Curriculum Vita

Aaron Sanderson Belz

CONTACT INFORMATION

Saint Louis University Department of English 3800 Lindell Blvd St. Louis, MO 63108 314-977-3010 belzas@slu.edu

3734 Hartford Street St. Louis, MO 63116 314-772-9690 aaron@belz.net http://belz.net

EDUCATION

2007	Ph.D. in American Literature, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO Dissertation Title: “‘Something Mechanical Encrusted on the Living’: The Influence of Popular Comedy on Modern American Poetry, 1900-1960” Dissertation Director: Devin Johnston
1995	M.A. in Creative Writing, New York University, New York, NY Major Field of Concentration: Poetry Thesis Director: Galway Kinnell
1993	B.A. in English and History (double major), Covenant College, Lookout Mountain, GA

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Walter J. Ong Award for Distinguished Work in English Graduate Studies, Saint Louis University (2005)
• Full Fellowship and NEA Grant, Vermont Studio Center (2007)
• “Best of St. Louis: Best Reading Series” for Observable Readings, The Riverfront Times (2007)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship, Saint Louis University (2007-2008)
• Finalist, Marsh Hawk Press’s Poetry Prize, judged by Denise Duhamel (2006)
• Predoctoral Fellowship, Saint Louis University (2005-2006)
• Stella Burlacu “Kick Ass” Award, 52nd City (2004)
• SLU 2000 Research Assistantship, Saint Louis University (2002-2003)
• Teaching Assistantship, Saint Louis University (2001-2007)
• Finalist, Brittingham & Felix Pollack Award, University of Wisconsin Press (2001)
• Full Fellowship, English-Speaking Union (1989-1990)

PUBLICATIONS: BOOKS

• Direction (forthcoming). New York: Persea Books, 2010.
• The Bird Hoverer. Buffalo: BlazeVOX Books, 2007.
• Plausible Worlds (chapbook). St. Louis: Observable Books, 2005.
• Bangs (chapbook). Brooklyn: Weeping Rivet, 2001.

PUBLICATIONS: POETRY

52nd City 88, Issue 2 Alba, Issue 6, Dec. 2002 Another Chicago Magazine, 2007 Anti-, 2008 Anvil, 2003, 2007 Barnwood Mag, 2007 Black Clock no. 6, Fall 2006 Boston Review, Vol. 28, No. 3-4, Summer 2003 Can We Have Our Ball Back 6, 7, 8.1, X The Canary 1 and 2 Carve, Issue 1, Summer 2003 Cimarron Review, 2007 Court Green 2, 4, 6 Delmar 9, 2003 Drunken Boat, 2007 Eleven Eleven, Issue 5 elimae, 2001, 2002, 2005 Emergency Almanac, 2002 Exquisite Corpse 58, 1997 Fence 8 Fine Madness, Issue 27 Gulf Coast, vol. IX, no. 2 The Hat 7, 2007 Hutt 2.1, 2005 Jacket 12, 15, 28, 29 Knock Volume 2, Issue 2, 2005 Kulture Vulture, Spring 2006 LIT 13, Fall 2007 Locus Point, 2006

Lumberyard 2, 2008 Margie Volume 2, 2004 Matter 09, 2006 McSweeney’s, 2003, 2005 Melancholia’s Tremulous Dreadlocks #4, 2006 Milkmag 3, 7 MiPOesias Vol. 21, 2006 Mudfish 10, 1997 The New Pantagruel, Volume I * Issue iv * Fall 2004 No Tell Motel, 2005, 2006 Ocho 3 and 9 Painted Bride Quarterly 74, Spring 2006 P.F.S. Post, February 2007 Pierogi Press, 2001 Pleiades, 2009 Poems-For-All, June 2005 Raised in a Barn, 2001 RealPoetik La République Mondiale des Lettres, 2006 Seconds, 2007 Shampoo 3 and 6 Sitaudis, 2006 Snow Monkey Syntax No. 1, 2006 Tears in the Fence (UK) 46, 48 Tight, 2008 Unpleasant Event Schedule, Sept. 2006 Van Gogh’s Ear, 2007 VeRT 4, 6, 7 Yankee Pot Roast, 2005, 2007

Poems anthologized in March Hares: the Best Poems from Fine Madness 1982-2002; Verse Press Younger American Poets; and The Bedside Guide to No Tell Motel

Readings given at Cornelia Street Café, Frequency Poetry Series, MiPO Reading Series, Bowery Poetry Club, KGB Bar/Red Room, Knitting Factory, Halcyon, Ear Inn, Siberia/Loudmouth Collective, Just Buffalo, Behind the Egg, Zinc Talk/Reading (New York); Burlesque Poetry Hour (Washington DC); Bookslut, Wheaton College, Myopic Books, Series A (Chicago); Ball State U (Ohio); Left Bank Books, Duff’s/River Styx, Underwood Reading Series, Borders Books, St. Louis Poetry Center, Regional Arts Commission, Way Out Club, Lucas Schoolhouse, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Comedy on Parade, The Vox Lounge, City Museum (St. Louis, MO); Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, GA); U of Missouri (Columbia); U of Missouri (Rolla); U of Illinois (Springfield); Woodland Pattern Book Center/Redletter Reading Series (Milwaukee, WI); Innovailers & Outsliders, Experimental Writers from across the Country (AWP 2006, Austin, TX); Sarabande Books' Pink Door Series (Louisville, KY); Illinois State University (Normal); The College of New Jersey

PUBLICATIONS: BOOK REVIEWS

• “Prose Takes Over: New Books by Harvey, Notley, McGrath, and Byrne.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/2/08
• “The Night by Jaime Saenz.” Boston Review, January/February 2008
• “Elegy by Mary Jo Bang.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 9/30/07

• “Eliot’s Rebellious Heirs: The Wounded Surgeon: Confession and Transformation in Six American Poets by Adam Kirsch.” Books and Culture, September/October 2007

• “Three Faces of Autumn by Charles Guenther.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/17/07
• “From the Night Album by Jane O. Wayne.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/15/07
• “Two collections showcase best of American poets [Oxford Book of American Poetry and Legitimate Dangers].” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7/2/06
• “Riding Westward by Carl Philips.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/23/06
• “Browsing Poetry: Poems search for answers in the history of the South [mixed book review].” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/16/06
• “Povel by Geraldine Kim.” Boston Review, January/February 2006
• “On Humour by Simon Critchley.” To Wit, newsletter of the American Humor Studies Association, New Series 14:2, April 2005
• “Murder (a violet) by Raymond McDaniel.” Boston Review, April 2005
• “Chinese Whispers by John Ashbery.” Boston Review October/November 2003
• “Gentlemen in Turbans, Ladies in Cauls by John Gallaher.” Boston Review October/November 2002
• “The New Faithful by Colleen Carroll.” First Things No. 127, November 2002
• “World’s Tallest Disaster by Cate Marvin.” Electronic Poetry Review 4
• “Flood Editions: The Conversation.” Jacket 18, August 2002
• “Understanding Objects by Vincent Katz.” Jacket 16, March 2002
• “I Used to Be Ashamed of My Striped Face by Mike Topp.” Jacket 16, March 2002
• “Tolkien Canonized: Tom Shippey’s J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century.” Books and Culture, January/February 2002
• “Interface Culture: How New Technology Transforms the Way We Create and Communicate by Steven Johnson.” Books and Culture, November/December, 1997
• 42 book reviews (not bylined). Publishers Weekly, February 1995-December, 1998

PUBLICATIONS: OTHER REVIEWS AND ESSAYS

• “Uncannily Midwestern.” St. Louis Magazine, August 2007
• “The Ten Jens Reading.” Poetry Foundation, April 2007
• “Unexpected Lines: Scott Lowenbaum Profile.” St. Louis Magazine, December 2006
• “Family Business.” St. Louis Magazine, October 2006
• “Do We Care? Do We Dare?” St. Louis Magazine, September 2006
• “Time Well Spent.” St. Louis Magazine, June 2006
• “The Five Aarons Reading: Same first name, almost the same adolescence.” Poetry Foundation, February 2006
• “What Is to Be Done about Schooling?” Work Research Foundation Comment, September 2005 - V. 24 I. 5
• “Three Stooges Filmography.” To Wit, newsletter of the American Humor Studies Association, New Series 14:1, Winter 2004
• “A Sign of Life in the Music Industry.” ByFaith, Spring 2004
• “Not a Synod but a Salon: The Eclectic Society in London, 1783-1814.” Christian History Issue 81 (Vol. XXIII, No. 1), Winter 2004
• “Innocence Mission: ‘Near to Sleeping.’” Paste Issue #8, Q2.2004
• The Mountain Goats: We Shall All Be Healed.” Paste Issue #7, Q1.2004
• “Mystic River: A Freudian Fable.” Metaphilm, Winter 2004
• “A Leopard Among the Bannas.” Christian History Issue 79 (Vol. XXII, No. 3), Summer 2003
• “The Mountain Goats: John Darnielle’s Blue Guitar.” Paste Issue #6, Q4.2003
• “Late for the Sky: The Lyricism of Jackson Browne.” Paste Issue #5, Q3.2003
• “J. R. R. Tolkien As the Father of Epic Fantasy.” Christian History Issue 78 (Vol. XXII, No. 2), Summer 2003
• “Everything I Needed to Know, I Learned from Steely Dan.” Paste Issue #4, Q2.2003
• “Standing in the Shadows of Motown.” Metaphilm, Winter 2002
• “Love of Language.” Work Research Foundation Comment, Autumn 2002
• “Y Tu Mama Tambien.” Metaphilm, Summer 2002
• “Poetry that Brags: The Kalevala, Rakim, and L.L. Cool J.” WriteNet/Teachers & Writers, Summer 2000
• “King Shark: Anheuser-Busch continues to market to ‘future beer drinkers.’“ World Magazine, June 3, 2000
• “The Rules Have Stayed the Same (excerpt).” Work Research Foundation Comment, Spring 2000
• “The Rules Have Stayed the Same.” Books and Culture, January/February 2000
• “Web of Acquaintances.” The Riverfront Times, July 22-28, 1998
• “SportsZone Goes Deep: ESPN.com.” The Riverfront Times, May 20, 1998
• “The Errancy by Jorie Graham.” Books and Culture, March/April, 1998
• “Bid-Time Stories: eBay.com.” The Riverfront Times, February 18, 1998
• “Web-Driven: Carpoint.com.” The Riverfront Times, January 7, 1998
• “Flight Plan: Expedia.com.” The Riverfront Times, December 17, 1997
• “Start Your Engines: AltaVista.com.” The Riverfront Times, November 26, 1997
• “Is This a Great Time or What? :-)” The Riverfront Times, October 22, 1997
• “Local Peace Corps Volunteer Escapes Troubles In Albania: Helicopter helps Americans flee to safety of ship.” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 11, 1997
• “The Interface Hackers.” Wired, May 1997
• “Missing a Beat: Saying ‘Kaddish’ for the late poet Allen Ginsberg.” The Riverfront Times, April 23, 1997
• “Take a Swing: ESPN Fantasy Baseball.” The Riverfront Times
• “Symbol Pleasures: Jodi.org.” The Riverfront Times
• “Streamlined: Audio on the Web.” The Riverfront Times
• “Hoop Dreams.” World Magazine, November 5, 1994
• “Quiz Show: So Pure it Floats.” World Magazine, October 1, 1994

PRESENTATIONS

• “Mark Twain’s ‘Letter from Limerick’: Typewriter, Machine Culture, and Foreignness,” MLA Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA, December 29, 2006
• “The Sublime Object of American Hope: Or, What James Baldwin, Richard Rorty, Langston Hughes, and Gwendolyn Brooks Have in Common.” SLU 2000 Colloquium Presentation with Dr. Harold Bush, Saint Louis University English Department, February 26, 2003
• “Lewis, Machines, and Mr. Eliot’s ‘Paper Money.’“ C.S. Lewis Summer Institute, Academic Conference, St. Catherine’s College, Oxford, U.K., July 15, 2002
• “Words as Things: The aesthetic of music and meaning in language.” Francis Schaeffer Institute, Covenant Seminary, St. Louis, August 4, 2000
• “The Rules Have Stayed the Same: How the internet can be the bastion of order as we move into the twenty-first century.” Great Plains Alliance for Computers and Writing, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, February 26, 2000

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO

2007-2008. Creative Writing (302), Comic Impulse in Modern Lit (327), Comp (190).

2005-2006. Creative Writing (302), Comic Impulse in Modern Lit (327), Comp (150, 190).

2001-2002. Creative Writing (302), Composition (150, 190).

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Edwardsville, IL

2006-2007. Comp (101).

Westminster Christian Academy, St. Louis, MO

January 2003-May 2005. English Teacher, grades 10-12. Honors American Literature, Worldviews, Literature of Western Civilization, and Creative Writing.

Fontbonne University, St. Louis, MO

2000-2001. Adjunct English Professor. Basic Comp; Advanced Rhetoric.

Jackson Elementary School, St. Louis, MO

Spring, 2000. Poetry Teacher through Springboard to Learning program (part time).

RELATED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Observable Readings, St. Louis, MO

2003-present. Founder and curator of poetry reading series and related chapbook imprint; grant-writing, venue logistics, fundraising, partnership management, and production of all publicity and related literature. <http://observable.org>

Art Outside, St. Louis, MO

2004-present. Curator of poetry reading series for regional juried art festival. <http://www.schlafly.com/artoutside.shtml>

REFERENCES

Upon Request