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Poetry to Heal PTSD: Travis Martin

We often hear about veterans that can't shake traumatic experiences and memories of war, but what about those who find ways to cope? Travis Martin, a PhD candidate in English, is doing research to document the ways in which veterans use the arts to process and move past trauma. He is the President of Military Experience and the Arts, a project that connects veterans with resources and outlets for their artwork, poetry, fiction, and scholarship, as well as the Veterans' PTSD Project, which seeks to dispel stereotypes about post-traumatic stress disorder by giving veterans a voice.

In this podcast, he reads and discusses three of his poems, “A Little Boy With Bananas,” “The Writing on the Wall,” and “Rifling About,” all of which reflect on his combat experiences in Iraq and life after returning home. The first two were featured in the New York Times, and the third can be downloaded here

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

 

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