| Here, Bullet | 
 enlarge | Author: Brian Turner
Publisher: Bloodaxe
Category: Book
List Price: £8.95
Buy New: £4.47
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 45259
Media: Paperback
Pages: 80
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.3
ISBN: 1852247991
EAN: 9781852247997
ASIN: 1852247991
Publication Date: November 10, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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A Very Important Collection of Poems December 31, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I first learnt about Here, Bullet by way of a radio programme discussion. I was impressed with what I heard and immediately vowed to read it as soon as I could. Having read the book I must say that it fulfilled my expectations.
This collection of poems is set mainly in Iraq in the context of war. The author, Brian Turner, served 7 years in the US army part of which was served in Iraq as an infantry team leader. Although the experiences which Turner talks about in the collection are mainly set in the context of the Iraqi war, it would be a mistke to say that the whole collection is about war. In terms of conveying the human condition, the poems are far reaching.
The poems in this book are derived from the personal experiences of Turner. He has a keen eye for detail. He has the imagination to render his experience in lively images that made me feel as if I was there along side him directly partaking in his experiences.
Turner is a brilliant observer, he bears direct witness to events and actions. For example, in the poem, In the Leupold Scope Turner "travse the Halabjah skyline/scanning rooftops two thousands meters out" or in Observation Post # 71, Turner sees positive aspects of life even among the destruction of war. In the second stanza he tells us: "Each life has its moment. The sunflowers/ lift their faces toward dawn/ as milk cows bellow in a field of trash."
There is also the wanton destruction and waste of life nowhere better suggested than in the title poem Here, Bullet. This destruction and waste of life is conveyed through a powerful theme that runs through many of these poems. Turner reminds us that we are made of flesh and blood. He exposes us to the frailty of the human body in the arena of war. In poems such as Here, Bullet and the Hurt Locker, Turner graphically reveals how the body is shattered when exposed to the machines of war.
This collection of poems engaged me both intellectually and emotioanally. The poems Body Bags and A B Negative quite simply arrested me and made me pause to reflect upon what Turner was doing. These two poems superbly explores the harsh reality of death in war. In Body Bags, bodies: "look as if they might roll over,/ wake from a dream and question us/ about the blood drying on their scalps,/ the bullets lodged in the back of their skulls." Yet on the other hand, Turner recognizes that the arena of war is a test bed that sometimes brings out the humanity in us. I dare any sensitive reader to fail to empathize with the surgeon, in the poem A B Negative, who we are told end up as: "an exhausted surgeon in tears,/ his bloodied hands on her chest, his head/ sunk down, the nurse guiding him to a nearby seat and holding him as he cries."
These are accessible poems. They have a clear setting, they are time bound and we know the predominant subject. But they are not simple tales of war. Turner is perceptive, subtle, appropriately complex and sophisticated when he has to be. For example, some of these poems paint pictures for us. It's as if they set out to create a firm vivid picture in our minds. The second stanza of 16 Iraqi Policemen is like a surrealist painting. It is not too difficult to conjure up an almost unreal, unnatural scene.
If I have any criticism of the collection it is this, there is a tone of acceptance of the most destructive consequence of war - namely death. In many of the first person narrated poems the I of the poem, whoever that is, appears to accept his lot and death all too easily. In Here, Bullet the body as: "bone and gristle and flesh" is surrendered; in Repatriation Day, the narrator "wants to lie down among them,/ to be wrapped in sheets like the flags/ of nations, bonded in light and shadow."
I could go on singing the praise of this collection but I am restricted by word limit. I was touched; I was emotionally and intellectually engaged. This is an outstanding collection of poems - buy it, read it and marvel in the fact that there is a contemporary poet among us with something to say about war and says it brilliantly.
A Brilliant Poetic Voice January 13, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Brian Turner's 'Here, Bullet' ably demonstrates that Turner is the natural heir to Wilfred Owen. His wholly authentic, deeply compassionate poetry based in the world of modern conflict have the unmistakable ring of actuality, unsuprising since Turner is a serving soldier in the US forces. His use of language is rich, masterful and fluid, the tone calm and insightful. This is beautiful and lasting work; poetry of a type so seldom seen these days. I cannot recommend this book enough and have given copies as gifts to all my friends.
A superb collection.
Joolz Denby
Brilliant May 1, 2006
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
One of the best and most moving books I have read for many years. The result of the experience of a serving member of the American Army in the Iraq war, these poems are beautiful and terrifying. I can't reccomend it highly enough.
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