Poetry-writing sergeant to teach at Sierra Nevada College
By Michael Doyle, Modesto Bee
WASHINGTON — Combat was a good career move for award-winning war poet Brian Turner, though it took a toll.
The native of California’s San Joaquin Valley now has a deep, dark pool of memories from which to draw. He dips down, if he dares, and there they are.
He’s been learning “how to write about the ghosts that live among us, whether we recognize them or not,” Turner said.
Now, the former Army sergeant has a second volume of poems out influenced largely by his service in Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The collection called “Phantom Noise” follows up on “Here, Bullet.”