Turner and Benedict

Sand Queen and Here, Bullet - definitely different worlds. Both Benedict and Turner do a great job on unfolding truths about the contemporary war, yet both do so in very different ways. Benedict’s writing is very concrete, and we mainly follow only two perspectives throughout the book. With Turner’s writing, we’re continually held in his powerful metaphors and in moments that juxtapose gruesome occurrences with a graceful tone and beautiful imagery. He describes oil fields as veins in God’s skull. He personifies a bullet, and dares it to kill him. Turner also does a great job of shifting perspectives, sometimes between only two lines. I’m not saying Turner is a better writer than Benedict, but Here, Bullet is definitely more challenging to dig into. I sometimes have to read the poem two or three times to fully grasp what’s going on.

            With Sand Queen, we’re given two characters – one very relatable, and the other not so much. Both stories are really important to learn about. Naema’s perspective was interesting and certainly sad, but felt almost too forced, creating some repetitive and dull sections in the book. Kate’s perspective is what really kept me reading. We’re absorbed in Kate’s thoughts and can connect with a lot of her experiences before the war. I think that’s what makes Benedict’s portrayal just as great as Turner’s- the fact that we crave to know what happens next in this shocking and disturbing book.

           I wonder how Brian Turner would portray an Iraqi prisoner throwing shit at him in his poetry?