Opinion Forum

Steve Mason: Writing His Way Home

June 8th, 2012

By Jan Barry When he died at age 65 in May 2005, Steve Mason’s obituary appeared in newspapers across America. Virtually all of them noted that Mason was “the poet laureate of the Vietnam Veterans of America whose searching blank verse was read at the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.” That […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: memorial, poetry, Steve Mason, veteran, Vietnam
Categories: Arts, Life, Military | Comments (0) | Home

Castle for Congress: A Marine Aims to Change the Mission in Washington

June 1st, 2012

By Jan Barry Voters in northern New Jersey have a choice this year to elect a very different and refreshing member of Congress than the usual incumbents. Jason Castle is a Marine veteran of Iraq who wants to quickly wind down the war in Afghanistan and boost reinvestment and jobs at home. He is running […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: 5th District, Afghanistan, Congress, Iraq, Jason Castle, Marine, NJ, veteran
Categories: Military, News, Politics | Comments (1) | Home

Celebrating Drew Cameron’s Healing Art

November 14th, 2011

By Jan Barry Remarks I gave at “Envisioning Tomorrow,” the Printmaking Center of New Jersey’s awards dinner at the Somerville Elks Lodge, Bridgewater, NJ on November 12. The center honored Drew Cameron, the co-founder and co-director of Combat Paper, “a touring project with a compelling mission to use the healing power of art to transform […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: Combat Paper, Drew Cameron, poetry, PTSD, uniform, veteran, workshop
Categories: Arts, Military, News | Comments (3) | Home

The War at Home

October 29th, 2011

By Jan Barry In Boston, Massachusetts and Oakland, California, Veterans For Peace members have been assaulted by police while peacefully demonstrating on behalf of Occupy Wall Street protest groups’ constitutional rights. The most seriously injured is Scott Olsen, a Marine vet of two tours in Iraq, who was hospitalized with head injuries after police in […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: Iraq, Marine, Occupy, police, San Francisco, Scott Olsen, veteran, VFP
Categories: Military, News, Politics | Comments (7) | Home

“Poster Girl” Draws Crowd

June 10th, 2011

By Jan Barry “Poster Girl,” the 2011 Oscar-nominated documentary, drew a standing-room-only crowd of more than 100 people in a recent showing at the Puffin Cultural Forum in Teaneck, NJ. The June 1 event also included a discussion with director Sara Nesson and Robynn Murray, the Iraq war veteran whose story is the focus of […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: documentary, Iraq, Oscar, PTSD, Robynn Murray, Sara Nesson, VA, veteran
Categories: Life, Military, News | Comments (2) | Home