Phil Klay
Phil Klay
Phil Klayis an American writer and United States Marine officer who won the National Book Award for fiction in 2014 for his first book-length publication, a collection of short stories, Redeployment...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionWriter
CountryUnited States of America
Phil Klay quotes about
bare needed recounting
After the fighting is done, and even when it's still happening, apologies are often needed for the recounting of bare facts. Sometimes bare facts feel unpatriotic.
coming consumed country happening ordered paying
There's something odd about working 24/7, being consumed with everything that's happening in Iraq, and then coming back to the country that ordered you over there only to realize that a lot of Americans are not really paying attention.
abstract confused felt interested puzzle question represent stories troubled war wrote
I started with things that I was troubled by or confused by or interested in, and then I wrote stories to try to puzzle my way through it. But the question is not how to represent war, because it's an abstract thing that's felt differently for all the characters.
war
I've been asked what differentiates war literature as a category, and I don't think there is anything.
deal macho people
Sometimes macho language is to mask things people are not ready to deal with.
believe combat death decisions exactly god human life notion prayer purpose serves stakes tremendous war zone
Prayer in a combat zone serves exactly the same purpose as it does in peacetime. In war, the stakes are life and death, true; but if you believe in God and in the notion of a human soul, then we are always making decisions of tremendous significance.
good war wrote
I always wrote - not about war, necessarily, but I always wrote stories. I tried to write while I was in Iraq. It's not really - I didn't do a very good job, and not about war.
citizens ideals life physical risk safety supposed
You're not supposed to risk your life just for the physical safety of American citizens - you're supposed to risk your life for American ideals as well.
civilian gone outside painful protect respect sacred veteran wants
The civilian wants to respect what the veteran has gone through. The veteran wants to protect memories that are painful and sacred to him from outside judgment.
argument cold larger peace peacetime provided since war
The Cold War provided justification for a larger peacetime military, since we were never really at peace, or so the argument went.
casualties civilian coverage outlets
The First Battle of Fallujah was called off in part because of the intensity of non-U.S. media coverage of civilian casualties from outlets like Al Jazeera.
empathetic fairly iraq learn mean pull relationship returned serious time willing
The Iraq I returned from was, in my mind, a fairly simple place. By which I mean it had little relationship to reality. It's only with time and the help of smart, empathetic friends willing to pull through many serious conversations that I've been able to learn more about what I witnessed.
art different-experiences veteran
Veteran art creates a meeting place between veterans and civilians, or simply between veterans with different experiences.
country military mean
Our country regularly uses military force, but only a fraction of Americans serve in the military. This means fewer and fewer people have a direct link to the military, and yet it remains as important as ever that we have a rich understanding of what we are doing as a country.