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Randy Brown

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Twitter

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Poetry, Nonfiction, Humor and Comedy

Member Since

November 2015

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https://www.goodreads.com/randy_brown

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Freelance writer and citizen-soldier by day, and secret (writing as "Charlie Sherpa") blogger by night, Randy Brown was preparing in 2010 to deploy as the sole "knowledge manager" for an Iowa National Guard unit of 3,000 soldiers. ("Historian, librarian, lessons-learned reporter—it was sexier to say my job was 'Brigade Staff Jester,'" he jokes.) After a paperwork snafu dropped him off the list, he retired with 20 years of military service and a previous overseas deployment. He then went to Afghanistan anyway, embedding with his former colleagues as a civilian journalist.

Brown's often-humorous military-themed poetry and non-fiction have appeared widely in literary journals and anthologies. He was the 2015 winner of the inaugural Madigan Awar ...more

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Randy Brown's Blog

New War Poem in Rawhead's "Bloody Bones" Special!

A new poem by Global War on Terror (GWOT) writer and U.S. Army veteran Randy “Sherpa” Brown, author of the award-winning 2015 poetry collection “Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire,” is newly featured in the debut special issue of the literary journal “Rawhead.”

Brown’s poem is titled “at the Motel Mehtar Lam,” and can be accessed FREE on-line.

The on-line journal “Rawhead,’ wri

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Randy Brown’s books

Average rating: 4.65 · 105 ratings · 33 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	Why We Write: Craft Essays on Writing War by Randy Brown (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Steve Leonard (Editor), Eric Chandler (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.48 avg rating — 40 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Welcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire 4.56 avg rating — 27 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	So Frag & So Bold: Short Poems, Aphorisms & Other Wartime Fun 4.80 avg rating — 10 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Things We Carry Still: Poems & Micro-Stories About Military Gear by Randy Brown (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Lisa Stice (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Vicki Hudson (Foreword) 4.80 avg rating — 10 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Twelve O'Clock Haiku it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Giant Robot Poems: On Mecha-Human Culture, Science & War it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Midwest Futures: Poems & Micro-Stories from Tomorrow's Heartland by Randy Brown (Goodreads Author) (Editor), F. Malanoche (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cryptids, Kaiju & Corn: Poems and Micro-Stories about Modern Midwest Monsters by Randy Brown (Goodreads Author), Joshua Ginsberg, Mia Dalia (Goodreads Author) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Twelve O'Clock Haibun: Parables & Poems from a Classic TV Show it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Reporting for Duty: U.S. Citizen-Soldier Journalism from the Afghan Surge, 2010-2011 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2016	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Randy Brown is currently reading

Our Best War Stories: Prize-winning Poetry & Prose from the Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Awards, Vol. 2

by Christopher Lyke

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Nov 08, 2025 09:42AM

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Randy’s Recent Updates

Randy Brown wrote a new blog post New War Poem in Rawhead's "Bloody Bones" Special! A new poem by Global War on Terror (GWOT) writer and U.S. Army veteran Randy “Sherpa” Brown, author of the award-winning 2015 poetry collection “Welc Read more of this blog post »
Nov 14, 2025 03:58AM · like
Randy Brown is currently reading Our Best War Stories: Prize-winning Poetry & Prose from the Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Awards, Vol. 2 by Christopher Lyke	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 08, 2025 09:42AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Our Best War Stories by Christopher Lyke. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Our Best War Stories by Christopher Lyke <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Randy Brown rated a book it was amazing The Surge by Adam Kovac (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 30, 2025 12:45PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Surge by Adam Kovac. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Surge by Adam Kovac <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Randy Brown made a comment on How to Be a War Poet – Part 2 " Bryan J. wrote: "I took some inspiration from this month's essay; thinking of techniques and methods I hadn't previously considered. Might message you ...more "
Jul 01, 2024 08:48AM · see blog post