Writer Al Ortolani will lead a veterans memoir writing workshop on Armed Forces Day, May 19 at 10 a.m. in the Eisenhower Presidential Library Visitors Center Auditorium. The program is free and open to the public.

Fifty years after the Vietnam War, Humanities Kansas and the Library of Congress are seeking to capture the memories of the Vietnam War era by collecting written memoirs and oral histories. This is an opportunity for Kansans to share their Vietnam experience, both abroad and on the home front.

The interactive workshop will help participants get started on the process of sharing their Vietnam War memories and telling their stories. They will also learn how to submit their memoirs to the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project and Veterans Voices Writing Project Magazine.

Ortolani grew up in Pittsburg, and obtained his education from Pittsburg State University. For the past 37 years he has taught in Kansas schools in Pittsburg and the Kansas City area and also as an adjunct at Pittsburg State University. His prose and poetry has appeared in New Letters, The New York Quarterly, The Midwest Quarterly, The English Journal and others. He has published several collections of poetry.