“Aaron Lelito’s poems trace the subtle moments that shape our lives, from observing a storm through a rain-streaked windshield to the tender glow of candlelight between two strangers holding hands. These poems linger in the spaces between what is said and heard, and what is felt.”
—Olga Katsovskiy, Editor in Chief of JMWW Journal
“‘Ask how much you are responsible / for anything that happens: / a seagull narrowing into curved space, / the quieting of a room / after applause . . . ’ writes Aaron Lelito in his stunning collection Static of a Wren’s Absence. Writing of the world’s granularity while never flinching from big, complex questions, Lelito’s poems are surreal and sonically rich. Raindrops have as much gravitational pull as the speaker’s consciousness. From start to finish, this collection is mesmerizing, vulnerable, and alive.”
—Crystal Cox, Editor in Chief of Outskirts Literary Journal
“Static of a Wren’s Absence feels like the written embodiment of making space for your own truth. This collection reads as an admission of care for the delicate commitments that connect us to each other and the world around us, tenderly emphasizing the push-and-pull of vulnerability, identity, and human liminality. Simultaneously electric and tender, Lelito’s poems pair atomically precise language with ephemeral natural elements to express life’s ebb and flow of personal growth and human connection.”
—Kylie Ayn Yockey, Editor in Chief of Blood Tree Literature
“These poems carry a contemplative quiet—an attention to interiority, perception, and the permeability between self and environment that is clearly the product of a mature practice. There is real craft here, and moments of striking intuition.”
—Summer Stewart, author of Mother!
