Before dying on the battlefield in World War I, English poet and soldier Wilfred Owen asserted, "My subject is War, and the pity of War." Though he didn't seek it out, his subject came to define him. Like Owen, Folmar finds that his "poetry is in the pity": the cracks and wadis where things are forgotten and pieces of ourselves are left behind. As Folmar tells Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Chris Hedges, "There became a moment where we realized we were stuck in [the cyclic nature of war]" ("Pity the Children"). The only way to break the cycle is to learn from it, or as Owen forbiddingly cautions, "All a poet can do today is warn."
Growing up in a family of lawmakers and public servants, Folmar harbored the desire to serve his country and community, joining the Marine Corps as a young adult. After serving as an infantry rifleman in Iraq and seeing Owen's subject himself, he returned home, changed and charged with a new mission.
Seeing the need for the healing of veterans and their dependents through education, Folmar helped found the University of Alabama's Campus Veterans Association which was the first group to advocate for student veterans at the university. By focusing on its mission "Taking Care of Our Own," the CVA would help advance the pressing needs of returning post-9/11 veterans on college campuses and lead to the creation of the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs at the Capstone.
Folmar's experience with finding poetry in the pity wasn't relegated to the war zone. On April 27, 2011, he stood helplessly as an F-4 tornado barreled down on his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, destroying his house, his home, and the last remaining semblance of normalcy he had felt since returning from war. Picking up the pieces and trying to understand its meaning in his own life, this event would lead him to finish his undergraduate studies, move on from the place he had called home, and attend graduate school at the University of New Hampshire.
During the 2016 Presidential Race, Folmar continued to serve his community by addressing the effects of climate change and its impact on our national security. Working with Truman National Security Project, he signed on as the New Hampshire State Director of Operation Free, successfully advocating for their message of energy independence through renewable resources during the First in the Nation Primary.
In 2017, Joshua founded Writing Over War, a project at the Dallas-Fort Worth literary center The Writer's Garret. From its founding until 2021, he served as project director, providing pedagogical training for providers of creative writing workshops geared toward veterans, dependents, and others affected by war. He also taught creative writing workshops.
Growing up in a family of lawmakers and public servants, Folmar harbored the desire to serve his country and community, joining the Marine Corps as a young adult. After serving as an infantry rifleman in Iraq and seeing Owen's subject himself, he returned home, changed and charged with a new mission.
Seeing the need for the healing of veterans and their dependents through education, Folmar helped found the University of Alabama's Campus Veterans Association which was the first group to advocate for student veterans at the university. By focusing on its mission "Taking Care of Our Own," the CVA would help advance the pressing needs of returning post-9/11 veterans on college campuses and lead to the creation of the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs at the Capstone.
Folmar's experience with finding poetry in the pity wasn't relegated to the war zone. On April 27, 2011, he stood helplessly as an F-4 tornado barreled down on his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, destroying his house, his home, and the last remaining semblance of normalcy he had felt since returning from war. Picking up the pieces and trying to understand its meaning in his own life, this event would lead him to finish his undergraduate studies, move on from the place he had called home, and attend graduate school at the University of New Hampshire.
During the 2016 Presidential Race, Folmar continued to serve his community by addressing the effects of climate change and its impact on our national security. Working with Truman National Security Project, he signed on as the New Hampshire State Director of Operation Free, successfully advocating for their message of energy independence through renewable resources during the First in the Nation Primary.
In 2017, Joshua founded Writing Over War, a project at the Dallas-Fort Worth literary center The Writer's Garret. From its founding until 2021, he served as project director, providing pedagogical training for providers of creative writing workshops geared toward veterans, dependents, and others affected by war. He also taught creative writing workshops.