Caption: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Credit: Marion Ettlinger
Image by: Marion Ettlinger 
Aimee Nezhukumatathil 

First Generation American Poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Series: New Letters on the Air
From: New Letters on the Air
Length: 00:28:56

Poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil is a first-generation American, whose parents are from India and the Philippines. She pays tribute to them with quirky, yet highly visual poems that reflect her unique perspective. Currently an NEA fellow, she reads from her two books, MIRACLE FRUIT and AT THE DRIVE-IN VOLCANO. Read the full description.

Aimee_nezhukumatathil_photo_small A first generation American poet and 2009 NEA fellow, Aimee Nezhukumatathil discusses her two books of poetry:  the multi-award winning Miracle Fruit and At the Drive-in Volcano.  She talks about writing poetry with a comic eye, and discusses the poetic form for which she named her dog, Villanelle.  Her unique ethnic heritage—her father is from India and her mother from the Philippines—along with her interest in environmental writing  are creative influences in her work.

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Piece Description

A first generation American poet and 2009 NEA fellow, Aimee Nezhukumatathil discusses her two books of poetry:  the multi-award winning Miracle Fruit and At the Drive-in Volcano.  She talks about writing poetry with a comic eye, and discusses the poetic form for which she named her dog, Villanelle.  Her unique ethnic heritage—her father is from India and her mother from the Philippines—along with her interest in environmental writing  are creative influences in her work.

Broadcast History

Uplinked to PRSS' Content Depot on 7/31/2009 for national broadcast

Timing and Cues

PROMO: Next time on "New Letters on the Air"... Poet Aimee Nezhukumatatil [nu-ZOO-koo-ma-tah-till, rhythmically similar to the Lion King song “Hakuna matata”]. She has a quirky sense of humor-- whether naming her dog after a form of poetry, or writing verse that takes an offbeat look at the world around her--this young, prize-winning, multi-cultural American poet reads from her books MIRACLE FRUIT and AT THE DRIVE-IN VOLCANO on the next edition of NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR...
UPLINK DATE: 07/31/2009
PROGRAM LENGTH: 29:00 minutes
INCUE: (music) "The titles of her first two books, MIRACLE..."
OUTCUE: "...Thanks for listening to NEW LETTERS ON THE AIR."

Musical Works

Title Artist Album Label Year Length
Bumbly March Kevin MacLeod Royalty Free Music. incompetech.com 00:00
Divertimento K131 Kevin MacLeod Royalty Free Music. incompetech.com 00:00
Monkoto Kevin MacLeod Royalty Free Music. incompetech.com 00:00
Danse of Questionable Tuning Kevin MacLeod Royalty Free Music. incompetech.com 00:00
Winter Chimes Kevin MacLeod Royalty Free Music. incompetech.com 00:00
Vibe Ace Kevin MacLeod Royalty Free Music. incompetech.com 00:00

Additional Credits

New Letters on the Air is a production of the quarterly literary magazine New Letters and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Partial financial support comes from the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

Related Website

http://www.newletters.org/radio