A free writing workshop for veterans is planned for this Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. in Springfield.
The Veteran's Writing Workshop is part of the Missouri Folklore Society’s annual meeting and conference, which will be held Friday and Saturday, November 5 and 6, at the University Plaza Hotel and Conference Center.
Nick Lopez is the program coordinator at Missouri Humanities, which is sponsoring the workshop. He oversees veterans programs, traveling exhibits and the organization's speakers bureau. He’s also a veteran.
Lopez said the workshop will be led by Missouri Poet Laureate Justin Hamm, "and Justin is going to work with veterans and family members to teach them some tools and techniques on how to tell their story and also describe their emotions in those stories. And that can be either something related to their military service or something not related to their military service. That's up to the attendees who come to the workshop."
He said retired Reverend Kenneth Chumbley, whose brother served in Vietnam, will be there, as well, to talk about a writer’s group for veterans that he’d like to start in the Springfield area.
Lopez said writing can be therapeutic for anyone, including those who have served. While he said it can be intimidating at first, it’s also very empowering.
"It could give someone...that purpose in life after service because, really, after you take off that uniform, it's not as easy as folks think because, you know, you've lived whatever, whether you serve four years or 20 years in the military, all that time you had a purpose and, you know, you, then you come home and then who am I now? It can really help you figure that out," said Lopez.
There is no cost to attend, and the workshop is open to any veteran or any family member of a veteran. You can register here.
The conference is $15 per day or $25 for the entire conference and includes a variety of programs, including things like country doctoring and songs and ballads of the Ozarks. Find out more at missourifolkloresociety.org.