Veterans Day

[kellyrfineman]

Tomorrow is Veterans Day here in the U.S. And yes, that's the proper way to spell it, per the U.S. government, although Veterans' and Veteran's are frequently used

Comments

[kmarcus]

Wow. That poem took my breath away. I will look for this book.

[kellyrfineman]

The collection is really excellent. Because it's won some awards, it's findable at some of the chain stores. I found mine at Borders.

TadMack says:

[anonymous]

So poignant, so true.
The BBC is doing a piece on the WWI conscientious objectors -- they who were executed and jailed. How painful that a soldier could write those words...

Re: TadMack says:

[kellyrfineman]

If I were to pick one word to describe the collection, it'd be "astonishing." Not because of what it reveals, but because of how it reveals what it reveals. There's a poem called "What Every Soldier Should Know" that is essentially a list poem, but which manages to be completely gripping. And another, "Jameel", that is all love and loveliness. And there's "Hwy 1", which combines lovely description of landscape with pointless violence. All of them leave you to your own conclusions.

[lurban]

Nice post, Kelly. Thank you.

[kellyrfineman]

Thank you.

[saralholmes]

I read your review of Here, Bullet at GuysLitWire with a jolt of recognition. The title poem was featured on the front cover of the April 20-26, 2008 Washington Post Book World "Poetry Issue." I had cut it out to blog about it, but never did. The attribution simply said that it was a poem "currently being passed around among American soldiers in Iraq." I didn't know he had written a book.

Thanks for this post.

[kellyrfineman]

The book is mindblowing in its excellence. Brian Turner is an extremely talented poet.

[lisa_schroeder]

Wow, that is amazing Canada does that. I wish I had of seen that segment.

Off to read your review now!

[kellyrfineman]

Here's a link to the story at NBC News: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/#27651384