tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post3286974278962179979..comments2023-11-21T13:48:03.338+13:00Comments on Tuesday Poem: VA Hospital Confessional by Brian TurnerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-8376599946972910322012-05-19T05:56:00.183+12:002012-05-19T05:56:00.183+12:00Helen, here are some more references to Brian Turn...Helen, here are some more references to Brian Turner interviews/articles...<br /><br />Interview with Philip Adams, Late Night Live, ABC Radio National (Aust.)<br />http://www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/stories/2007/2102706.htm<br /><br /> <br />The MFA at War Proximity Reality and Poetry in Brian Turner's Phantom Noise. American Poetry Review. http://poems.com/special_features/prose/Malcolm St Hillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-5572171181744589922012-05-17T21:43:25.330+12:002012-05-17T21:43:25.330+12:00Malcolm,
Thank you for commenting on the 'Tue...Malcolm,<br /><br />Thank you for commenting on the 'Tuesday Poem' and on Brian Turner's poetry. I agree the epigraph from Al-Bayati(1926-1999)"I embrace the frightful and the beautiful" is very apt, so much so that it almost encapsulates other commentary. I will certainly look for the interview you mention. I think Brian's poetry is perhaps not as well knonw here as it Helen Lowehttp://helenlowe.info/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-80412757178337313542012-05-17T00:11:08.270+12:002012-05-17T00:11:08.270+12:00Turner's poetry gets right into the heart. The...Turner's poetry gets right into the heart. The psychological impact of killing the enemy, on the soldier-killer, is chillingly invoked in his poem, 'Sadiq' from “Here Bullet.” I also admire his use of epigraphs. One that he uses in “Phantom Noise” relates to the contradictions between beauty and horror in the war-zone. He quotes an Iraqi poet, “I embrace the frightful and the Malcolm St Hillnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-57901946318959538912012-05-15T08:48:14.722+12:002012-05-15T08:48:14.722+12:00Thanks for commenting, T.Thanks for commenting, T.Helen Lowehttp://helenlowe.info/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-41422026222759511082012-05-12T13:25:56.709+12:002012-05-12T13:25:56.709+12:00Thank-you for this, Helen.Thank-you for this, Helen.T. https://www.blogger.com/profile/16509409207991963533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-5904379728256435112012-05-11T18:00:17.393+12:002012-05-11T18:00:17.393+12:00Glad you enjoyed, Keith. Thanks for reading & ...Glad you enjoyed, Keith. Thanks for reading & taking the time to comment.Helen Lowehttp://helenlowe.info/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-25001919348991214192012-05-10T21:30:41.355+12:002012-05-10T21:30:41.355+12:00Fabulous poem Helen, thanks for introducing me to ...Fabulous poem Helen, thanks for introducing me to another Brian Turner. I'm going to do the Kindle thing now too.Keith Westwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03833695634102433794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-29330857316516198442012-05-10T08:59:17.210+12:002012-05-10T08:59:17.210+12:00Michelle, oh, it's undoubtedly very 'prese...Michelle, oh, it's undoubtedly very 'present'--& even more so in "Here, Bullet" than in "Phantom Noise" simply becasue NOISE is essentially more reflective whereas in BULLET you're *in it* you're right there in The Hurt Locker.<br /><br />And yes, yes to the lines you quote being the turning point: it's the way it picks up on the second couplet Helen Lowehttp://helenlowe.info/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-18236277336304292572012-05-10T08:54:20.163+12:002012-05-10T08:54:20.163+12:00Helen M: Mary used the word "rawness" an...Helen M: Mary used the word "rawness" and I think it's right, but you are right too, about the open-ness there: a kind of raw painful honesty about what *is* in terms of the aftermath of war.Helen Lowehttp://helenlowe.info/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-21273116385640272042012-05-09T22:54:15.730+12:002012-05-09T22:54:15.730+12:00This poem is the answer to anyone who claims that ...This poem is the answer to anyone who claims that poetry is esoteric and removed, an intellectual exercise. This shows the reader that poetry is terrifying and real, too. The image that sticks with me and which is the turning point for me, too, is this:<br /><br /><br />The milk cow wants to know<br />how I can do this to another human being.<br /><br /><br />It speaks to everything in the poem Michelle Elvyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00503119577895402738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-83545086261024350112012-05-09T20:24:01.484+12:002012-05-09T20:24:01.484+12:00What I love about this poem, Helen is its openess ...What I love about this poem, Helen is its openess and vulnerability. <br />No heroics nothing that glorifies war but also no criticism... no need to the poem speaks for itself.Helen McKinlayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18429062682694815734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-71099437312691979372012-05-09T19:25:55.363+12:002012-05-09T19:25:55.363+12:00Andrew, Tim: Thank you for your positive comments....Andrew, Tim: Thank you for your positive comments.Helen Lowehttp://helenlowe.info/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-19947117679209446542012-05-09T17:26:59.650+12:002012-05-09T17:26:59.650+12:00I agree completely - a great choice, Helen.I agree completely - a great choice, Helen.Tim Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14856414700019368658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-88418499712365626762012-05-09T09:43:17.128+12:002012-05-09T09:43:17.128+12:00I too thought it was the Kiwi Brian Turner before ...I too thought it was the Kiwi Brian Turner before I got past the title.<br /><br />Good choice, Helen. fantastic poem.Ben Hurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08367615722744097913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-12446700750123159052012-05-09T09:09:12.950+12:002012-05-09T09:09:12.950+12:00I agree, Mary, about the rawness -- I think that c...I agree, Mary, about the rawness -- I think that comes through even more strongly in the "Here, Bullet" collection than it does in "Phantom Noise" -- and no accident that the film "The Hurt Locker" was named after the poem of the same name in "Here, Bullet."Helen Lowehttp://helenlowe.info/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-18017212686239083792012-05-09T08:13:39.120+12:002012-05-09T08:13:39.120+12:00Fantastic you got permission to run this poem Hele...Fantastic you got permission to run this poem Helen - it's wonderful to find a poet writing contemporary war poetry from the frontline... So raw and provocative: Thank you. This image stays with me: When the boy brings us a platter of fruit, I mistake cantaloupe for a human skull.Mary McCallumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07482261103185786111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-20174887781980594372012-05-08T22:00:44.422+12:002012-05-08T22:00:44.422+12:00Yes, "that" Brian Turner indeed, as oppo...Yes, "that" Brian Turner indeed, as opposed to our New Zealand one. :)<br /><br />I recommend both collections for "heart and pity and ache."Helen Lowehttp://helenlowe.info/blog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-7860866032761941612012-05-08T13:21:22.260+12:002012-05-08T13:21:22.260+12:00oh it's that brian turner - i was confused for...oh it's that brian turner - i was confused for a minute - it's just wonderful - fully of heart and pity and acheJennifer Comptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13254781317505540179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-40315497932398831942012-05-08T09:23:53.833+12:002012-05-08T09:23:53.833+12:00I think you will find both collections well repay ...I think you will find both collections well repay the read. Poems like "Here, Bullet" and "The Hurt Locker" were definite contenders for the Hub feature today.Helen Lowehttp://helenlowe.info/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-16361798093874712982012-05-08T01:39:41.681+12:002012-05-08T01:39:41.681+12:00Discovered that I can get both books on Kindle (Bl...Discovered that I can get both books on Kindle (Bloodaxe edition)at very reasonable price and have downloaded. Now must resist reading until I've completed the Robert Hass marathon - he's mesmerising!Kathleen Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645566938871914385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298334170177578638.post-84090100168786876922012-05-08T01:23:45.313+12:002012-05-08T01:23:45.313+12:00Helen this is so beautiful it made me shiver, part...Helen this is so beautiful it made me shiver, partly I think because the poetry is so profoundly 'true'. He articulates the unsayable - I thought the parallel with Wilfred Owen was spot-on. I haven't read Brian Turner before, but I'm going to get hold of his work as soon as I'm finished reading Robert Hass.Kathleen Joneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07645566938871914385noreply@blogger.com