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Here, Bullet Kindle Edition
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.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherAlice James Books
- Publication dateSeptember 1, 2014
- File size564 KB
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Turner has sent back a dispatch from the war in Iraq and deserves our thanks " -- The New York Times Book Review
" a powerful reading experience " -- The Franklin Journal
" earnest, nonpartisan attention to the terrors as well as to the beauty of ruins." -- The New York Times Book Review Editor s Choice
" written by a veteran whose eye for the telling detail is as strategic as it is poetic." -- The Globe and Mail
About the Author
Brian Turner earned an MFA from the University of Oregon and lived abroad in South Korea for a year before serving for seven years in the US Army. He was an infantry team leader for a year in Iraq beginning in November 2003 with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Prior to that, he was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1999 with the 10th Mountain Division. His poetry has been published in Poetry Daily, The Georgia Review and other journals, and in the Voices in Wartime Anthology.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Here, Bullet
If a body is what you want,
then here is bone and gristle and flesh.
Here is the clavicle-snapped wish,
the aorta’s opened valves, that leap
thought makes at the synaptic gap.
Here is the adrenaline rush you crave,
that inexorable flight, that insane puncture
into heat and blood. And I dare you to finish
what you’ve started. Because here, Bullet,
here is where I complete the word you bring
hissing through the air, here is where I moan
the barrel’s cold esophagus, triggering
my tongue’s explosives for the rifling I have
inside of me, each twist of the round
spun deeper, because here, Bullet,
here is where the world ends, every time.
Product details
- ASIN : B00LZ5SABU
- Publisher : Alice James Books; 1st edition (September 1, 2014)
- Publication date : September 1, 2014
- Language : English
- File size : 564 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Not Enabled
- Print length : 90 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #336,322 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #26 in Poetry About Specific Places
- #155 in Poetry About Places (Books)
- #247 in Two-Hour Education & Reference Short Reads
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Brian Turner is the author of a memoir, My Life as a Foreign Country, and five collections of poetry— Here, Bullet and Phantom Noise; with The Wild Delight of Wild Things, The Goodbye World Poem, and The Dead Peasant’s Handbook due out from Alice James Books in Fall, 2023. He’s the editor of The Kiss and co-editor of The Strangest of Theatres. A musician, he’s written and recorded albums with The Interplanetary Acoustic Team, including 11 11 (Me Smiling) and American Undertow with The Retro Legion. His poems and essays have been published in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, and Harper’s, among other fine journals, and he was featured in the documentary Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, nominated for an Academy Award. A Guggenheim Fellow, he’s received a USA Hillcrest Fellowship in Literature, the Amy Lowell Traveling Fellowship, the Poets’ Prize, and a Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation. He lives in Orlando with his dog, Dene, the world’s sweetest golden retriever.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the poetry honest and creative. They describe the book as an awesome, must-read read that captures their emotions. The poems are relatable and profound, capturing the emotional impact of war. Readers appreciate the unexpected perspectives and insights into the realities on the front lines. The pacing is described as engaging and intense, reaching into their hearts and minds. Overall, customers feel the book has an impact and helps them come to terms with issues they faced after the war.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the poetry honest and straightforward. They appreciate the vivid images, creative language, and historical context. The poems don't preach or have an overt political agenda, providing inspiration to other writers.
"...the imaginations and emotions of his readers through the concise words of a skilled poet...." Read more
"...Turner uses vivid images, clear but creative language, and historical context to challenge our understanding of culture, history, the military..." Read more
"...I found the poems modern yet deeply expressive of both the great and heroic beauty and supreme tragedy of this war...." Read more
"Subject aside, this is raw poetry. It is bare. It is honest...." Read more
Customers find the book engaging and a must-read for war veterans. They say it's worth having, brilliant, and moving. Readers also mention it's a wonderful poetry collection even if you don't normally read poetry.
"...The poems are varied in style and content and worthy of being read by all mature persons...." Read more
"...This is a book to own and ponder." Read more
"...It's worth the book." Read more
"Worth having. War experiences put into poetry, makes for quite the experience. Manages to be beautiful through so much pain...." Read more
Customers appreciate the vivid images and creative language in this book. They find it moving and deeply expressive, describing it as a modern masterpiece.
"...Turner uses vivid images, clear but creative language, and historical context to challenge our understanding of culture, history, the military..." Read more
"...I found the poems modern yet deeply expressive of both the great and heroic beauty and supreme tragedy of this war...." Read more
"...simple, direct language with common, unvarnished images all the miraculous beauty of daily life mutilated by all the savagery of which human beings..." Read more
"...Turner has an exceptional gift for bringing images vividly to life, and his poems, overall, transcend the subject of war and capture emotions to..." Read more
Customers find the book relatable and profound. They say it's a touching testimony to the War in Iraq.
"Turner’s poetry is vivid, engaging, and relatable...." Read more
"...does not pretend to judge the situation, but it does richly describe the experience itself." Read more
"...to life, and his poems, overall, transcend the subject of war and capture emotions to which all readers will be able to relate...." Read more
"...Very touching material that made an impact." Read more
Customers find the book's perspective insightful and engaging. They appreciate the author's balanced views, which broaden readers' understanding of the realities on the front lines in the Middle East. The book provides a moving testimony of the Iraq War by a wonderful poet. Readers also mention that the historical context challenges their understanding of culture, history, and the military.
"...Turner broadens his readers' perspectives with the voices of soldiers, medical personnel, and Iraqi civilians...." Read more
"...images, clear but creative language, and historical context to challenge our understanding of culture, history, the military experience and human..." Read more
"...It has all the marks of a true theophany: the mystery that attracts irresistably, and the horror that repels, that paralyzes with trembling fear at..." Read more
"Moving poetry. Snapshots of life and death in Afghanistan, not giving you all the information but acting more like an emotional record...." Read more
Customers find the book's pacing engaging and intense. They say the poetry is vivid and relatable, reaching into their hearts and minds in a way that touches them.
"Turner’s poetry is vivid, engaging, and relatable...." Read more
"...the visuals and the emotions of it in a way that really reaches into your heart and mind and touches it in a way that only poetry can." Read more
"...The title selection, "Here, Bullet" is very intense and reminds me of Beowulf daring Grendel to attack...." Read more
"...It is very moving and casts a painfully personal picture of the fighting." Read more
Customers find the book relevant and helpful for coming to terms with issues brought home from war. They describe it as smart, self-contained, and meticulous in depicting war and battlefield moments.
"Being an OIF/OEF veteran, this book is highly relevant to me. It has helped me come to terms with a lot problems which I brought home from the war...." Read more
"...Very touching material that made an impact." Read more
"A meticulous and stunning depiction of war and the lands moments and people affected by war, from the mundane through the simply lovely to to..." Read more
"...Accessible, smart, self-contained, brilliant. I'll read it again and again." Read more
Customers find the book accessible and relatable.
"...has read it — with or without personal military connections — finds it accessible...." Read more
"...Accessible, smart, self-contained, brilliant. I'll read it again and again." Read more
"Accessible and Real..." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2008"The history books will get it wrong.
There will be nothing written
about the island ferris wheel
frozen by rust like a broken clock...."
"Ferris Wheel"
In Here, Bullet, U. S. Army veteran Brian Turner gets it right as only a poet can. Through vivid and varied images and voices, Turner illustrates the nuanced reality of the Iraq War Theater. He shuns cliché as he chronicles the scenes of war from unique and unexpected perspectives. In "Baghdad Zoo," Turner displays the chaos widely reported after the 2003 invasion not through familiar images of looting, sniper fire, and explosions, but through the experience of displaced animals thrust into a surreal and alien habitat. The absurdity of the scene provides a powerful metaphor that rings excruciatingly true.
Turner displays a profound respect for the rich culture of the Middle East that is often overlooked in the strife of battle. In "Alhazen of Basra," Turner pays homage to scientific and mathematical advances that form the foundation of academics. "Gilgamesh, in Fossil Relief" honors both the ancient poet and the modern archaeologist. Narthere, a painter, strives to capture in art the war around him as Turner depicts his frustration in "Easel."
Many have been touched in one way or another by the current war. Turner broadens his readers' perspectives with the voices of soldiers, medical personnel, and Iraqi civilians. Through these balanced points of view, Turner does what no camera or history book can do. He reveals what it is like to feel a life slip through the fingers, to be at the center of an exploding market, to strive for a sense of normalcy in a world turned upside down. Turner jars the imaginations and emotions of his readers through the concise words of a skilled poet.
With a minimum of judgment, Turner illuminates the world that friends, children, siblings, and spouses have experienced in Iraq. And he reminds his readers of the common human emotions and desires shared by combatants on both sides of war and by civilians caught in between. Far from a political statement, it is a statement of the human condition in a time of war.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2022Turner’s poetry is vivid, engaging, and relatable. We are reading this in our veteran’s book club, and everyone participating has found Turner’s poems engaging, challenging, and insightful. When people tell me they don’t read poetry, this is a collection I recommend, because everyone I know who has read it — with or without personal military connections — finds it accessible. Turner uses vivid images, clear but creative language, and historical context to challenge our understanding of culture, history, the military experience and human experience.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2009If it is possible to say that one enjoyed something that deals so directly and vitally to a desperately sad and ruinous experience as that depicted and lived through in Iraq by Mr Brian Turner, then it must be said. I found the poems modern yet deeply expressive of both the great and heroic beauty and supreme tragedy of this war. Mr Turner's work compares easily with the works of many other brilliant poets of other generations and other wars such as Sassoon and Brooke. The poems are varied in style and content and worthy of being read by all mature persons. It does not pretend to judge the situation, but it does richly describe the experience itself.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2008Subject aside, this is raw poetry. It is bare. It is honest. It has all the marks of a true theophany: the mystery that attracts irresistably, and the horror that repels, that paralyzes with trembling fear at the same time. If you cannot have the experience itself, or if you want to read someone elses notes on an incomprehensible experience you've shared with them, you will want to read this. Most "great" poetry about world shaking events was written decades, if not centuries, after the event. There is, however, a short shelf of poetry written by the people who were there, written when it happened. i think people hesistate to call it "great" because it lacks the essential distance of greatness. That does not make it any less personal, any less human, any less intense--and a hundred times more fundamentally human. Reading this, I'm reminded of the overwhelming effect the Crusades had on European culture. The conquorers were conquored one by one, and Western culture is all the greater for it. I hope Brian Turner goes on to cast this writer's eye on every detail of the remainder of his life. The everyday life he grew up in the US with is no less worthy than the life he experienced over there--after all, THAT is the life millions have grown up with as everyday, by definition. Yet look at how extraordinary.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2014War poetry has the tenancy to sink into the muck of premeditated maudlin mud and blood. You know, war is hell, and if you were there you feel like you should be able to break hearts and upset stomachs, gross out the pantywaists and come off like the strong survivor that you are, but Here, Bullet does not do that. I don't read a single poem that glorifies war and tries to inspire the young to join up and get themselves killed. What I read is someone who has been changed not just by war, but by words, topography, cultures, and a recognition that security and fairness are concepts that have no place in a war zone. It is important that we read the poetry of those who were there. These poems do not preach. These poems do not have an political agenda. These poems see. The poet has taken me there and doused me with buckets of fear and thought. Even a long life is short. I need poems that recognize the value of life, and how fragile life is, everywhere. I need poems that see how easily we die, and still moves me to value life. Even the poem where the soldier seems to invite the bullet to enter his body. . . Here. Bullet I'm right here, waiting for you. Even such a concept helps me, hints to me how conflicting all conflicts are, especially conflicts of war
Top reviews from other countries
- leeleeReviewed in Canada on October 7, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars I adore this book and can't recommend it highly enough
I adore this book and can't recommend it highly enough. Whether you're looking for a new way to think about the Iraq war, or just trying to understand peace and conflict a little more clearly through the perspective of a brilliant observer of the human condition, you will find things on these pages that you didn't even know you needed.
-
bambo1Reviewed in Germany on May 30, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Da kann ich nicht zu sagen
Meine Tochter brauchte dieses Buch für ihr Studium, welches sie inzwischen Erfolgreich abgeschlossen hat. Ob da Buch dabei geholfen hat, weiß ich nicht.
- J. BrownReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2011
5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply Moving War Poetry
Brian Turner's intensely moving poems of the war in Iraq are finely observed,compassionate and questioning. He shows a appreciation and fascination for the culture of the people and the land as well as the tough camaraderie of the soldiers with whom he served. A soldier who saw active service in Iraq, these poems convey more deeply the brutal poignancy of warthan any news report. The language is direct, strong and compelling. This collection places Brian Turner in the company of the great war poets.
- The Book WitchReviewed in the United Kingdom on June 25, 2012
5.0 out of 5 stars Moving and Profound
This is one of the most moving and profound collections of poetry I've read in a very long time. And it's certainly the best collection of war poetry since Wilfred Owen. He tells it as it is, without sentimentality or a conscious desire to shock. What we feel is the pity of war as well as the horror of it at a very personal level. As Owen said 'the pity is in the poetry'.
I particularly liked the quotes from Iraqi and Persian poets and the way the poet integrates what he is writing into their traditions as if having a conversation with them.
Everyone should read this. We might be less keen to send young men to be torn apart and psychologically maimed in the name of some grand political ideology.
- mimiReviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking and heartbreaking
This is the most hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking collection of poetry I have read in years. I return to it time and again. It is intelligent, sensitive and overflowing with humanity.
I thought poetry was virtually dead until I reread it recently. Is war poetry the purest, the most honest genre there is?