• Sort Blog:
  • All
  • Awards
  • Events
  • On Life
  • On Writing
  • Podcasts
  • Reviews
  • Writing Samples

50th Anniversary of The Lottery (the draft, not the short story!)

Fifty years ago this evening, December 1, 1969, I sat in a student lounge at Grand Valley State University and was witness to the draft lottery for young men who would be sent to fight in the Vietnam war. It was a harrowing experience and I'll never forget it--I understood many would not return.