Thinking about his time in the war makes it hard for Justin Eggen to sleep. So he writes poetry.
Justin’s poems take us to the poppy fields in Afghanistan. He was stationed there twice as a U.S. Marine. His dreams and his work are mixed with bright red poppies in bloom — and the horrors of war.
When he reads and writes, he finds he’s not so alone. He works through these invisible wounds the way other military veterans have done for ages.
Justin’s a scholar of war poetry. He’s working toward a Ph. D. in comparative studies at Florida Atlantic University. He’s read about samurais writing verses moments before their death. He’s read the poetry of World War I veterans for solace — and for inspiration.
His own work transports us. One minute he’s picking weeds out of his yard, and the next he’s plucking hidden roadside bombs from the desert.
Justin first found his way to poetry through music. His interest in the spoken word started by listening to street poets — listening to Tupac and Trick Daddy as a kid in West Palm Beach.
Justin has been recognized twice by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation with the Robert A. Gannon Award for his poetry. This led him to connect with other veterans he inspired with his work.
On the Sep. 5 episode of Sundial, Justin joins us to talk about how he uses poetry to unravel his war experience.
On Sundial's previous episode, we replayed one of our favorite conversations with writer and educator Precious Symonette. She's a former Miami-Dade County teacher of the year and the founder of the Viking Freedom Writers at Miami Norland Senior High School.
Listen to Sundial Monday through Thursday on WLRN, 91.3 FM, live at 1 p.m., rebroadcast at 8 p.m. Missed a show? Find every episode of Sundial on your favorite podcast app, such as Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and Spotify.
