The University Veterans Coalition will host a poetry reading by Brian Turner, veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and award-winning author of Here, Bullet (2005) and Phantom Noise (2010), at 6 p.m., March 13 in the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center's Wells Fargo Auditorium at the University of Nevada, Reno.

"This event provides a unique opportunity to learn about the experience of war from the point of view of Americans who have risked their lives serving their country in the years since 9/11," said Marta Elliott, chair of the University Veterans Coalition and associate professor of sociology.

The poetry reading will be followed by a book signing and opening reception at 7 p.m. for Always Lost: A Meditation on War, an exhibit created at Western Nevada College to honor the U.S. military personnel who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11. The exhibit will be on display in the Knowledge Center's Whittemore Gallery, just outside of the Wells Fargo Auditorium through May 4.

"The University of Nevada, Reno has seen a steady increase in enrollment of student veterans who have recently served in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Terina Caserto, veteran services coordinator at the University. "The Veteran Services office is dedicated to helping these students succeed in college and is in various stages of developing a number of initiatives, including this event and exhibit, dedicated to that goal."

Doors for the poetry-reading event on March 13 open at 5:30 p.m., and the program begins at 6 p.m. Superintendent for the Washoe County School District Heath Morrison will welcome attendees.

"Both the poetry reading by Brian Turner and the art exhibit provide immensely powerful testimony of what U.S. military men and women have seen, felt and carried home with them from their years of service," Elliott said. "The photographic Wall of the Dead is an especially powerful tribute to the thousands of U.S. military personnel who have given their lives to their country."

Self-paid parking is available on the top floor of the Brian J. Whalen Parking Complex or in the metered lot south of Lawlor Events Center.

For more information about Turner, go to Blue Flower Arts and brianturner.org. For more about the exhibit, call Special Collections at (775) 682-5665 or go to Western Nevada College website. For information about the reception, contact Marta Elliott at (775) 784-4884 or go to University Veterans Coalition.