Citizenship | Literature
Select novels, short stories, and nonfiction on contemporary life.
What began as a bold experiment in grassroots service produced future ambassadors whose courage would guide U.S. diplomacy through seven decades of war, peace, and social change.
Read, Listen, Watch
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An author revisits a languishing biographical sketch, finishes it, and wins a Golden Nib in the Virginia Writers Club statewide nonfiction category.
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As the publication date draws near for Profiles in Service, the author puts in hours designing a cover jacket and reading the proof.
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Reviving last year’s tradition of a blog post every day in December. This might get nutty.
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What strikes you as a singular, foremost image to capture the spirit of Peace Corps service and U.S. diplomacy over the last half century?
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Award-winning author reads from his short story Down on Jupiter. Who can resist Floridaman? Or rubber chickens? Or Marla Jean imagining her boyfriend’s back: “Tenderize me, baby.”
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Former diplomat Ben East tries his hand at podcasting when his nonfiction fails to take hold. Will fellow public servant Rob Batchelder bail him out? Can the Great Indian Bustard help?
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Ambassador White’s story, and the energy with which she told it, revealed the first, cleanest line from Peace Corps service to successful diplomacy
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Peace Corps taught Pamela White that learning English was no fun in Cameroon with Eurocentric texts filled with poodles. So she generated her own materials.
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Metrinko was cleaned up and brought to meet Tehran’s Friday prayer leader Ali Khamenei. In the room were a camera crew and the SFIL spokesperson, Niloufar Ebtekar
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Before enduring 444 days of captivity at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Michael Metrinko served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Turkey (1968-70) and Iran (1970-73).
Ben East Books 