2008 Woodie Awards
The Bird Hoverer lingers near excellence
SLU grad student Aaron Belz releases pop culture-laiden poetic paradigm
Katie Lewis
Issue date: 4/27/07 Section: Entertainment
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Not only is Aaron Belz's poetry book The Bird Hoverer (BlazeVOX [books], 2007) available at Left Bank Books and online at Amazon.com, but it is accessible by opening your bedroom window. The Iowa native and St. Louis resident writes about animals for their intrinsic comedic value, often projecting human thoughts onto their actions.
"I think people see themselves in animals, which is why we have cats and dogs and parrots and stuff," he said. "We want friends! Animals are an extended social world for me, as I think they are for most people."
The poem "Smartest Creatures" gossips about birds and dolphins: "Birds underappreciate sympathy. Birds would love to go swimming with you on Sunday. Dolphins feel pain as they think about the past." The comedy emerges in how far Belz pushes the poem, and how much he restrains it. The poem is a leashed animal itself-always controlled, but at times allowed to explore.
Belz's conversational poetry is alive; it's a living, breathing entity, pulsing with pop culture life. Violet Affleck gets a shout-out in "For Ben Affleck's Daughter," and the poet himself has a very sexy tête-à-tête while watching Cheers with Meryl Streep in the poem "In Bed With Meryl Streep." Years from now, when the poems in The Bird Hoverer have grandchildren and prostate problems, some young whippersnapper will question the pop culture references, asking, "Who was Ben Affleck, and what made him so hot? Why did this Meryl Streep wear a flowered nightgown?"
Pop culture impacts today's readers because it is familiar. Said Belz, "In the past, I suppose a poet might have written about a glorious battle or a work of fine art; nowadays, what we have is Tobey Maguire and Angelina Jolie ... I find new culture fascinating-it resonates powerfully with people's fantasies, if only briefly. There's always something new to replace it."
"Wherever I Go" is slightly childish, in the most endearing way, because of the speaker's frustration-an easily relatable emotion: "Wherever I go there are two of you: one telling me what to do, the other what not to do. I'm going to stab you with a fork."
"I think people see themselves in animals, which is why we have cats and dogs and parrots and stuff," he said. "We want friends! Animals are an extended social world for me, as I think they are for most people."
The poem "Smartest Creatures" gossips about birds and dolphins: "Birds underappreciate sympathy. Birds would love to go swimming with you on Sunday. Dolphins feel pain as they think about the past." The comedy emerges in how far Belz pushes the poem, and how much he restrains it. The poem is a leashed animal itself-always controlled, but at times allowed to explore.
Belz's conversational poetry is alive; it's a living, breathing entity, pulsing with pop culture life. Violet Affleck gets a shout-out in "For Ben Affleck's Daughter," and the poet himself has a very sexy tête-à-tête while watching Cheers with Meryl Streep in the poem "In Bed With Meryl Streep." Years from now, when the poems in The Bird Hoverer have grandchildren and prostate problems, some young whippersnapper will question the pop culture references, asking, "Who was Ben Affleck, and what made him so hot? Why did this Meryl Streep wear a flowered nightgown?"
Pop culture impacts today's readers because it is familiar. Said Belz, "In the past, I suppose a poet might have written about a glorious battle or a work of fine art; nowadays, what we have is Tobey Maguire and Angelina Jolie ... I find new culture fascinating-it resonates powerfully with people's fantasies, if only briefly. There's always something new to replace it."
"Wherever I Go" is slightly childish, in the most endearing way, because of the speaker's frustration-an easily relatable emotion: "Wherever I go there are two of you: one telling me what to do, the other what not to do. I'm going to stab you with a fork."
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