FAIRHOPE — Local poet and song writer Mike Turner recently won the 2023 Roger Williams Peace Award for Writing from the Alabama Writers Cooperative.

For Turner, the passion for writing came unexpectedly a few years after retirement.

After retiring from his U.S. federal law enforcement job in 2007, he and his wife, Pamela, migrated to the Gulf Coast.

"One of the big reasons that we came to Fairhope was we are really big into boating, and the bay and had a little sailboat," Turner said.

He added that his initial idea of retirement was going to be sailing around the bay with his wife.

Upon looking for other hobbies to keep himself occupied, Turner signed up for an adult education class for beginners ukulele.

"By the third week of that class, I had written my first song and I just never looked back," he said. "So, I wrote songs for years and started feeling like there were some things that I wanted to say that didn't lend themselves to being in a song."

This led Turner into the world of poetry.

Since the fire for writing ignited in Turner's life, he has had more than 290 poems published in over 65 print and online journals and anthologies.

Several years ago, Turner wrote his award-winning poem, "Sense of Peace." This poem speaks of what it would take to have world peace.

"It explains what we have to change in ourselves and in our communities to make that happen," Turner said.

After writing his poem, he decided to enter it into a contest with a category on peace.

"My real goal wasn't so much to be in a competition; I wanted more people to read my poem and hear it," he said. "Much to my surprise I was awarded the prize."

Turner added that his gets most of his inspiration for his songs and poems by reading and watching the daily news.

"If I see a topic or there is a phrase I think maybe would work, I just open up my pad and start to write," Turner said.

The award-winning poet added that his style of writing falls under the blues, folk and Christian-folk category.

The local poet and songwriter explained he typically focuses on topics such as poverty, homelessness and social justice topics.

"It's thinking through what I think about these topics, and I do think there's something about putting these out there so other people can read them and think, 'Hey, I'm not the only one that thinks that way,'" he said.

Turner said he thinks poetry builds a connection with people that have the same feelings and want to express their feelings about those topics, so poetry helps bring a commonality.

Besides his poem, "Sense of Peace," being named the 2023 Roger Williams Peace Award for Writing by the Alabama Writers Cooperative, his poem "Flash of Blue" was awarded first place in the Academy of Heart and Mind 2020 Spring Poetry Contest, and his poetry collection "Visions and Memories" was published in 2021 by Sweetycat Press.

Turner was also named Male Gospel Entertainer of the Year by the Alabama Music Association in 2016 and the North American Country Music Associations International in 2017. He was also featured as a performer on the "15 Minutes of Fame Stage" at the 2020 Monroeville Literary Festival. His original song, "He Died For Me," was awarded 2nd Place in the 2017 Worship Song Contest. Some of Turner's recordings have received radio play in the US, Europe, UK, Australia, New Zealand and on the U.S. Armed Forces Radio Network and on major streaming services.

Turner said he thinks fearing rejection can hold someone back from following their dreams. The poet encourages those who worry about rejection to push forward.

"I think that we all have things that we want to say and things that we want to express intellectually, emotionally," he said. "I think the trick is to find the median that works best for you to express that."