2010 Michigan Author Homecoming:
Benjamin Bush, Philip Caputo, Doug Stanton to present "Writing War: Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam"
Videos below are also available on DVD. Contact Scott Hirko (517-372-7770 or shirko [at] mihumanities.org) to request a DVD copy.
Writing War - Part 1 of 3 from Michigan Humanities Council on Vimeo.
Writing War - Part 2 of 3 from Michigan Humanities Council on Vimeo.
Writing War - Part 3 of 3 from Michigan Humanities Council on Vimeo.
About the 2010 Michigan Author Homecoming
The Michigan Humanities Council presented the 2010 Michigan Author Homecoming, “Writing War: Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam,” with noted writers Benjamin Busch, Philip Caputo, and Doug Stanton on May 18 in East Lansing and on May 20 in Marquette. The events celebrated the conclusion of the Council’s 2009-2010 Great Michigan Read. Each event was a moderated, panel-style discussion focusing on the impact of war on culture, particularly in relation to recent United States conflicts (Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vietnam).
The 2010 Michigan Author Homecoming was the finale of the Great Michigan Read, a statewide reading club featuring a single book that encourages Michiganians to learn more about their history and their society. For 2009-2010, the selected title was Stealing Buddha’s Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen. Stealing Buddha's Dinner is a memoir that chronicles the author's migration from Vietnam in 1975 (during the Fall of Saigon) and her coming of age in Grand Rapids, Michigan in the 1980s. More than 280 organizations and thousands of citizens across Michigan have read the book and participated in related public humanities programs over the past year.
One of the goals of the current Great Michigan Read is to help readers understand the personal impact of war. The writers and theme for this year's Michigan Author Homecoming were selected as a fitting way to end this program.
The event was narrated by Bill Castanier, a freelance writer and literary reviewer for the Lansing City Pulse. He moderated the 2008 Michigan Author Homecoming.
Biographies
Benjamin Busch grew up in rural New York State. After graduating from Vassar College, he accepted a commission as an infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps. His photographs from his two combat tours in Iraq have been featured in numerous exhibits and publications. As an actor, he has appeared on Homicide: Life on the Street, The Wire, Generation Kill, and other television features. In 2008, he released Sympathetic Details, his first film as a writer/director. His memoir, “Bearing Arms,” recently appeared in Harper’s and his latest essay, “Growth Rings,” is in the Michigan Quarterly Review. He lives on a farm in Reed City, Michigan with his wife and their two daughters.
Philip Caputo shared a Pulitzer Prize in 1973, when he was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune. A Rumor of War, a memoir of his service during the Vietnam War as a marine lieutenant, has become a classic with more than two million copies sold since its publication in 1977. Caputo’s most recent novel is Crossers. He is also the author of 12 other books, including Indian Country, which features a troubled Vietnam veteran’s transition to civilian life in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He currently lives in Connecticut.
Doug Stanton is the New York Times bestselling author of Horse Solders, which chronicles a small band of soldiers who secretly entered Afghanistan following 9/11 and rode to war on horses against the Taliban. He is also the author of In Harm’s Way and a former contributing editor at Esquire, Outside, and Sports Afield. Stanton is now a contributing editor at Men’s Journal and has written on travel, entertainment, and adventure. He lives in his hometown of Traverse City, Michigan, where he coordinates the National Writers Series, which brings leading writers to Northern Michigan to engage the public and support young writers.
Photographs: East Lansing, May 18, 2010
From left: authors Benjamin Busch, Phil Caputo, Doug Stanton, and moderator Bill Castanier.
From left: Phil Caputo, Doug Stanton, Bill Castanier
Benjamin Busch
Audience members during question & answer period
2008 Michigan Author Homecoming with Richard Ford, Thomas McGuane, and Jim Harrison
July 10, 2008. Pasant Theatre, Wharton Center at Michigan State University.Photos by Lynne Brown, courtesy Michigan Humanities Council.
Audio available from the G. Robert Vincent Voice at the Michigan State University Libraries.
Play .mp3 audio. Event Press Release. A Great Michigan Read program.
From left (Richard Ford, Thomas McGuane, and Jim Harrison). Moderated by Bill Castanier
Over-capacity crowd of 700+ witnessed the historic event.
Council Programs
- The Great Michigan Read
- Arts & Humanities Media Project
- Arts & Humanities Touring Program
- Picturing America in Michigan
- Poetry Out Loud
- PRIME TIME Family Reading Time®
Benjamin Busch
Philip Caputo
Doug Stanton
2010 Michigan Author Homecoming sponsors
In East Lansing, the event is made possible by the Michigan Humanities Council, with support from: Lynne Brown & Ann Hill, Perspective2; National Endowment for the Humanities; Meijer; Citizens Bank-Saginaw; Eva Evans; Jan & Ron Fedewa; i2Integration; Maner Costerisan; Public Policy Associates, Inc.; Sharp Designs; Wendi Tilden & James Clift
In Marquette, the event is made possible by the Michigan Humanities Council, with support from: the National Endowment for the Humanities; Meijer; Citizens Bank-Saginaw; Peter White Public Library; Snowbound Books.