Here, Bullet by Brian Turner

Here, Bullet by Brian Turner

Adding his voice to the current debate about the US occupation of Iraq, in poems written in the tradition of such poets as Wilfred Owen, Yusef Komunyakaa (Dien Cai Dau), Bruce Weigl (Song of Napalm) and Alice James' own Doug Anderson (The Moon Reflected Fire), Iraqi war veteran Brian Turner writes power-fully affecting poetry of witness, exceptional for its beauty, honesty, and skill. Based on Turner's yearlong tour in Iraq as an infantry team leader, the poems offer gracefully rendered, unflinching description but, remarkably, leave the reader to draw conclusions or moral lessons. Here, Bullet is a must-read for anyone who cares about the war, regardless of political affiliation.

Before joining the US Army as an infantry team leader in Iraq, Brian Turner received an MFA from the University of Oregon. National Public Radio, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and the BBC have all featured him. He has won a National Endowment for the Arts Literary Fellowship in Poetry, the Amy Lowell Poetry Traveling Scholarship, and a Lannan Fund fellowship.