Jan Atchley Bevan is an author of poetry and children’s books and was Author in Residence of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens Jacksonville, Florida from 2000 to 2008.
She was a literary art educator in the Education Department of the Cummer Museum and went into the public schools to promote reading and writing to many students. Her honorarium as Author in Residence continues throughout her career as an author and poet.
Jan is an author of children’s literature (two illustrated children’s books), and creative non-fictional historical events. Also a poet, she is a pianist and musical composer. A former psychiatric social worker, Jan Bevan earned her BS in Psychology from Berry College in Rome, Georgia, and her Master’s in Pastoral Studies and Theology from Loyola University, New Orleans, LA.
Jan was a literary artist connected with Very Special Arts in the State of Florida and the national office in Washington, DC. Very Special Arts was founded by Jean Kennedy Smith for artists and writers with disabilities. It is affiliated with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Jan was president, 2010-14, of the National League of American Pen Women, Jacksonville, Florida branch.
Jan Atchley Bevan considers herself a lifelong student of history. She feels that “cultures build their foundations on the past, their strength on the present, and their future by embracing both.”
Letters of the Lost Children: Japan – World War II
Reinhold Ferster and Jan Atchley Bevan have written a creative non-fictional account, inspired by historical events. This astounding reimagining of the lives and deaths of dozens of young Japanese student soldiers during World War II is based on a cache of photos of these sacrificial warriors that Reinhold discovered many years ago. The book includes in-depth research on the history of Japan, its philosophy of war, and the worship of the emperor as a demi-god, the writers have allowed us to feel the mixed emotions – fears, devotion, stoicism, honor – of these children.
These are not the words of the student soldiers but of the authors; yet the stories are real, if not factual, and the emotions are true. The book serves as a memorial to these very young boys as well as their friends, parents, fiancées, and other loved ones. They are among the forgotten victims of the war, now remembered for the lives they lived and sacrificed.
This new release from Pisgah Press is also available on Amazon
Ron Ferster is a retired commercial artist and copywriter whose own advertising agency had offices in Buffalo, NY, and Toronto, Ontario. With a passionate interest in world cultures, he was the author of “As They See It,” a series of articles for the Jacksonville Business Journal.
Visit www.lettersofthelostchildren.com for more information.