Former NC Poet Laureate To Lead Outer Banks Veterans Writing Workshop This Fall
- Dare County Arts Council
- Aug 25
- 3 min read
Thirteen years ago Dare Arts invited North Carolina’s seventh Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti to the Outer Banks to lead a writing workshop for veterans, and since then the workshop has been held every year. As Dare Arts continues its 50th anniversary celebration this year, the veterans program is coming full circle with Bathanti returning to lead the workshop again.
The 13th Annual Outer Banks Veterans Writing Workshop will be held at the Coastal Studies Institute, ECU Outer Banks Campus in Wanchese from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday, November 15.
Bathanti, who will facilitate the event, is an author, poet, educator, and he was North Carolina’s Poet Laureate from 2012 to 2014. During his time as Poet Laureate, Bathanti worked with military veterans and their families throughout the state and beyond, particularly with Vietnam combat veterans struggling with PTSD and other invisible wounds of war. He is a Professor of English & McFarlane Family Distinguished Professor of Interdisciplinary Education at Appalachian State University, a recipient of The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the 2016 North Carolina Award in Literature recipient, the author of over 20 books, and the recipient of numerous other accolades.
“I’m so delighted to be returning to beautiful Manteo as intrepid, cutting-edge Dare Arts celebrates its 50th anniversary, an amazing milestone, and launches its 13th Annual Veterans Writing Workshop, which I am so honored to lead, especially since I was involved in the inaugural Carolina Veterans Weekend,” said Bathanti. “Since then, Dare Arts’ commitment to veterans and their families has not wavered. What’s more, it has done so much over the years to bring arts programming across its vast region of service to citizens of North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The community and collaboration, the warmth and hospitality, strike me as incomparable.”
This year’s creative writing workshop, titled Where Your Life Still Matters: How Stories Save Us, is designed for participants to discover, in a safe, communal setting among peers, the core of their stories, and the voice in which to create and deliver those stories. Participants will be provided writing prompts developed by Bathanti as well as poems, stories, and nonfiction pieces written by military veterans, though the work created does not need to be military-centric.
“Whether you consider yourself a practiced writer, a beginner – or even someone who has never attempted to write before – this workshop warmly welcomes you and your families,” added Bathanti.
Beginner and experienced writers are invited to participate in this workshop that is free for veterans, active-duty military, and their family members.
Registration for the writing workshop is now open at DareArts.org/veterans. Pre-registration is required. Attendees will receive a confirmation email with more details after registration. The workshop will accommodate up to 25 participants.
The Outer Banks Veterans Writing Workshop is part of Outer Banks Veterans Week, which will take place November 9-15, 2025.
As a part of Outer Banks Veterans Week, Dare Arts is partnering with The Pioneer Theater to host “An Evening with Joseph Bathanti” on Saturday, November 15 at 7:00pm. The public reading is a ticketed event, but it is free for veterans, active-duty military, and the writing workshop participants. Tickets for this event will be for sale soon on The Pioneer Theater’s website.
Dare Arts will be creating the Outer Banks Veterans Week Directory, which is a calendar of veteran celebrations, events, and specials from Corolla to Hatteras Village happening around Veteran’s Day.
Businesses or groups interested in listing their veteran events and/or specials in the directory should email Dare Arts Program Director Robert Rogers at DareArtsEvents@gmail.com.
For more information about Outer Banks Veterans Week, visit DareArts.org/veterans or call 252 473 5558.
Thank you to the Coastal Studies Institute for sponsoring the Outer Banks Veterans Writing Workshop.
This project is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources.
This project is sponsored by the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.
Businesses or individuals interested in sponsoring Outer Banks Veterans Week should contact Dare Arts Executive Director Jessica Sands at DareArtsInfo@gmail.com.
In 2025, Dare Arts is commemorating its 50th anniversary by celebrating its past, present, and future. Dare Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization dedicated to encouraging the arts in Dare County through advocacy, enrichment, and opportunity.
The Veterans Writing Project is a 501(c)(3) that provides no-cost creative writing and songwriting workshops across the country.