Dialogues on the Experience of War

FAIN: AV-248436-16

New Hampshire Humanities Council (Concord, NH 03301-3852)
Kathy A. Mathis (Project Director: September 2015 to July 2018)

A reading and discussion program for veterans focused on The Odyssey and contemporary literature about war, to be conducted in several locations in New Hampshire.
 

This project recognizes a) the power of storytelling and dialogue to address indirectly and safely the experience of war and the barriers that prevent returning soldiers from fully integrating into society; and b) that veterans are central to training teams, facilitating groups, and evaluating the project. We train three teams of facilitators and organize 14-week series for veterans in four sites. Developed by Roberta Stewart (Classics Department, Dartmouth), the model has operated in New Hampshire for seven years. Each facilitator team consists of a literary scholar, a health care provider and a veteran. Stewart writes that she has “heard remarkable commentary about what it’s like to lead men, and perceptive understandings of what’s lost in war. A combat veteran and a clinical psychologist said to me, ‘Homer offers veterans a map for coming home.’” This proposal combines Homer’s Odyssey with contemporary literature selected by veteran consultants.