UM English professor, poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil was featured in The New York Times for her new book ‘World of Wonders.’
Aimee Nezhukumatathil Wants You to Get Some Fresh Air
By Elisabeth Egan/The New York Times
WONDER WOMAN It’s not every day that pets come up during a phone interview, but the subject is relevant when you’re talking to Aimee Nezhukumatathil, whose illustrated essay collection, “World of Wonders,” doubles as a love letter to little creatures. It turns out she shares her home with a small, mostly Chihuahua-based mutt named Haiku. “He’s a really teeny dog and I’m a nerdy poet, so there you go,” she explains. “Unfortunately he has a little bit of pandemic weight on him, so now we joke that he’s a haibun, which is a larger form of Japanese poetry.”
“World of Wonders” was published by Milkweed Editions on Sept. 8 and, three months later, was selected as Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year. On Dec. 16, Nezhukumatathil was helping her fifth grader practice for a spelling bee when she learned that the book was No. 5 on the hardcover nonfiction list. (It is now at No. 7.) She describes the news as “beyond my wildest dreams.”