MANKATO —  In one reading, a soldier will tell of the trials and tribulations he faced in the sands of the Middle East under a military doctrine that didn’t allow him to be himself.

In another, a poet who lost his faith in college will read from his layered, complex book of spiritual prayer-poems.

And in yet another, an award-winning novelist will offer a glimpse of her work that delves into the psyche of victims of domestic and sexual violence.

This is the alumni residency of the Good Thunder Reading Series — or, “the premier small-town reading series in the country,” according to the Minnesota Humanities Commission.

“We have a very nice mix,” said Candace Black, a Minnesota State University English instructor who helps organize the annual series celebrating    its 30th year. “I really enjoy the alumni readings. It’s exciting to see their work pay off.”

Beginning today, MSU alumni Bronson Lemer, Matt Mauch and Christine Stark will share craft talks and readings as part of their residency.

Closet soldier

Lemer is the author of “The Last Deployment: How a Gay, Hammer-Swinging Twentysomething Survived a Year in Iraq.”

He began writing the book in 2004, following his deployment. While stationed overseas, Lemer served as a carpentry and masonry specialist.

In the summer of 2003, Lemer worked in Baghdad to repair schools, hospitals and community buildings. But at the same time, he was serving under “don’t ask, don’t tell” — the military doctrine that precluded Lemer from responding honestly when one his superiors said to him bluntly: “Bronson, I always thought you were gay.”

Such real-life moments, Lemer said, highlight the personal dichotomy he faced.

“It’s a difficult story to pin down,” said Lemer, a writing instructor for the University of Minnesota campus in Rochester. “It’s very personal. But on the other hand, it’s a war story. ... There is a lot of conflict in the book: The person the military wants me to be and the person that I want to be.”

Moments of prayer

Mauch is the author of “Prayer Book,” a collection of prose meditations on what Mauch described as the “smaller moments where one has an epiphenous experience with things that are oftentimes overlooked.”

The woman who pops Dramamine on a long flight. The feeling of being in an empty laundromat. The anecdote grandfather tells about frugality when you spill too much ketchup on your plate.

These are the fodder for Mauch’s prayers.

But these aren’t prayers of the religious sort. Instead, they are layered, complex soliloquies that vibrate with deeply introspective themes. Though Mauch admits he lost his faith in college — during his conversion from an engineering major to an English major — he said poetry still exists for him as a spiritual endeavor.

“Prayer is something we naturally do,” he said. “We hope, we wish, we think. Religion gives structure to that prayer, but poetry is more organic. It comes with none of the institutional things.”

The writing instructor at Normandale Community College said his pieces intentionally defy interpretation. Rather, he said they are meant to be swished in the mouth, like a fine wine, to release its motley of flavors and aromas.

“I think the best works are those with enough mystery and complexity that people come to different conclusions,” Mauch said.

The voice

Stark is a visual artist and author of several nonfiction and fiction works that relate to her own personal experiences — and the experiences of others — with sexual and domestic violence.

She co-edited “Not for Sale,” an international anthology on sexual violence. She was a 2009 Pushcart Prize nominee and a 2010 Loft Mentorship winner.

Her latest novel, “Nickels,” was published by Modern History Press and follows the life of a severely abused bi-racial girl. The well-reviewed work is told in a series of prose poems and delves into the dissociative states that are often the hallmark of abuse survivors.

Stark teaches writing at Metropolitan State Univers