James B Wells

Review & Interview by WBT

The Wrath-Bearing Tree is a literary journal that “was established by a small group of combat veterans in 2013 and has published all kinds of prose and poetry related to the topic of military service, violence, trauma, and resulting mental and emotional health challenges.” Larry Abbott conducted a review of Because and recently interviewed me. It went live this morning.

I was wondering if the review would all be positive. The reviewer did email me after he started reading Because, “Just a quick note, I’m about 1/3 through, but it gets tough reading with the mist in front of my eyes. Must be the weather.” This reviewer did an excellent job, intermixing pictures and letters with a beautifully crafted and eloquently presented review, the weather must also be misting my eyes. Perhaps you may experience the same.

New Review and Interview by Larry Abbott: James Wells’ Because

By James b. Wells

JAMES B. WELLS is a retired criminology and criminal justice professor in the School of Justice Studies in the College of Justice, Safety, and Military Science at Eastern Kentucky University, and is the recipient of the 2025 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences John Howard Award, an award given intermittently, upon significant demand, to recognize an individual who has made significant and sustained contributions to the practice of corrections. A former carpenter, soldier, and correctional officer in a super-maximum-security prison and later as a researcher/planner assisting architects in prison design, he has multiple degrees, including an M.S. in Criminal Justice, a Ph.D. in Research, and an MFA in Creative Writing. He’s authored or co-authored over sixty-five books, chapters, articles, and essays, as well as over a hundred and fifty research reports for various local, state, and federal agencies. Recent essays from his research and memoir work appear or are forthcoming in Collateral Journal, About Place Journal, Wild Roof Journal, Military Experience and the Arts, The Wrath-Bearing Tree, Shift, Proud to be: Writing by American Warriors, Trajectory Journal, and From Pen to Page III: More Writings from the Bluegrass Writers Coalition.

His investigative memoir about his father's still CIA-classified death in Vietnam in 1965, titled Because: A CIA Coverup and a Son’s Odyssey to Find the Father He Never Knew, will be launched on Father's Day weekend, 2025. Links to publications, presentations, trailers, social media, blog, and other information can be found at https://jamesbwells.com. James enjoys spending much of his leisure time with his spouse on their Lexington, Kentucky farm located on the palisades of the Kentucky River, where he is an organic gardener and beekeeper.

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