Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Veterans
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Veterans

IVMF awards inaugural prize for written work by a veteran in Stone Canoe

Monday, January 28, 2013, By News Staff
Share

Stone Canoe: A Journal of Arts, Literature and Social Commentary, published by University College of Syracuse University, awarded the 2013 Institute for Veterans and Military Families Prize for Written Work by a Veteran this weekend during the journal’s Number 7 issue publication launch party at the Community Folk Art Center.

The inaugural award was presented Jan. 26 to Ed Soohoo for his work “Blue Coast,” a beautifully rendered fictional account of a romance between an American soldier and French woman during the World War II era.

The IVMF prize, an unsolicited award, is given annually to a U.S. veteran for a series of three poems or a short work of fiction or nonfiction. The award is in the emerging artist category and is only open to writers who have not yet published a book with a major press. The subject matter of the piece may be about veteran or military family issues, but is not required. The IVMF prize represents an opportunity to recognize veterans as contributors to the arts on topics related to military service, about their experiences as veterans and simply as authors who have served.

Soohoo is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a retired electrical engineer who has been writing for 10 years about his experiences in naval intelligence. He served during the Korean War from 1951-54.

Honorable mention was awarded to Samuel Gifford for his work “Mary Alice,” a sensitive work of fiction focused on a husband’s memories of his first youthful encounters with his wife many years before. A veteran of the army, Gifford has been a newspaper reporter, corporate vice president and faculty member at SUNY Buffalo.

In addition, the work of veteran writers who submitted pieces for consideration for the prize is also published in the issue. This includes the following:

  • “The Raid” (fiction) by Dewaine Farria, a Marine Corps veteran and U.N. field security officer based at U.N. headquarters around the world whose writing appears frequently on the World Policy Institute blog;
  • “Dry Heat” (fiction)  by J.P. Lawrence, a photojournalist with the army who has produced more than 200 published pieces on Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Germany and Australia;
  • “Unlearned” (poetry) by Paul Elisha, a decorated  Special Forces World War II combat veteran who received a New York State Council of the Arts award for a series of poems honoring the heroic actions of New York’s 27th Infantry Division during World War II,  and who is now a commentator and host of poetry and classical music programs on Albany’s WAMC Northeast Public Radio;
  • “Short Dream of Leveling a Building” (poetry) by David  S. Pointer, who served in the Marine Corps military police from 1980-84 and is the son of a piano-playing bank robber who died when David was 3 years old;
  • “Landing at Tan Son Nhut: November 1965” (poetry) by Mac McGowan, a two-tour former infantry man/paratrooper during Vietnam and former featured poet at the David B. Steinman Festival of the Arts at St. Lawrence College; and
  • “No Escape” (poetry) by Rick Christman, who served in the  army from 1966-69 and whose work has appeared in such journals as Indiana Review and Connecticut Review.

“The IVMF is concerned with the holistic picture of being a veteran. Many veteran writers have a strong tradition of sharing their experiences with war, and return from war, with their fellow veterans and the non-veteran public, bridging experiences and views. Others never write about war or their experiences. Both cases add to the diversity of writing in the world, and we’re very proud to support this award, and even more excited to recognize the talents of both Ed and Samuel as the first veteran author recipients,” says James Schmeling, IVMF managing director and co-founder.

This year, the panel of visiting jurors for the IVMF prize for Stone Canoe Issue 7 was a group of acclaimed, published authors who are war veterans. The group consisted of Karl Marlantes, a former U.S. Marine, veteran of Vietnam and author of “Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War” (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2010) and “What It Is Like To Go To War” (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2011); Anthony Swofford, a former Marine, Gulf War I veteran and author of “Jarhead: A Marine’s Chronicle of the Gulf War” (Scribner, 2003) and “Hotels, Hospitals, and Jails: A Memoir” (Twelve, 2012); and Brian Turner, an army veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and author of the poetry collection “Here, Bullet” (Alice James Books, 2005).

Submissions for the 2014 IVMF Prize for Written Work by a Veteran are being taken through July 1 via the submissions page on the Stone Canoe website. Winners will be announced in October.

The winner’s selected work and the honorable mention will both be published in the next issue of Stone Canoe, Number 8. The selected recipient will receive a Stone Canoe certificate, $500 and an original stone canoe carving by Native American artist Tom Huff.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Eight New Recruits Begin Campus Peace Officer Academy
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Christine Weber
  • Media Tip Sheet: Consequences of China Lockdown
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Dean Rajiv ‘Raj’ Dewan to Step Down as Dean of the School of Information Studies
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By News Staff
  • 2022 Graduates Reflect on Service as Academic Coaches
    Thursday, May 19, 2022, By Ellen de Graffenreid
  • Funding Expands for Newhouse Professors’ Work on Technology to Combat Fake News
    Wednesday, May 18, 2022, By Wendy S. Loughlin

More In Veterans

Vice Chancellor Haynie Appointed to Veterans Advisory Committee on Education

Earlier this month, J. Michael Haynie, Ph.D., vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation and executive director of the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families, was appointed by United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough to serve on…

Senior Q&A: Tony Ruscitto ’22 Puts a New Mission on His Horizon

Q: How was your experience getting to Syracuse University? A: I’m a Syracuse native, and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 2013, out of high school. After five years of military service, I saw a crossroads. At 23 I realized…

OVMA Announces 2022 Awards Celebrating Student Veterans’ Achievements

The Student Veterans Organization (SVO) and the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (OVMA) have presented two awards to student veterans in honor of their significant and notable achievements. The awards were distributed at SVO’s social held at the Inn…

Senior Profile: Katie Piston ’22 Solves Biomedical Engineering Challenges

Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Katie Piston didn’t imagine herself looking to settle down in Central New York. After earning an undergraduate degree from Purdue University in biomedical engineering, Piston landed a job with Indiana-based medical technology company Zimmer…

Office of Veteran and Military Affairs Announces Spring 2022 Military-Connected Scholarship Recipients

The Office of Veterans and Military Affairs (OVMA) is pleased to announce the following awardees of military-connected student spring 2022 scholarships. These awards provide meaningful financial assistance to military-connected students as part of the University’s commitment to being the best…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2022 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.