The Online Reflector

U.S. Army Sgt. and poet Brian Turner spoke at the University of Indianapolis Kellogg Writers Series held Feb. 21 in Good Recital Hall. Turner shared some of his acclaimed works from the collections “Here, Bullet” and “Phantom Noise.”

Turner spoke in Associate English Professor Elizabeth Weber’s Poetry class in a question-and-answer session, discussing the context of “Here, Bullet,” which the class was currently studying.

Turner said that he did not know what to expect when he arrived to read his poetry because of the many different crowds he has come across.

“Every time, it’s different,”  Turner said. “I like when my poems surprise people,and make them see things in their mind that they hadn’t seen before.”

In his poetry collections, Turner has written about war, and the mix of different emotions on the battlefield. He also spoke about his personal experiences while in the Army in Afghanistan.

“Some of my writing is a mix of the classic battlefield and the wider battlefield of most wars, or the homefront,” Turner said. “War is decentralized; it’s difficult to see how they [wars] are connected to one another.”

Turner said that the strong point of his writing involved curiosity and how one can use his or her imagination.

He also said that some of the material in poetry or story writing doesn’t have to be real, that the creativity of the made up parts is what can really make a story.

“Don’t let the structure of the world beat you down,” Turner said. “If we are curious about things, we can identify more with the world we live in.”

Sophomore English major James Figy introduced Turner, and said that he learned a lot about the soldier-poet before introducing him for the Writers Series.

“It was really interesting looking up information about him and what he’d accomplished,” Figy said.

Figy  praised the concepts of war Turner talked about and how he provided insight to the younger audience members who attended his poetry reading. Figy said that students do not know as much as they should about the war in Afghanistan.

“I thought that Brian’s perspective was very important,” Figy said. “A lot of students were 12 or 13 and didn’t know much about it [9-11], so we’re kind of playing catch up.”

Turner’s second collection, “Phantom Noise,” was considered for the 2010 T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry. He said that the key to being a better writer and poet is about accepting the challenge and finding ways to get better, whether at writing or in school.

“We have to ask ourselves, why do we want to be educated?” Turner said. “Students need to challenge their teachers, everyone around them, and themselves.”

Turner also offered advice to writers and students about how to write their best and pursue their best works of poetry and story writing. He mentioned that one of the best ways for students to be better writers is to expand their knowledge.

“Most writers would say ‘Read a lot,’” Turner said.  “I would encourage them to pursue what they find mysterious.”

The next Kellogg Writers Series presentation will be April 5 with Frank Bill. It will be held in Schwitzer Student Center in UIndy Hall at 7:30 p.m.