Benjamin Busch is a seeker of risk.
That might explain how a newly cap-and-gowned Vassar College graduate, with an arts degree, joined the Marines in 1992.
It was a decision, as Busch describes it, “like no art major at Vassar had made. But, I’ve always had this duality just as a person of the world, and was drawn absolutely to risk. At the same time uncertainty for me, that which I do not know, that which I haven’t experienced is a dangerous pursuit.”
Move forward nearly 25 years.
Busch is author of “Dust to Dust: A Memoir,” a highly praised reflection of his two combat tours in the Iraq War. The book, published by Ecco Press in 2012, isn’t a tell-all on the battles of war. Rather, it digs into the meditations on life and self, amid destruction and death.
Busch came to teach during the weeklong summer residency session of Saint Leo University’s Master of Arts in creative writing program, during July. Other visiting artists included singer-songwriter Craig Finn; novelist Ian Stansel; literary and marriage partners, Allison Joseph and Jon Tribble from the University of Southern Illinois; and, Florida State University faculty members, David Kirby and Barbara Hamby.
They gave readings or performances at special evening events. Saint Leo creative writing faculty members, Tom Bligh and Brooke King, and Steve Kistulentz, director of Saint Leo’s graduate program in creative writing, also gave readings.
Saint Leo is known for providing learning opportunities and degree programs for nontraditional students. The university’s creative writing program is unique in offering a special track toward a graduate degree for students interested in war literature written for, or by, veterans.
Busch spoke with several veterans in the creative writing program.
“They haven’t been in the writing life for very long,” he said.
So, Busch talked with them about the “trials and tribulations of wading into that…They have a story to tell.”
But, that is the advice he had for every student in the program who searches for a narrative or needs to send a message to the world. “No matter what your background, there is plenty to harvest from. We’re looking for evidence and trying to put it into order,” he said.
The memoir is Busch’s first published book but, as an artist, he has a broad canvas.
He is an essayist, poet, photographer, illustrator, filmmaker and an actor with credits in “Generation Kill” and “Homicide: Life on the Streets.”
His best-known role was in the HBO serial, “The Wire”, where he played narcotics officer Anthony Colicchio. He landed that role after his first deployment to Iraq. He expected to appear in one episode, but stayed through three seasons as an unbending, law and order cop.
“Colicchio was uncompromising,” Busch said. “That was something I liked about him and didn’t like about him.”
Among his credits is a 40-minute film, “Bright,” which was featured at the Traverse City Film Festival in 2011. He also created traveling exhibits of his photographs from the Iraq War, including “The Art in War.”
And, he has been back to Iraq as a private citizen and chronicled his experiences in Harper’s Magazine. His essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, and NPR’s All Things Considered.
Writing wasn’t the first career choice for a young artist growing up in upstate New York. His father was writer Frederick Busch, who wrote short stories and novels, including “The Night Inspector.”
“I didn’t think (writing) was my gift,” Busch said. “I was built for pictures, and so I drew.”
At college, he majored in visual arts.
After graduation, he spent four years in the Marines from 1992 to 1996, a relatively peaceful time in world affairs.
But, when a Marine helicopter crashed in North Carolina and killed 12 Marines, Busch made a choice. If he had stayed in the Marines, he would have been their leader.
“It would have been my helicopter,” he said. “I immediately joined the reserves after the funeral.”
He was called back to duty as a commanding officer in 2003 during the “shock and awe” invasion of Iraq and became provisional mayor of several occupied towns. He volunteered for a second tour in 2005, this time with a hope for rebuilding a country.
He wanted to see schools opened, water and sewer systems installed, but Iraq was a place that was “largely a shooting gallery,” he said. “I was left to invent democracy as I understood it. I was looking for native solutions to native problems while being a foreigner.”
It was a task, with no satisfactory outcome, but Busch said, “I thought it was a just mission.”
His memoir falls within a long tradition of writers and songwriters warning youth not to repeat the same mistakes. Sadly, Busch said, “It doesn’t work.”
As an artist and writer, he said, “I’m looking for the right words to build on the conversation.”
If the Iraq War brought loss and a heightened sense of mortality, life away from war was no different.
Busch’s parents died within months of one another in 2006. No child is ready for the death of a parent, Busch said.
That loss, as much as anything, propelled him to write “Dust to Dust.”
“It’s about them and the things you take for granted because they’re always there,” he said. “In the process, I came across myself, who I was, who I’ve always been. I haven’t changed since age 7.”
For information, visit Facebook.com/BenjaminBuschwriter.
Published August 30, 2017
