Turner vs Komunyakaa

In comparing Brian Turner's writing with Yusef Komunyakaa's, the first difference one notices is a change of focus on the subjects of poems. While Komunyakaa's writing was very introspective and centered around himself and the way he feels, Turner's writing is ultimately more vague and specific at the same time. It focuses on specific details of unidentified, generalized subjects and the language used is much more passive. Although I haven't read as much of Komunyakaa's poetry as I have read of Turner's, I get the impression that Komunyaaka doesn't include other individuals in his story telling as much. The way these subjects enter into Turner's writing gives a sense of how war has changed in the time between Vietnam and Iraq. Whereas in Vietnam the United States army went in with overwhelming forces and could potentially overcome any individual enemy they came across, these new 'enemies' seem much more dangerous. They seem much more dangerous and much less willing to roll over and accept American occupation. In fact, these opposing forces aggressively fight back against the Americans. Some are paid to fight and given bonus for the body count they rack up, and graffiti is sprayed on the walls saying that Americans will be killed. Although these are two different writers and they are bound to each have their own writing style, what they choose to write about does still tell the reader some about the wars that they each are part of. Going by their writing, the motivations behind the resistance against Americans in Vietnam is almost not considered at all. If it is mentioned, it is generalized and simplified as such things often are to make fighting easier for those involved. With this new war, a lot more attention is payed to the religious and specifically anti-American aggression from opposing forces who are a lot less like an army and more like civilians guerillas handed guns.