Turner earned his M.F.A. at the University of Oregon and lived in South Korea for one year before enlisting in the U.S. Army. He was deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1999-2000 with the 10th Mountain Division. In November 2003, he served as an infantry team leader in Iraq with the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
Turner’s “Here, Bullet” was published in 2005 and earned numerous awards, including the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award and the 2007 Poets Prize. In addition, the New York Times included “Here, Bullet” in their “Editor’s Choice” selection.
“Our goal for the Writers Reading series is to bring in new and diverse backgrounds to Central,” said Natalie Hutchinson, Writers Reading coordinator and library director. “Turner has a great voice and an interesting past in the Army, and we think it will be great for the program.”
His newest publication, “Phantom Noise,” was released in 2010. In the book of poetry, Turner describes his time in the U.S. Army and addresses his daily battles for normalcy.
Turner will be reading in the Geisler Library Reading Room at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.