Aimee Nezhukumatathil

First generation American poet and 2020 Guggenheim Fellow, Aimee Nezhukumatathil discusses the first two of her four books of poetry: the multi-award winning Miracle Fruit and At the Drive-in Volcano, which give insight into her new essay book this fall called World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks and Other Astonishments. She talks about writing poetry with a comic eye, and discusses the poetic form for which she named her dog, Villanelle. She also describes how 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 on her work.