Poetry by U.S. Army Veteran Brian Turner Brings Readers to the Frontline

Critically acclaimed poet to give a reading of his works on Oct. 25 at The College of Wooster

WOOSTER, Ohio — Award-winning poet and U.S. Army veteran Brian Turner will give a reading of his works on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at The College of Wooster. The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m. in Room 009 of Severance Hall (943 College Mall). Light refreshments and a book signing will follow the reading.

A member of the U.S. Army for seven years, including one year as an infantry team leader in Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Turner is the author of two collections of poetry. His critically acclaimed Phantom Noise (2010) provides a personal account of his journey as a soldier, including what happens when he brings the war home with him.

Turner’s prior work, Here, Bullet (2005), provides a gripping description of life in a war zone. The collection, which features a poem to memorialize a fellow soldier who took his own life, received the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award, The New York Times “Editor's Choice,” the 2006 Pen Center USA "Best in the West" award, and the 2007 Poets Prize, among others.

Turner's poetry has been published in The New York Times, National Geographic, Poetry Daily, The Georgia Review, and other journals, and in the Voices in Wartime Anthology, which was released in conjunction with a documentary film of the same name. He was also featured in "Operation Homecoming," a documentary that explores the firsthand accounts of American servicemen and women through their own words. He earned an MFA from the University of Oregon and has lived abroad in South Korea. In 2009, he was selected as one of 50 United States Artists Fellows.

Turner’s reading is underwritten by the Hilty Fund, the Donaldson Fund, and the Department of English. Additional information is available by phone (330-263-2575) or e-mail.