Brian Turner reading at CSUEB

Last night I attended a reading at Cal State University East Bay by Iraq war veteran and poet Brian Turner, whose book Here, Bullet (Alice James Books, 2005) was named a New York Times Editor's Choice Selection. Turner's poetry, often deemed similar to the "poetry of witness" of Wilfred Owen and Yusef Komunyakaa, is extremely affecting and serves as an effective emotional supplement to the factual, statistics-related war news most of us are exposed to. Turner's poetic diction and images are clear, concise, but most of all, they are meaningful without being didactic. His passionate recitations and explanations of his poetry were simultaneously heartfelt and believeable--and, most importantly, they allowed the audience to see into the real man, the writer, underneath. Definitely an unforgettable reading. If you haven't bought Here, Bullet yet, make sure to pick up a copy soon. It is an amazingly human book of poetry that allows its readers to experience one of the most relevant and accurate depictions of that all-too-often unseen side of war: the tragedy deep beneath the chaos.


Below is a video of Brian Turner reading the title poem from his book Here, Bullet at Bowdoin College.

Andrew David King to be featured in RedBubble anthology

Andrew David King's poem "Amaranthine" has received an award of $100 and will be published in the anthology "Gaia - The Living Planet", organized by the art website RedBubble.

The work was chosen out of approximately 7,000 pieces to be featured in the anthology, along with a limited number of other artists and writers. The judging panel consisted of nine judges, all of whom are writers and artists. The judges included Kate Rigby, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at Monash University, professional photographer Johan Joubert, practicing artist Marilyn Brown, and Melbourne-based fiction writer and reviewer Annie Condon.

The anthology will be finalized and available for sale within the next month, according to RedBubble.