Across the country, the Department of Veterans Affairs uses creative arts as one form of rehabilitation and they host a competition for those creatives each year. The National Veterans Creative Arts Festival recently took place in Denver, Colorado, from May 11-18, where a Michigan veteran presented his award-winning poetry.
Allegan Army Veteran, Larry Massie is a first-place winner in the 2023 National Veterans Creative Arts Competition, Non-Rhyming Poetry-Military Experience, for his poetry “Dandelion Sky.” Massie joined the Fox 17 Morning Mix to talk about his most recent experience at the 2024 competition and the inspiration behind his writing.
At the festival, Veterans exhibit their artwork and original writings or perform musical, dance, or dramatic selections in a live stage show performance. All Veterans invited to participate are selected winners of a national creative arts competition in which nearly 3,000 Veterans entered their creative expressions in local competitions across 125 VA medical facilities. Judges reviewed over 6,000 submissions and awarded 159 first, second, and third places honors.
Learn more by visiting department.va.gov.
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