Tuesday Poem: Brian Turner, Here Bullet
I've only recently discovered the work of US poet Brian Turner, and I've been completely knocked out by it.
Brian Turner served as a US soldier in the middle east and in the Bosnian war in Yugoslavia. Everything in these poems he has seen, heard or felt. The first collection Here Bullet comes from his active service, the second, Phantom Noise, from the trauma of trying to reintegrate into civilian life afterwards. This is war poetry on a par with Wilfred Owen and Keith Douglas.
Most impressive of all is the way that Brian Turner meshes his poetry with the poetry of the arab world, where poets have been writing about the conflict for a long time.
I've written more about his two collections on my book blog.Brian Turner served as a US soldier in the middle east and in the Bosnian war in Yugoslavia. Everything in these poems he has seen, heard or felt. The first collection Here Bullet comes from his active service, the second, Phantom Noise, from the trauma of trying to reintegrate into civilian life afterwards. This is war poetry on a par with Wilfred Owen and Keith Douglas.
Most impressive of all is the way that Brian Turner meshes his poetry with the poetry of the arab world, where poets have been writing about the conflict for a long time.
You can read six poems from the collection 'Here Bullet' on this link - all re-printed with permission
http://gocomics.typepad.com/the_sandbox/2009/02/here-bullet.html
For more wonderful poetry from around the world, take a look at the Tuesday Poem website and check out the sidebar where Tuesday Poets post their contributions.
yes yes. Turner's work is remarkable and unflinching. And he was featured back in May at the Tuesday Poem Hub when Helen Lowe was the ed: http://tuesdaypoem.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/va-hospital-confessional-by-brian.html
ReplyDeleteGlad to come to more Turner here. Thank you for posting this so I can keep coming back to him.
It's great stuff, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI could feature Brian's poetry every week on The Tuesday Poem, I think, quite happily. In part becasue it's the poetry of the real and the significant; but also because it's great poetry -- imho.
Brian Turner's work knocked me out too when I first read it. It is so powerful and so accessible and his images linger long after reading. I've only read Here Bullet so you've inspired me to get Phantom Noise now.
ReplyDeleteI first read Brian Turner at Avril's suggestion. I relish his work because 'War Poetry' is now enshrined in the mausoleum of the curriculum and has therefore lost its urgency and some of its apparent relevence. Brian Turner's fine work is both urgent and relevent in the present day. And it breaks the modern stereotype of the 'unthinking soldier'.
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