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Veterans' Poetry Workshop In-Person
Calling all veterans: This is one of a series of poetry workshops, created by the Virginia Poet Laureate, in collaboration with the Poetry Society of Virginia, and others. The goal is to produce poems for an anthology of poetry written by U.S. military veterans.
An estimated 685,000 veterans live in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and its Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS) operates thirty-eight offices to serve them. A significant network of nonprofits support the DVS with programs to help veterans explore their creativity through visual arts and storytelling while reducing stress and promoting wellness. After her appointment in November 2024, Virginia Poet Laureate Mattie Quesenberry Smith wanted to complement these programs with “Perseverance and Resilience,” a veterans poetry project designed to promote veterans’ poetic expression as another way to cultivate perseverance and resilience that are necessary for veterans’ long-term well-being. The Poetry Society of Virginia is dedicated to facilitating this project through co-sponsorship of an anthology of poetry and illustrations to be published in 2026.