Phantom Noise

Brian Turner

" It's hard to think of a better way around ideology than poetry like this. Turner shows us soldiers who are invincible and wounded, a nation noble and culpable, and a war by turns necessary and abominable. He brings us closer to our own phantom guilt and speaks the words that we both do and do not want to hear."

―The Washington Post

"...we need [Turner's] bracing “bullet-borne language” as he tries to reconcile the chaos of Iraq with the demands of the poetic line."

―The New York Times

“With courage and an uncommon willingness to see the world as it actually is, Brian Turner returns in Phantom Noise with a bullet-borne language in which helicopters hover like spiders over a film of water. His poem Al-A’imma Bridge alone proves his mastery, and joins him to the tradition of Wilfred Owen and David Jones, for he is their descendent, his poetic gifts detonated into a spray of lyric force that will mark what is possible in poetry for years to come, a chiseling of agony onto paper and a poignant cri de Coeur to the republic of conscience.”

―Carolyn Forché

“Staring hard through a calibrated sight, this former infantry team leader…reveals the particular music of death and violence and military service, and these poems unfold with his effort to find meaning, to be decent, and to be alert to the suffering all around.”

―ForeWord Reviews

“Turner’s debut, Here, Bullet (2005) was likely the most discussed debut of the decade… It’s a hard act to follow, but Turner manages well…”

―Publishers Weekly

"Phantom Noise is an enlightening and intriguing contribution to contemporary poetry that reaffirms the talent readers first observed in Brian Turner’s debut book. This rich and resonant new volume proves Brian Turner now has firmly earned a position as one of the nation’s more valuable poets."

―Valparaiso Poetry Review

"Turner fascinated and unsettled many with his first collection, Here, Bullet,...this volume continues his mission...in sharp, straightforward, yet lyrical language, Turner exposes the many costs of war."

―Library Journal

"This book slayed me. It was full of the same power and intensity as the first, but if it is possible, I think this one struck even more to the core of my emotions. Turner masterfully got into my head..." 

―Outside Writers Collective

"This collection's political statement is one of empathy; a declaration that death, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, belief, or anything else, is always death."

―Millions.com