Julian Turner (born 1955) is a British

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...

and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

worker. Turner was born in

Cheadle Hulme Cheadle Hulme () is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England,. Historically in Cheshire, it is south-west of Stockport and south-east of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley, on the Cheshire Plai ...

, Stockport, then moved to

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

in 1955. He now lives in

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exis ...

, with his

partner Partner, Partners, The Partner, or, The Partners may refer to: Books * ''The Partner'' (Grisham novel), by John Grisham, 1997 * ''The Partner'' (Jenaro Prieto novel), 1928 * ''The Partners'' (book), a 1983 book by James B. Stewart * ''Partner'' (m ...

and their daughter. He was educated at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at ...

(

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now. ...

1974) and

Goldsmiths College, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

. Turner was the Chief Executive of Leeds Mind until autumn 2010. His poems have been published in periodicals including ''

Poetry London ''Poetry London'' is a literary periodical based in London. Published three times a year, it features poems, reviews, and other articles. Profile Adopting the title of an earlier bimonthly publication which ran from 1939 to 1951, ''Poetry London' ...

'', ''The Reater'', and ''The Realto'', and in ''The Ring of Words: Poems from the Daily Telegraph Arvon International Poetry Competition 1998'' (introduction by

Andrew Motion Sir Andrew Motion (born 26 October 1952) is an English poet, novelist, and biographer, who was Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009. During the period of his laureateship, Motion founded the Poetry Archive, an online resource of poems and audio re ...

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

: Sutton, 1998) In 1993, he won First Prize in the Nortwords poetry competition for his poem ''Whale Bone''. In 2002, his collection ''Crossing the Outskirts'' was published by Anvil Press Poetry. It was a Poetry Book Society Recommendation (2002) and was shortlisted for the

Forward Poetry Prize The Forward Prizes for Poetry are major British awards for poetry, presented annually at a public ceremony in London. They were founded in 1992 by William Sieghart with the aim of celebrating excellence in poetry and increasing its audience. The ...

(Best First Collection) (2002). A number of poems in the collection deal with

issues. For example, 'Tennis Ball' is about

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

and 'The Director's Cut' is about

self-harm Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilati ...

. The poems in this collection observe traditional conventions of

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

and metre. In 2004, he won a Bridport Supplementary Prize for his poem 'The Gas Poker'. His second collection, ''Orphan Sites'', was published by Anvil Press Poetry in 2006. He was anthologised in Bloodaxe's Identity Parade (New British and Irish Poets), edited by Roddy Lumsden, in 2010 His third collection, Planet-Struck was published by Anvil in January 2011 and was also a Poetry Book Society recommendation.

References

Sources and further information

Anvil Press PoetryEnCompassCulture
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20161128021536/http://stridemagazine.co.uk/2005/Mar%202005/anvil%20revs.side.htm Jeffrey Side, Review of Julian Turner, ''Crossing the Outskirts'', ''Stride Magazine'' (March 2005)] *Peter Dale, ed., Oxford poetry, ''Oxford Today: The University Magazine'' vol. 19, no. 2 (Hilary Term 2007), p. 41
Julian Turner, 'What is Recovery?' (p. 11), 'Opinion' (p. 12) in Leeds Mind Newsletter''Survivors' Poetry Newsletter'' no. 1 (September/October 1998), p. 4''Poetry Express'' (Winter 2002/03)Art at Leeds MindJulian Turner, Memorandum from Leeds Mind, ''House of Lords-House of Commons Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill, Session 2004–05, Volume III: Written evidence'', pp. 150–151
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Julian 1955 births Living people People from Cheadle Hulme People from Otley Alumni of New College, Oxford Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London English male poets