Benedict and Turner have two very distinct and unique views on the war in Iraq. Turner has more of a distant portrayal of the war. He does not use first person narration although he is an embedded poet. He recounts the moments of extreme violence and peace in a way that seems to me to be geared toward a larger crowd. I feel like he is trying to impart some type of moral with each of his poems.
With Benedict her style is novelistic and reads like a well planned thriller, rather than being abstract like Turner. Benedict has a styles that makes it seem like the memoirs of a diary are being told either to a grand audience or to a single person or small group of people. Her action is live and easy to follow. There are no difficult ambiguities. It would seem that all actions have reactions, even if we do not know the original source of the course of events. She presents her novel in a way that is relatable to people of all ages. Her words are thought provoking and at times mundane.This is one of the main reasons that I enjoy reading Sand Queen. Benedict tells all of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the mundane. Turner did not speak about such things. There were usually fairly trippy poems and moments. Moments of pure joy and peace and then poems that speak only of the darkness and void that has settled in the hearts and lives of the people. The gross atrocities. Both works makes me wonder about the true motives of the American government and what people are willing to do to bring about the right change to make a positive impact in this world for all of mankind.
I like how you pointed out that Turner is an embedded poet. Although he did write all of the poems, it is not necessarily from his one, unique perspective. Rather the poems come from the general experience of soldiers alike. I also agree that Sand Queen is more of a straight forward storytelling, which makes it easier and more exciting to read.
ReplyDeleteIt really shows how their writing styles reflect their experiences in combat. Benedict's writing style was a little more reflective and thought provoking while Turner was more straight to the point - nothing very rhetorical. I think Turner wrote about what he wished he could have during combat and his writing was more imaginative whereas Benedict was telling the story of what was right in front of her.
ReplyDelete