U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Two Pulitzer Prize-winning authors are among the artists and academics slated to appear at the Air Force Academy’s War, Literature and the Arts Conference, September 20-21.
The conference will focus on the cultural implications of war and feature Pulitzer Prize-winners Robert Olen Butler and Suzan-Lori Parks; former Air Force explosive ordnance officer and nonfiction author Brian Castner; filmmaker and cultural anthropologist Meg McLagan; Iraqi-American poet Dunya Mikhail; award-winning journalist Helen Thorpe; and poet Brian Turner.
“It will be a critical conversation about what it means to be an empathetic, feeling human as well as a strong leader that remains curious about the world and the consequences of war,” said Lt. Col. Jesse Goolsby, director of the conference and an assistance professor in the Academy’s English and Fine Arts Department.
The free event in Arnold Hall and the Center for Character and Leadership Development is open to the general public.