. I2 years ago Read more -
Blog postTwo nationally recognized independent short films will be featured in a "In Their Boots Film Festival" presentation 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., Feb. 26, on the Boone, Iowa campus of Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). A short Q&A session will follow, regarding the uses of the theatrical arts as a means of communicating experiences with the military.
A Facebook page for the event is here.
The event is co-sponsored by the DMACC-Boone student group In Their B2 years ago Read more -
Blog postThe annual Association of Writers & Writing Programs (A.W.P.) national conference is March 7-10, 2018. It will be the 51st anniversary of the event. This year, it's being held in Tampa, Fla.
The annual event brings together approximately 12,000 writers, educators, students, editors, and publishers, and travels to different cities each year. A concurrent bookfair showcases more than 800 exhibitors.
A searchable, on-line schedule for the event2 years ago Read more -
Blog postDarron L. Wright PHOTO: Line of AdvanceCreators of the Chicago-based digital military-lit journal "Line of Advance" have recently called for submissions to the Third Annual Col. Darron L. Wright writing awards. The contest is named after a U.S. Army officer and author who served on three Iraq War deployments, who was killed in a stateside parachute training accident on Sept. 23, 2013. He was 45.
Line of Advance Editor Chris Lyke writes:Thanks to a generous donation from th2 years ago Read more -
Blog postDeadline for submissions to a seventh volume titled "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors"—an anthology of military-themed fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, oral histories, and photography—is June 1, 2018. The project is open to all military personnel, veterans, and family members.
According to the call for submissions, each category carries a first-prize of $250. All entries will be considered for the anthology. There is no entry fee to the contest or publication2 years ago Read more -
Blog postPHOTO: Army Spc. Jess Nemec and 1st Lt. Sarah Johnson/Released
Blog-editor's note: This post was originally published on the Red Bull Rising blog Dec. 23, 2013, and again here at the now-archived mil-blog digest "The Sandbox." Starting in 2014, we FRAGO'd the dates and the illumination data, and topped it off anew with a holiday shot (above) from the Minnesota National Guard's 2nd Battalion, 147th Assault Helicopter (2-147 A.H.B.), 34th Combat Aviation Brigade (34th CAB).2 years ago Read more -
Blog postFrom the writer of the Red Bull Rising blog! New work includes "10 haiku about Operation Desert Storm," appears in the latest volume of "Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors" anthology series, released earlier this week! Written in the snarky spirit of "Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire," the work includes such gems as:Saddam promises
the “Mother of All Battles”
if we take Kuwait.
Voice of Darth Vader
adds comme2 years ago Read more
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Books By Randy Brown
Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire
Nov 23, 2015
by
Randy Brown
$5.99$599
$9.99$999
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