|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Veterans Day Observed with National Endowment for the Arts Screening of Muse of Fire in Wichita, Kansas
|
Contact: |
|
Washington, D.C. -- In honor of Veterans Day, the National Endowment for the Arts will host a special screening of the documentary Muse of Fire in Wichita, Kansas on Sunday, November 11. Muse of Fire is a new documentary film about wartime writing and the creative process that was inspired by the groundbreaking National Endowment for the Arts initiative, Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience. Held atWichita’s 13th Avenue Warren Theatre, the screening will be followed by a panel discussion and book signing with Operation Homecoming anthology editor Andrew Carroll and contributors to the book. Congressman Todd Tiahrt will speak at the screening. The event is presented in partnership with The Boeing Company, which has made the Operation Homecoming initiative possible.
“Veterans Day is a fitting occasion to tell those who have served that their stories matter,” said NEA Operation Homecoming Director Jon Peede. “Through Operation Homecoming, we are honored to give troops and their families an outlet to share their experiences.”
The Muse of Fire film features compelling readings and interviews with troops and their families who participated in the Operation Homecoming program. Muse of Fire also includes renowned writers who taught writing workshops for the initiative, such as best-selling novelist Jeff Shaara (The Rising Tide) and award-winning poet Marilyn Nelson (The Fields of Praise). Award-winning actor and director Kevin Costner (The Guardian) is featured, as is actor Stephen Lang (Gods and Generals). Muse of Fire is directed by Lawrence Bridges of Red Car Productions.
The film is the latest component of the NEA’s Operation Homecoming, which brought distinguished writers – including Tobias Wolff, Tom Clancy, Bobbie Ann Mason, and Mark Bowden – to more than 25 domestic and overseas military installations to conduct writing workshops from April 2004 through July 2007. Operation Homecoming also offered an open call for writing submissions to troops who have served since 9/11, along with their families. That call resulted in nearly 2,000 submissions.
In September 2006, Random House published Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families. The anthology, edited by the award-winning author Andrew Carroll, includes nearly 100 letters, poems, stories, and memoirs of service and sacrifice on the front lines and at home.
The Wichita premiere will be followed by a panel discussion on the experience of wartime writing. Among the panelists is Operation Homecoming editor Andrew Carroll, considered one of the nation’s foremost experts on wartime correspondence. Carroll is the editor of several nationally bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including Behind the Lines and War Letters, whichalso inspired a PBS documentary of the same name. U.S. Army Captain Ryan Kelly and U.S. Army Specialist Kristina Kolodziejski, two contributors to the anthology, will join Carroll in the discussion. The panelists will later sign copies of Operation Homecoming, provided by Wichita bookstore Watermark Books and Café, and available for purchase at the event. Copies of the film Muse of Fire will be donated to nearly 500 military base libraries, schools, and education centers worldwide.
Muse of Fire at the 13th Avenue Warren Theatre
The Wichita premiere of Muse of Fire takes place on Sunday, November 11 at 4:30 p.m. at the 13th Avenue Warren Theatre, 11611 East 13th Street, in Wichita, Kansas. The screening, panel discussion, and book signing are free and open to the public, however seating for this event is limited. Complimentary tickets will be distributed only by the 13th Avenue Warren Theatre ticket office on a first-come, first-served basis on November 11th, starting at 12:00 noon. Tickets are limited to one per person at the box office. Seating for the screening will begin at 4:00 pm in Theatre 14. For more information contact Melanie Garrison at the 13th Avenue Warren Theatre, at 316-685-3773, ext. 129 or visit www.warrentheatres.com.
Other Operation Homecoming resources
Operation Homecoming has been administered by the NEA in partnership with the Southern Arts Federation. The initiative was made possible by generous support from The Boeing Company, which has helped the NEA bring numerous quality arts and arts education programs to military communities nationwide and overseas. Information on Operation Homecoming, essays on writing, streaming video of writing workshops, and audio clips are available at www.OperationHomecoming.org
About Boeing
Boeing is the world’s leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined. Additionally, Boeing designs and manufactures rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems. As a major service provider to NASA, Boeing operates the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. The company also provides numerous military and commercial airline support services. Boeing has customers in more than 90 countries around the world and is one of the largest U.S. exporters in terms of sales. Headquartered in Chicago, Boeing employs more than 150,000 people across the United States and in 70 countries. Total company revenues for 2006 were $61.5 billion.
About the National Endowment for the Arts
The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts – both new and established – bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases.
National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal
agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506
Operation Homecoming |