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6. Note the physical shape of the poem. How does Turner use stanza breaks and indentations
5
to help create the mood of “At Lowe’s Home Improvement Center”? What do those
indentations suggest to you?
7. What does the juxtaposition of dead soldiers laid out on cash registers with customers
taking out their wallets (ll. 27–42) suggest about the connection between war and the
economy?
8. Turner uses brand names of products from the home improvement center in several places
throughout the poem. The store itself is even a specific brand, named in the title. Why might
references to “Troy-Bilt Self-Propelled Mower” (l. 24) and “Ship’s Harbor Blue” paint (l. 33), for
Redefining America
example, play a part in triggering a PTSD episode? How do these brand names affect your
interpretation of the poem?

Topics for Composing

1. Argument. What is the attitude of the speaker in “At Lowe’s Home Improvement Center”
toward war? Write an essay in which you develop and support your position on how this
poem frames war and veterans’ experiences. Be sure to use specific examples from the
poem as evidence.
2. Research. Do some research into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Then, write a
“think piece” that explains its symptoms and effects on those who suffer from it and takes a
position on how best to treat the disorder. Be sure to use at least three sources as evidence
to support your position.
3. Creative Writing. Turner has said that he believes “poetry finishes in the reader” — that is, it’s
up to the reader to decide what it means. How does this poem finish in your mind? Try writing
a verse or at least a few lines that explain how the poem “finishes” for you.

TALKBACK

In a Time of Peace

Ilya Kaminsky

Born in the Ukraine in 1977, Ilya Kaminsky emigrated in 1993 Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
to the United States, where his family was granted asylum. He
has a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Georgetown University and a
law degree from the University of California. Kaminsky helped
to start Poets for Peace, which sponsors poetry readings
throughout the world. His 2019 collection, Deaf Republic, was
nominated for the National Book Award in Poetry.

KEY CONTEXT This poem closes Deaf Republic and serves as afterward for the narrative that the
remainder of the collection tells of a deaf boy who prompts the revolution of an entire town against an
oppressive government. Although the setting of Deaf Republic is akin to the Ukraine that Kaminsky’s family
fled, the oppressive government described in its poems bears some resemblance to the Nazi occupation
during World War II. And while Kaminsky is himself deaf, the setting and events are fictional. The poems,
including the one that follows, address the fundamental injustice of human rights violations everywhere.
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Copyright © 2021 by Bedford, Freeman & Worth High School Publishers. Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample chapter.
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