Aaron Belz

Aaron Belz (born September 27, 1971) is an American writer and poet.[1]

Early life and education

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Belz grew up in Kirkwood, Missouri and attended schools including Westminster Christian Academy, the Stony Brook School and Framlingham College[verification needed]. He was awarded a Maclellan Foundation Scholarship to attend Covenant College in Georgia in 1990, and graduated with a double major in English and History in 1993. Belz was enrolled in the Creative Writing program at New York University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.[2] In 2007, he received a Ph.D. in English at Saint Louis University.

Career

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In 2003 Belz founded Observable Readings, a poetry series and imprint in St. Louis.[3][4] Belz published his first book of poetry, The Bird Hoverer, in 2007.[5] He then began teaching English and Creative Writing at Fontbonne University, and later at Saint Louis University, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and Providence Christian College.[citation needed] He published a second book, Lovely, Raspberry: Poems, in 2010.[6] In 2013, he received media attention for a Craigslist ad he placed to sell custom poems.[7][8][9]

In 2013, Belz performed readings at Comedy Meltdown.[10] That same year he opened up Hillsborough Bicycle, a bicycle repair shop, with his son Eli in Hillsborough, North Carolina.[11] In 2014 Belz was teaching English at Durham Technical Community College in Durham, North Carolina and published his third book, Glitter Bomb: Poems.[12][13] Belz's poetry has appeared in Fence, Exquisite Corpse, The Atlantic and The Washington Post, and his essays and reviews have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.[citation needed]

Bibliography

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  • The Bird Hoverer, BlazeVOX Books, 2007. ISBN 978-1934289273[14]
  • Lovely, Raspberry: Poems, Persea, 2010. ISBN 978-0892553594[15]
  • Glitter Bomb: Poems, Persea, 2014. ISBN 978-0892554317[16]
  • Soft Launch: Poems, Persea, 2019. ISBN 978-0892555024[17]

References

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  1. ^ Sendor, Julia (2015-04-13). "Hillsborough-area poets take a turn for the verse". The News & Observer. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  2. ^ Howe, Brian (5 March 2014). "The elusive Aaron Belz, lauded poet, public misanthrope and private seeker". Indyweek.com.[dead link]
  3. ^ Aubuchon, Kim (9 September 2013). "Observable Readings Kicks Off its Eleventh Season With New Curators, and a New Home". Stlmag.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  4. ^ Brewer, Robert Lee (2011-02-08). "Interview With Poet Aaron Belz". Writer's Digest. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  5. ^ Trigilio, Tony (2007-09-01). "Microreview: Aaron Belz, The Bird Hoverer". Boston Review. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  6. ^ Dill, Julie (2011-01-10). "Review: Lovely, Raspberry". www.stlmag.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  7. ^ Mattix, Micah (2013-08-14). "Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Poem on Craigslist?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  8. ^ "Aaron Belz Poet for Hire" KDHX.org Archived 2014-03-09 at the Wayback Machine Archived at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ^ Brewer, Robert Lee (2013-08-15). "Aaron Belz: Poet for Hire on Craigslist". Writer's Digest. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  10. ^ "Cartographer of Word Galaxies: An Interview with Aaron Belz" Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine The Believer. September 24, 2013. Susan Lerner
  11. ^ "Home". hillsboroughbicycle.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  12. ^ Courter, Barry (2014-03-28). "'The slipperiness of Language': Poems don't earn a living, but poets say they don't care (with video, audio)". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  13. ^ Ridker, Andrew (2014-12-04). "Microreview: Aaron Belz, Glitter Bomb". Boston Review. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  14. ^ "'Aaron Belz' interviewed by Luke Irwin". Pif Magazine. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  15. ^ Labbe, Jason (1 November 2010). "Lovely, Raspberry". Boston Review.
  16. ^ Robbins, Michael. "Suspicious Packages". Books and Culture. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  17. ^ Danielsen, Aarik (2019-12-18). "Strange and Holy and Rough". The Curator. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
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