Written by Kylie Wheeler
Photo: brianturner.org/bio
At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15th, 2023 in Wygal Auditorium, retired veteran, poet, and musician Brian Turner will be performing. He’ll read some of his previous works, but he’ll also show us pieces from his newest collection, for which he’s composed musical accompaniments. Turner served in the US Army as infantry team leader for a year in Iraq from 2003 to 2004. Before serving in Iraq, he was deployed in Bosnia.
Brian Turner has a memoir, My Life as a Foreign Country, and has written two collections of poetry: Here, Bullet and Phantom Noise. Each collection is being read currently in the Introduction to Poetry workshop with Professor Mary Carroll-Hackett. Turner’s poems have been published and translated into multiple languages, including Spanish, Chinese, and French.
Here, Bullet recounts his experiences and time as an American soldier in Iraq. The title poem, “Here, Bullet,” was written and kept in Turner’s front pocket where his heart is while he served, as if he was challenging the bullet to hit him. One of the more notable aspects of this collection and Turner’s art is that these pieces are unfiltered, emotional, and graphic, depicting what he experienced while deployed in Iraq.
Phantom Noise is a collection of poetry that recounts Turner’s experience of trying to go back to day-to-day life. Turner brings attention to the internal battles that he had to face when coming back from serving.
Brian Turner has a multitude of awards and achievements under his belt. Some of them include having his work published in The New York Times and National Geographic and being featured in the documentary Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience. Along with these achievements, Turner also earned an MFA from the University of Oregon before he served seven years in the US Army. Currently, Turner directs the MFA program at Sierra Nevada College and is a contributing editor at The Normal School.
Even if you’re not an English major, it would be worthwhile to come to this semester’s Reader Series Event since Brian Turner isn’t just another author; he’s also a musician who’s passionate about engaging with audiences and sharing his own stories.
A Common Place 