Book signing for As Orion Falls is Dec. 9 (11-23-05)
Aaron Abeyta
English Associate Professor Aaron Abeyta's, As Orion Falls, book signing is from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 9 in the Luther Bean Museum located in Richardson Hall on the Adams State College campus.
Throughout the course of a night, the constellation Orion appears to rise, stand, and then fall in the night sky. The movement of this constellation is the inspiration for the title of Abeyta's new book As Orion Falls, a collection of poetry and prose.
According to Abeyta, the cover designed by Marvin Muniz, shows several stars falling in the night sky and one star is red. This red star represents Orion's heart star. In the poem the body is fourteen stars, Abeyta writes, "the heart is the faintest star/ the one that keeps betraying us."
He said the collection centers on personal and community grief, but is also about redemption.
Because his is a native of the San Luis Valley, Abeyta uses his experiences growing up in the Valley as material for his poetry.
"The vast majority of my subject matter is here and I'm familiar with it," he said.
Abeyta sees purpose in writing. He said his writing is intended to save the lives of others and himself. He does this by recording their history and acknowledging their existence through his writing.
Abeyta describes his poems as narrative. He said most of the time he uses the voices of others to write his poetry but sometimes uses his own voice to tell the story.
"There are multiple narrators and I'm just the scribe, but sometimes it is just me," Abeyta said.
All of Abeyta's poems begin as letters or prose. Abeyta not only writes in journals, but also uses manila folders instead of paper because single sheets of paper are easily lost.
"Manila folders are sturdy so you don't need a clipboard. They are small, easy to carry and easy to file," Abeyta said.
Another feature of Abeyta's writing is his use of green ink. He said he only uses green ink to write his ideas and prose because Pablo Neruda, one of his favorite poets, follows this style.
After he completes a letter, Abeyta then goes back and cuts his work until it becomes a poem.
Abeyta said he does not have a particularly favorite poem. However, he said he really appreciates the poem 'the body is fourteen stars' because he struggled the most to write it.
"They are like kids," Abeyta said. "They all have different attributes that I admire."
As Orion Falls is Abeyta's second collection of poems. His first collection, Colcha received an American Book Award and the Colorado Book Award. Ghost Road Press published both Colcha and As Orion Falls.
By Linda Relyea
