Black Box
From AwardAnnals
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| Author(s) | Erin Belieu |
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| Publisher | Copper Canyon Press |
| Honors | |
| Black Box is a raw, intense book, fueled by a devastating infidelity. With her marriage shattered, Belieu sifts the wreckage for the black box, the record of disaster. Propelled by a blistering and clarifying rage, she composed at fever pitch and produced riveting, unforgettable poems. When Belieu was invited by the Poetry Foundation to keep a public journal on their new website, readers responded to the Black Box poems, calling them “dark, twisted, disturbed, and disturbing” and Belieu a “frightening genius.” All true. | |
Black Box is a raw, intense book, fueled by a devastating infidelity. With her marriage shattered, Belieu sifts the wreckage for the black box, the record of disaster. Propelled by a blistering and clarifying rage, she composed at fever pitch and produced riveting, unforgettable poems, such as the ten-part sequence “In the Red Dress I Wear to Your Funeral”:
I root through your remains,
looking for the black box. Nothing left
but glossy chunks, a pimp’s platinum
tooth clanking inside the urn. I play you
over and over, my beloved conspiracy,
my personal Zapruder film-look…
When Belieu was invited by the Poetry Foundation to keep a public journal on their new website, readers responded to the Black Box poems, calling them “dark, twisted, disturbed, and disturbing” and Belieu a “frightening genius.” All true.
Erin Belieu is the author of three poetry collections, all available from Copper Canyon Press. Her work has appeared in many anthologies and magazines, including The Best American Poetry, The New York Times, and The Atlantic Monthly. Born and raised in Nebraska, Belieu now lives in Tallahassee, Florida, where she teaches at Florida State University.
