Free Writing Workshop

Free Writing Workshop

Farm By The Lake's Storytellers Series presents

Wendell Affield

"Reawakening Memory through our Senses"

April 7, 2019

at Bagley Public Library

3:00 - 6:00 pm

Free and Open to the Public

Wendell Affield, the third of nine children, grew up on a small farm 20 miles north of Bemidji, Minnesota. He was born in New York City in 1947 and moved to Minnesota as a toddler when his mother met his stepfather, Herman Affield, through Cupid's Columns, a singles publication. At sixteen, after going through a series of foster homes, Wendell dropped out of high school, left home, and rode the rails where he spent time in the Northwest living in hobo camps and bucking hay bales for an old rancher in western Montana. At seventeen he enlisted in the navy. In 1966, during his first Vietnam deployment, during down time, he earned his high school GED. In January 1968 Wendell returned to Vietnam on a second deployment as the cox'n of a river patrol boat with the Mobile Riverine Force. On August 18, 1968, he was wounded in an ambush and medevaced home.

After leaving the navy in 1969 he found work as a meat cutter apprentice in the Chicago area. A few years later he became a manager, a position he held with various companies for thirty years. In 1980 he and his family returned to northern Minnesota. After retiring from Luekens Village Foods in 2001 Wendell enrolled at Bemidji State University to learn the writing craft. Over the years, his Vietnam essays evolved into Muddy Jungle Rivers (2012). His memoir has been used in universities and reading clubs. The book led to reconnecting with men he hadn't seen in more than fifty years.

In 2010 Wendell's mother died. Locked in the chickenhouse on the farm where he was raised, he discovered thousands of letters, dozens of diaries, scrapbooks, and photo albums documenting his maternal family history. He spent eight years unraveling his mother's past. In the process, he came to understand her struggle with mental illness.

Chickenhouse treasures and documents discovered in the old farmhouse attic opened doors to his childhood. Seventy-year-old photo negatives he developed reawakened dormant memories. "Memory is like a shape shifter," Wendell says, "not to be trusted, but with reams of primary source documents, I have supporting evidence for my memory stories."

Wendell encourages others to tell their stories. "Our life experience gives us the authority. For many individuals, a common regret near end of life is that their life story will die with them."

In 2017 Wendell's first book in the Chickenhouse Chronicles series was published; HERMAN, 1940s Lonely Hearts Search, followed by Pawns (2018). Today, Wendell works on the next book in his series, does public speaking, and Veterans Writing Workshops to promote expressive writing therapy. He speaks to veteran groups about PTSD and facilitates a Veteran's Writer Group at his local VA Clinic.

Wendell and his wife are strong advocates for Bemidji Community Food Shelf. He is a 2017 recipient of Minnesota Humanities Center "Veteran's Voices Award" for his work with the underserved in his community.