Friday, August 16, 2013

Poetry Friday: Aimee Nezhukumatathil

I don't know anything about Aimee Nezhukumatathil except what I read on Poetry Foundation, but I like reading her poems.  My favorite is this one, which plays cleverly with the way writers use reality:

Are All the Break-Ups in Your Poems Real?

By Aimee Nezhukumatathil
 
If by real you mean as real as a shark tooth stuck
in your heel, the wetness of a finished lollipop stick,
the surprise of a thumbtack in your purse—
then Yes, every last page is true, every nuance,
bit, and bite. Wait. I have made them up—all of them—
and when I say I am married, it means I married
all of them, a whole neighborhood of past loves.

You can read the last seven lines of the sonnet here.

Another fun poem by Nezhukumatathil is her found poem made up of lines from emails she got from high school students, hence the title:

Dear Amy Nehzooukammyatootill,

By Aimee Nezhukumatathil
(a found poem, composed entirely of e-mails from various high school students)

You can read that one here. 

It's great to be back to Poetry Friday after about five weeks of hiatus.  Today's roundup is here.  Enjoy lots of wonderful poems!

3 comments:

Linda B said...

She is quirky, but fun to read the poems Ruth. Welcome back. Hope your year has begun beautifully. Love those repeating 'better than Walt Whitman' lines.

Lisa said...

I did get your submission--Sorry you had trouble sending it.

I enjoyed these poems. The found poem with email lines is great--I think I might try that one myself!

Thanks for stopping by my space. Sorry it was challenging getting in the Submit door--glad you kept trying!

Lisa
www.stepsandstaircases.tumblr.com

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

Welcome back, Ruth. Good to see you again at Poetry Friday! I like the spontaneity of these poems and the second one gave me a good chuckle. Thanks for sharing.