Wrath Bearing Tree
@wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social
We publish fiction, poetry, and reviews that explore the impact of war and traumatic experiences associated with war. If you have contributed poetry, fiction, or essays drop us a note so we can tag you! https://www.wrath-bearingtree.com
"It was all bad vibes from the second we exited the Country Club." Excerpt from a new fiction novel set in Iraq, "The Baghdad Shuffle." In the August issue of Wrath-Bearing Tree.
New Fiction by Josh Bates: Excerpt from The Baghdad Shuffle - Wrath-Bearing Tree
The patrol was unsettling. The initial ‘liberation’ euphoria had soured. It was all bad vibes from the second we exited the Country Club. Hard brown faces casting the evil eye. Old men sitting in fron...
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August 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
"It was all bad vibes from the second we exited the Country Club." Excerpt from a new fiction novel set in Iraq, "The Baghdad Shuffle." In the August issue of Wrath-Bearing Tree.
WBT editor Lauren Kay Johnson chatted with Karie Fugett about Fugett's debut memoir, Alive Day. We always love publishing interviews!
New Interview with Karie Fugett - Wrath-Bearing Tree
I think at the time I was just kind of following my orders. And then, by the time I was thinking something's wrong, I was so in it that I just kept following. It really took a couple of years before I...
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August 14, 2025 at 12:07 AM
WBT editor Lauren Kay Johnson chatted with Karie Fugett about Fugett's debut memoir, Alive Day. We always love publishing interviews!
Powerful excerpt of Karie Fugett's debut Memoir "Alive Day," a story told from the perspective of a young military spouse whose husband, a Marine, is wounded in Iraq.
New Nonfiction by Karie Fugett: Excerpt from Alive Day - Wrath-Bearing Tree
Dillon crawled in circles on the carpet, the TV behind him glowing with reports of destruction and death. Though it had been only days since the boys left, it felt much longer.
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
August 12, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Powerful excerpt of Karie Fugett's debut Memoir "Alive Day," a story told from the perspective of a young military spouse whose husband, a Marine, is wounded in Iraq.
Reposted by Wrath Bearing Tree
“Nothing to be but apathetic in this clime of ours;
nothing too great, too small, too precious for us.
War is a necessary casualty; and if said enough,
like magic, like hypnotism, the masses soon agree.”
Beautiful timely poems by Galen Cunningham in the July issue of @wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social
nothing too great, too small, too precious for us.
War is a necessary casualty; and if said enough,
like magic, like hypnotism, the masses soon agree.”
Beautiful timely poems by Galen Cunningham in the July issue of @wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social
Poetry from July's issue by Galen Cunningham. A couple wonderful finds. As always, Poetry Editor @amalieflynn.bsky.social doing amazing work.
New Poetry from Galen Cunningham: "Winter of Discontent" and "War Games" - Wrath-Bearing Tree
New Poetry by Galen Cunningham
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
July 30, 2025 at 2:57 PM
“Nothing to be but apathetic in this clime of ours;
nothing too great, too small, too precious for us.
War is a necessary casualty; and if said enough,
like magic, like hypnotism, the masses soon agree.”
Beautiful timely poems by Galen Cunningham in the July issue of @wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social
nothing too great, too small, too precious for us.
War is a necessary casualty; and if said enough,
like magic, like hypnotism, the masses soon agree.”
Beautiful timely poems by Galen Cunningham in the July issue of @wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social
Poetry from July's issue by Galen Cunningham. A couple wonderful finds. As always, Poetry Editor @amalieflynn.bsky.social doing amazing work.
New Poetry from Galen Cunningham: "Winter of Discontent" and "War Games" - Wrath-Bearing Tree
New Poetry by Galen Cunningham
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
July 30, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Poetry from July's issue by Galen Cunningham. A couple wonderful finds. As always, Poetry Editor @amalieflynn.bsky.social doing amazing work.
Great piece of post apocalyptic fiction. Short, powerful, and beautifully written. Just some kids kicking around, having fun, exploring their world. In July's issue of WBT.
New Fiction by Neil Allen: The Scar - Wrath-Bearing Tree
The two boys creep towards the edge of the crater and stare across.
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
July 28, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Great piece of post apocalyptic fiction. Short, powerful, and beautifully written. Just some kids kicking around, having fun, exploring their world. In July's issue of WBT.
New short fiction in July's issue: a young officer stationed in Italy navigates Army society and the ancient town in which he finds himself unexpectedly stationed.
New Fiction by David James: Oxenstone - Wrath-Bearing Tree
Dark clouds were building over the mountains to the north, like Giorgione’s Tempest. I bought a glass of red at the rooftop bar and stayed to enjoy the view. The tour was over.
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
July 21, 2025 at 1:49 PM
New short fiction in July's issue: a young officer stationed in Italy navigates Army society and the ancient town in which he finds himself unexpectedly stationed.
Reposted by Wrath Bearing Tree
THE INTERPRETERS (2018) documents this struggle. I reviewed it for @wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social at the time. seeing this headline now is physical painful.
New Movie Review: In “The Interpreters,” Home Is No Place At All - Wrath-Bearing Tree
“The Interpreters,” a new documentary film by directors Sofian Khan and Andres Caballero, is a raw, emotionally vigorous, and, only too often, devastating look into the lives of Iraqi and Afghan inter...
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July 10, 2025 at 7:15 PM
THE INTERPRETERS (2018) documents this struggle. I reviewed it for @wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social at the time. seeing this headline now is physical painful.
Review of Sheila Dietz's debut poetry collection in the July issue of WBT — Sheila published a poem with us, "They Gave Their Lives," which appears in the collection.
Review of Sheila Dietz's The Berry and the Bee - Wrath-Bearing Tree
Her poetry is rarely sentimental or wildly emotional, but rather steady, wise, and quietly observational.
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
July 7, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Review of Sheila Dietz's debut poetry collection in the July issue of WBT — Sheila published a poem with us, "They Gave Their Lives," which appears in the collection.
Beautiful fiction in June's issue about pandemic era relationships, masks, and navigating southern California as an Afghan refugee.
New Fiction by J. Malcolm Garcia: Pleasantries - Wrath-Bearing Tree
The gauze bandage had come off in his sleep, and he touched a bare patch of warm skin and the tight line of ten stitches with the tips of his fingers. He was conscious of the wound, its need for prote...
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June 22, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Beautiful fiction in June's issue about pandemic era relationships, masks, and navigating southern California as an Afghan refugee.
Reposted by Wrath Bearing Tree
#awp2026 panel submitted! Thank you @wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social; @consequencef.bsky.social for your support!
More at: michellereneebrady.com/info
More at: michellereneebrady.com/info
June 16, 2025 at 10:28 PM
#awp2026 panel submitted! Thank you @wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social; @consequencef.bsky.social for your support!
More at: michellereneebrady.com/info
More at: michellereneebrady.com/info
Powerful, imagistic poetry by Benjamin Bellet about places familiar to many Army officers — West Point, the haze of deployment, the haze of training in garrison — in June's issue of Wrath-Bearing Tree.
New Poetry by Benjamin Bellet: "What Was It Like?"; "Zero Five Thirty"; "West Point" - Wrath-Bearing Tree
New poems by Benjamin Bellet
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June 13, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Powerful, imagistic poetry by Benjamin Bellet about places familiar to many Army officers — West Point, the haze of deployment, the haze of training in garrison — in June's issue of Wrath-Bearing Tree.
Nearly 10 years ago @bonenberger.bsky.social reviewed "Preparation For the Next Life" by Atticus Lish; among other things he talks about the fitness and workout culture that is such an important setting for the novel, and has since become prevalent among veterans and American men
Preparation For The Next Life - What We Want Is Not What We Will Get - Wrath-Bearing Tree
Preparation for the Next Life is Atticus Lish's debut novel, and an exceptionally fine one at that. Should be on everyone's reading list, full stop.
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
June 12, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Nearly 10 years ago @bonenberger.bsky.social reviewed "Preparation For the Next Life" by Atticus Lish; among other things he talks about the fitness and workout culture that is such an important setting for the novel, and has since become prevalent among veterans and American men
In the June issue: a review by frequent contributor Larry Abbott of a Vietnam War memoir by the son of a scrupulous officer who died in 1965. Great piece and interesting interview, as always.
New Review and Interview by Larry Abbott: James Wells' Because - Wrath-Bearing Tree
He was 39 years old at the time of his death, and left a wife, Betty and three children, Ora, Kathleen, and the youngest, nine-year old James.
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
June 10, 2025 at 12:54 PM
In the June issue: a review by frequent contributor Larry Abbott of a Vietnam War memoir by the son of a scrupulous officer who died in 1965. Great piece and interesting interview, as always.
Here at WBT, we stopped using SEO after a brief and annoying experiment with it in 2015, and never depended on search results to boost readership, instead relying on word-of-mouth and native sharing and boosting. One advantage of poverty? Can't lose what you don't have!
News Sites Are Getting Crushed by Google’s New AI Tools
Chatbots are replacing Google’s traditional search, devastating traffic for some publishers.
www.wsj.com
June 10, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Here at WBT, we stopped using SEO after a brief and annoying experiment with it in 2015, and never depended on search results to boost readership, instead relying on word-of-mouth and native sharing and boosting. One advantage of poverty? Can't lose what you don't have!
New issue out this week for June — half a dozen pieces, including this Q&A with author of the novel "Freelance" (also excerpted in this issue) Kevin M. Kearney.
New Interview with Kevin M. Kearney - Wrath-Bearing Tree
But on a personal level, I don’t think there is an easy way out. I think the real answer is you need to go the other way—you need to change your mind. If you believe that tech is intentionally trying ...
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June 4, 2025 at 4:36 PM
New issue out this week for June — half a dozen pieces, including this Q&A with author of the novel "Freelance" (also excerpted in this issue) Kevin M. Kearney.
For Memorial Day weekend here's a story we share every year around this time. By @bonenberger.bsky.social
A sickness of the soul: remembering Adam and Tim Davis - Wrath-Bearing Tree
Brothers Adam and Tim Davis joined the military together. After Adam died in combat, Tim contracted a "sickness of the soul" from which he never recovered.
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
May 23, 2025 at 5:42 PM
For Memorial Day weekend here's a story we share every year around this time. By @bonenberger.bsky.social
Beautiful essay in the May issue of Wrath-Bearing Tree about the importance of awe: of standing beside that which is greater than you and letting oneself feel overwhelmed.
New Nonfiction by Evan Balkan: In Praise of Awe - Wrath-Bearing Tree
It’s hard to define, awe. But certainly we know when we feel it. It’s a rare thing, buried under the onslaught of daily routine and the indignities of, say, a red traffic light when we’re late for wor...
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May 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Beautiful essay in the May issue of Wrath-Bearing Tree about the importance of awe: of standing beside that which is greater than you and letting oneself feel overwhelmed.
In case you missed this remarkable story from our December issue last year: during a combat deployment to Iraq, the women of one unit have to fend of enemies outside the wire while worrying about others on their own FOB.
New Fiction by Michelle R. Brady: Thirty Broken Birds - Wrath-Bearing Tree
I. Valley of Quest Before what happened to Christine, before arriving in Iraq, before even leaving Nebraska, all we knew for sure is that there would be violence and sand. We began by trying to solve ...
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
May 13, 2025 at 12:16 AM
In case you missed this remarkable story from our December issue last year: during a combat deployment to Iraq, the women of one unit have to fend of enemies outside the wire while worrying about others on their own FOB.
In the Dead Man's Seabag and River City are two poems by Loretta Tobin in the May issue of WBT. Powerful, spare, and vivid pieces.
New Poetry by Loretta Tobin: "In the Dead Man's Seabag" and "River City" - Wrath-Bearing Tree
A blue ribbon marked First Thessalonians, where he had underlined— Be joyful always;
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
May 12, 2025 at 5:29 PM
In the Dead Man's Seabag and River City are two poems by Loretta Tobin in the May issue of WBT. Powerful, spare, and vivid pieces.
Reposted by Wrath Bearing Tree
A wonderful piece of non-fiction in this month’s issue of @wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social !
Kick WBT's May issue off with Binge, a beautifully written essay about running and one man's relationship with his body. And thank you @amalieflynn.bsky.social for the beautiful promo to advertise this extraordinary piece! www.wrath-bearingtree.com/2025/05/04/n...
May 11, 2025 at 5:39 PM
A wonderful piece of non-fiction in this month’s issue of @wrath-bearing-tree.bsky.social !
Check out our new issue, live now. May's short — but good!
May 9, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Check out our new issue, live now. May's short — but good!
Reposted by Wrath Bearing Tree
Kick WBT's May issue off with Binge, a beautifully written essay about running and one man's relationship with his body. And thank you @amalieflynn.bsky.social for the beautiful promo to advertise this extraordinary piece! www.wrath-bearingtree.com/2025/05/04/n...
May 5, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Kick WBT's May issue off with Binge, a beautifully written essay about running and one man's relationship with his body. And thank you @amalieflynn.bsky.social for the beautiful promo to advertise this extraordinary piece! www.wrath-bearingtree.com/2025/05/04/n...
Kick WBT's May issue off with Binge, a beautifully written essay about running and one man's relationship with his body. And thank you @amalieflynn.bsky.social for the beautiful promo to advertise this extraordinary piece! www.wrath-bearingtree.com/2025/05/04/n...
May 5, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Kick WBT's May issue off with Binge, a beautifully written essay about running and one man's relationship with his body. And thank you @amalieflynn.bsky.social for the beautiful promo to advertise this extraordinary piece! www.wrath-bearingtree.com/2025/05/04/n...
Read this poem about coming home from war to a different, new sort of battle — with oneself, and one's memories — in this April's issue of WBT
New Poem by John Thampi: "Ad Memoriam" - Wrath-Bearing Tree
New poem by John Thampi: Ad Memoriam
www.wrath-bearingtree.com
April 25, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Read this poem about coming home from war to a different, new sort of battle — with oneself, and one's memories — in this April's issue of WBT