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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Most amazing book of poems I've read in a long time. Very concise, beautiful and harrowing. In case you didn't know, the movie The Hurt Locker came from the title of a poem by the same name in this book.
Moving poetry. Graphic imagery. Not for everyone. But a great read.
It's tough, I think I don't love the format of just tons of disconnected poetry strung together like this. Certainly I'm not bringing back the warrior poet mantra over this book. I feel the poems never impacted me the way many memoirs of the same subject hitting on similar themes have.
The subject matter and writing are inoffensive. One could arguably say the same on the prose. It lacks punch or voidness or really anything standout. In the large field of poems written by soldiers since literacy began being a common trait for the common soldier this volume really doesn't trod any new ground or try anything new. It doesn't add.
That said, it's not bad (that's why it's a 2 not a 1 star), I simply didn't connect with it in any way. It's short so I don't discourage people from trying it out but I could have whipped through it in an afternoon and not for the pure enjoyment I was getting out of it. I get why someone might love it but not a single of the poems, hell not a single stanza, got copied down into my quotes notebook. If you want the written word to convey the soldiers experience there's just way better places to look.
The subject matter and writing are inoffensive. One could arguably say the same on the prose. It lacks punch or voidness or really anything standout. In the large field of poems written by soldiers since literacy began being a common trait for the common soldier this volume really doesn't trod any new ground or try anything new. It doesn't add.
That said, it's not bad (that's why it's a 2 not a 1 star), I simply didn't connect with it in any way. It's short so I don't discourage people from trying it out but I could have whipped through it in an afternoon and not for the pure enjoyment I was getting out of it. I get why someone might love it but not a single of the poems, hell not a single stanza, got copied down into my quotes notebook. If you want the written word to convey the soldiers experience there's just way better places to look.
Brian Turner's "soldier poetry" is masterful, thought-provoking, and breathtaking. Turner's poetry commands attention with its graphic imagery and bold statements, and draws the reader into deeper thought, forcing the reader to ask questions with subtle turns of phrase.
This was a school read, and I wasn't sure I would like it, but I did. "Here, Bullet" and "Eulogy," among the more shocking of the poems, were my favorites, I think. If you can, watch a video of Turner explaining "Eulogy" and reading it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=valdPUX_BA8
This was a school read, and I wasn't sure I would like it, but I did. "Here, Bullet" and "Eulogy," among the more shocking of the poems, were my favorites, I think. If you can, watch a video of Turner explaining "Eulogy" and reading it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=valdPUX_BA8
See my review: http://www.bookslut.com/poetry/2006_05_008756.php
In [b:Here, Bullet|394423|Here, Bullet|Brian Turner|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328699132s/394423.jpg|383963], Brian Turner adds his voice to a long line of war poets. His poetry exhibits an acute awareness of both the body and the mind during war time. This makes his poetry hauntingly beautiful as the words grasp at the unbearable physicality of war and a metaphysical analysis of life and loyalty.
The opening poem of the collection, "A Soldier's Arabic," encapsulates the beautiful tension of love and death, of languages meeting in translation, and of bodies aware of life and its ending. It also displays Turner's recognition that the end of war for a soldier is just another beginning.
Many of Turner's poems (such as "Here, Bullet," "The Hurt Locker," "Autopsy," and "Body Bags") show his keen awareness of the body. While other poems, such as "Last Night's Dream," remind readers that war is still greatly identified as a male's world. However, the collection excels at crystallizing the moments of beauty in contrast to the moments of horror in war.
The lines of the prose poem "9 Line Medivac" perhaps best describes Turner's poetry: "someone who knows more than the mechanics of the body, someone who knows how to treat that drifting of the mind into the fizzling lights".
This collection will not be for everyone. No matter how you read it, this is war poetry. However, whether you enjoy war poetry or not, this collection is worth reading for the sheer beauty of the captured moments.
The opening poem of the collection, "A Soldier's Arabic," encapsulates the beautiful tension of love and death, of languages meeting in translation, and of bodies aware of life and its ending. It also displays Turner's recognition that the end of war for a soldier is just another beginning.
Many of Turner's poems (such as "Here, Bullet," "The Hurt Locker," "Autopsy," and "Body Bags") show his keen awareness of the body. While other poems, such as "Last Night's Dream," remind readers that war is still greatly identified as a male's world. However, the collection excels at crystallizing the moments of beauty in contrast to the moments of horror in war.
The lines of the prose poem "9 Line Medivac" perhaps best describes Turner's poetry: "someone who knows more than the mechanics of the body, someone who knows how to treat that drifting of the mind into the fizzling lights".
This collection will not be for everyone. No matter how you read it, this is war poetry. However, whether you enjoy war poetry or not, this collection is worth reading for the sheer beauty of the captured moments.
Finally finished reading the last of these poems!! These really resonate with me. I haven't been this excited about poetry for a long time. This book should be a companion to any non-fiction book about the war in Iraq. The images and anguish in these pages is as palpable as any personal narrative or Youtube video. An awesome accomplishment that not only reflects Americans at war but the civilian people caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. So many favorites in this book. These are the type of poems that should be committed to memory: The Hurt Locker; Here, Bullet; 9-Line Medevac, 2000 lbs.: these are some of the more memorable for me. An emotional journey just reading these. If you want to be a witness to war, then draw up a chair and start reading these masterpieces. It's hard to read them in one sitting. They are gems that must be read and read again.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
“…No matter / what god shines down on you, no matter / what crackling pain and anger / you carry in your fists, my friend, / it should break your heart to kill.”
“History is a cloudy mirror made of dirt / and bone and ruin. And Love? Loss?”
“What do I know / of redemption or sacrifice, what will I have / to say of the dead— that it was worth it, / that any of it made sense? / I have no words to speak of war.”
“History is a cloudy mirror made of dirt / and bone and ruin. And Love? Loss?”
“What do I know / of redemption or sacrifice, what will I have / to say of the dead— that it was worth it, / that any of it made sense? / I have no words to speak of war.”
Poems seem a bit abstract in places... but, that being said, this is poetry that depends on experience––I'm thankful this man wrote these poems after serving in Iraq. A beautiful book...