Essay.

Stevens Point, Wisconsin:: Seven Hills Press,, 2012.. Edition of 48. 6.25 x 9.25"; 30 pages. Printed letterpress in Goudy Bold and Goudy Handtooled on handmade paper. Handmade paper of cotton and abaca from Caren Heft's Root River Mill. Handsewn binding with paper wrap closure. A sobering look at the secreted effects of war, the rift that keeps on giving. Essay, excerpt: "This weekend I spent chain-smoking cigarettes and drinking, talking with a friend I served with in Iraq – he just returned from Afghanistan. The point kept resurfacing of feeling great worth in a worthless endeavor, and then feeling worthless upon returning home after a deployment. When I returned from Iraq I felt like an alien here, Iraq was my home, I had a purpose there, and all the continually fucked-up situations felt normal. Here the violence, aggression, and fear which made me successful in Iraq continue to cause struggle and pain." About the author: "Jesse Albrecht entered the military in 1996 with C BTRY 1-120th Field Artillery in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He re-classed as a combat medic in the A Co 109th Area Support Medical Battalion. Albrecht was deployed to Iraq halfway through graduate school and was attached to the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division in Mosul, Iraq. Honorably discharged in 2006, Albrecht lives outside of Bozeman, Montana, and teaches at Montana State University."  Theory Magazine, Interview with Jesse Albrecht: "With distance and time, things change. Initially, it’s so fresh, and you’re so invested in it that it’s hard to have any original perspective on it. Then the more you read about current events and the more you talk to friends that have returned from multiple tours, you get a different perspective. It’s still relevant to talk about, because it’s less and less in the news now. To me, it’s funny, and sad that it took five or six years for people to start realizing things weren’t right with the war. The V.A. was critically understaffed for mental health, totally unprepared for us coming back. To be part of the first rotation coming back from Iraq and living the problem out. To me, it’s still important to talk about it and to give information about it. I think it is important to be able to talk to somebody who has experienced it personally. Just like with anything, it’s good to read about it, but it’s also good to talk to people that have been there. The idea that you have about something is going to be informed more and probably change with each additional person that you talk to.  "Coming back from that experience is really hard. I have a lot of good family and friends, but I can see where if I didn’t have them, and still have them, supporting me, who knows? You can get out there pretty quick, and if you don’t have a friend with a futon to crash on when you can’t find a job and don’t have a place to live, it can go bad quick. There are a lot of people who support veterans, for sure, but there are also just as many, if not more, who are afraid of us. They would rather not learn about the experience of a veteran, or just choose to ignore it. Part of my goal is to reach those people and allow them to understand the situation veterans face coming home. It’s a calculated decision to have it not talked about in the media, because if people don’t know about the problems associated with the wars, then it’s easier for them to keep the wars going.