Friday, January 06, 2006

Rain Rain Rain Rain Rain

It has rained for 19 days straight in Seattle (actually, what they say is "there has been measurable precipitation for 19 days straight in Seattle"). And the weather-person says it's gonna rain for at least the next 5 days. I think the records is 32 days. Jesus Christ.

Did anybody hear the Brian Turner interview on NPR this morning? He read two or three poems, talked about his Iraq soldier-poet book (Here, Bullet), and ended with some crucial background detail for the soldier-suicide poem that was heart-rending and angrifying (I know, not a word). What great coverage for Brian and his book, and for showing how relevant poetry can be to the world. I think you can still listen to it on the NPR website.

4 comments:

C. Dale said...

I haven't read any of his poems yet. But I caught the tail end of the NPR thing and was made curious. Do you know him? His work?

Peter said...

CD: I read the book a month or two ago and posted about it then. It's a good read. I have never met Brian; but a good friend of mine did her MFA program with him at UO in the 90's.

Justin Evans said...

Peter & C. Dale:

I wrote Alice James Books with a letter to forward to Brian Turner, and I was surprised when he e-mailed me in response. I have since sent him a copy of my chapbook and told him a few of my expereinces---one vet to another, though my experiencecan hardly be called the same as his.

I am so isolated that the airwaves of NPR do not penetrate the area, and I am too stupid to figure out how to get it via the internet. I love his book. It is thick with everything about the region and experience of being a soldier. I could swim in his ocean of words for months without getting bored or tired.

Sculpin said...

I'm a Seattle native. I ought to be used to this. But I swear, I'm likely to go barking mad if we don't get a good break in the weather next week.

Rain rain rain rain rain. At least it might briefly stop raining on Sunday at some point.