War stories lead to creative works

By Brent VonCannon
The Collegian

Fresno State alumnus Brian Turner has created quite a buzz over the last year with the publishing debut of his book of poems. The book, “Here, Bullet,” is a first-person account of Turner’s experiences in the Iraq War and has made him the recipient of numerous awards and commendations.

The book tells different stories in prose that are really all part of the same tale, and cover everything from triumph to tragedy. “The book isn’t about me,” Turner said. “It’s about things going on around me.

The real subject is love and law.”

Two particular poems stand out, said Turner. One is the title poem, “Here, Bullet.” The title, Turner said, serves as both a taunt toward death and a recognition of death. The other, “Eulogy,” is dedicated to a soldier in Turner’s unit who committed suicide.

As an infantry leader of the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in Iraq, Turner went out on many missions, seeing both the good and the bad firsthand.

“I wrote the entire book while I was there except for three poems,” Turner said. He kept a notebook for writing journal entries. “We were out on missions all the time. When we came back, I’d usually open the notebook and write for a half hour. Sometimes a poem would come out of it.

“I didn’t know I was writing a book at the time,” Turner continued. “A soldier in Iraq doesn’t know about [tomorrow]. I asked: what needs to be written today? I was trying to be a witness of what was going on.

I felt that the humanity and emotional content wasn’t being reported—that’s the realm of poetry and creative writing.”

Turner was already familiar with war, having been deployed in Bosnia-Herzegovina with the 10th Mountain Division from 1999 to 2000. He joined the army relatively late, at age 30, for “practical reasons.”

“I was recently married and it was time to start a new family,” Turner said, describing the various monetary benefits of military service. “Plus I come from a military background. That presence was always there growing up.”

Turner is a part-time instructor at Fresno City College, teaching English, and also works in construction. Following graduation from Fresno State with his bachelor’s degree in 1994, Turner went to the University of Oregon on a scholarship and obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree. He credits Connie Hales, director of the Master of Fine Arts program at Fresno State, for advising him to check out Oregon’s fine arts program.

“There were two reasons I wanted to go to Oregon,” Turner said. “I love the environment over there, and T. R. Hummer was director of the program there, and I’ve always admired his works.”

Being an English instructor and a poet was not always Turner’s first interest. “I wanted to be a rock star when I was 17 and 18,” said Turner, a bass player. “I wanted to travel. I liked creative writing while taking classes at Fresno State, but didn’t know if I wanted to make a career out of it. As part of the scholarship, I taught a class on creative writing at the University of Oregon and really enjoyed it.”

Turner also had the opportunity to teach English as a foreign language in Pusan, South Korea for a year. He described teaching at the college level as “a challenge I look forward to.”

Last spring, Turner read selections from his book on campus at the Concert Hall. The reading, sponsored by the San Joaquin Literary Association and the Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing, drew over 220 people, said Jefferson Beavers, last year’s president of the San Joaquin Literary Association and co-founder of the organization.

“I admire the way he delivers his poetry,” Beavers said. “Turner is successful on two levels. His writing is compelling for one. On another, he is entering into a long line of Fresno State poets in that he writes on a well-established aesthetic.” Beavers described his “aesthetic” as simple and working-class prose.

Turner said he may publish more works in the future. But for now, he would like for people to read his seven poem-intensive manuscripts that have been published in various magazines.

And his future plans? Turner said he would really like to come back to his alma mater, Fresno State, to teach creative writing.

While he hopes that his book helps people better understand what’s going on in Iraq, Tuner acknowledged some given shortcomings. “Once you’ve been around war, it’s still impossible to understand,” Turner said.

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