Navy retiree André Lewis Carter writes fiction, poetry, essays, and plays in the urban sprawl of Portland, Oregon. He has been an editor for Kaylie Jones Books and is a reader for Hippocampus Magazine & Books. His short stories have appeared in Soft Cartel, Page and Spine, and Down in the Dirt magazines. His poetry has appeared in The Journal of Graduate Liberal Studies. André’s one-act play, Reaction, was given a staged reading at the Last Theater Conference in Valdez, AK. He has an M.A. in fiction writing and an M.F.A. in creative writing from the Wilkes University Graduate Creative Writing Program. He is married to a very patient woman who collects quotes and occasionally tells dirty jokes.
Synopsis – Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
The Vietnam War is raging, the US Navy has only recently begun the process of integration, and the country is reeling from racial turmoil and unrest. So why does César, a street-tough kid of Afro-Cuban descent, enlist in the navy? He is on the run from a life of crime and from Mr. Mike, a charismatic, sociopathic gangster who was once a mentor but has now turned on him.
Escaping into the navy, wrestling with its history of racism and sexism, César soon sees the absurdity of certain prejudices that seem as old as the US Armed Forces. Through it all, César’s ever-growing sense of honor and self-worth force him to make moral decisions he never knew he was capable of.