Constellational, by Aidan Rogers

Poetry, chapbook, 36 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

For Aidan Rogers, Poetry is a meditative conduit mirroring the concise and fragmented nature of memory. In his debut collection, Constellational, Rogers poses mindfulness as an antidote to the amnesia of an increasingly mechanized world, every piece a covert reminder of a lesson already learned. He writes, “I’m tired of conspiring to minimize life / Only for it to explode in our palms,” disarming a modern, collective fear of turning attention toward oneself.

Mindful poetry isolates the present anxiety that defines our concepts of past and future. Informed by his experience as a community mental health counselor, Rogers examines that existential tension through a relational lens, whether it be to self, space, others, or objects. Stitching together past experience, fiction and personified emotion, Constellational produces reflective vignettes in which subject can be interpreted universally. “You” and “I” melt into one, fluidly joining author and reader. Forgoing one’s static perceptions toward subject and relation, we begin to see hatred and shame blossom into forgiveness: “So take as you are; Singing forgeries / We won’t blame you! (Though you are alone).”

Aidan Rogers is from Philadelphia, where he currently resides. Constellational is his first published collection of poetry. Aidan’s artistry began through songwriting. He currently writes and performs in a band called Goings, who’s latest album, It’s For You, was released in 2020 on Know Hope Records. He works as a licensed social worker and therapist in the drug and alcohol addictions field. Aidan is influenced by the fiction and poetry of Borges and Bolano, as well as the music of Dan Bejar, Bill Callahan and The Books.