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At the Drive-In Volcano
From the author of the award-winning book of poems, Miracle Fruit , comes the eagerly anticipated second collection, At the Drive-In Volcano . In this new and imaginative followup, Aimee Nezhukumatathil examines the full circle journey of desire, loss, and ultimately, an exuberant lovetraveling around a world brimming with wild and delicious offerings such as iced waterfalls, jackfruit, and pistol shrimp. From the tropical landscapes of the Caribbean, India, and the Philippines to the deep winters of western New York and mild autumns of Ohio, the natural world Nezhukumatathil describes is dark but also lovelyso full of enchantment and magic. Here, worms glow in the dark, lizards speak, the most delicious soup in the world turns out to be deadly, and a woman eats soil as if it were candy. Her trademark charm, verve and wit remain elemental and a delight to behold, even in the face of a crumbling relationship. These poems confront delicate subjects of love and loss with an exacting exuberance and elegance not hardly seen in a writer so young.
85 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
4 people are currently reading
653 people want to read
About the author
Aimee Nezhukumatathil
26 books985 followersauthor of WORLD OF WONDERS: IN PRAISE OF FIREFLIES, WHALE SHARKS, AND OTHER ASTONISHMENTS (Milkweed 2020), and four collections of poetry, most recently, OCEANIC (Copper Canyon, 2018). Professor of English and Glitter, University of Mississippi.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
April 11, 2018
When your fingers tremble, let the book rest in your mind a minute, then read more.
July 20, 2015
After getting over the shock that I'm not the only poet to have written a poem entitled Hippopotomonstrsesquippedaliophobia, I gained a new respect for Aimee. Good stuff as always.
August 6, 2007
The curious finds in nature and human folly, which might otherwise get slumped into trivia or become the odd ingredient in a conversation starter, are skillfully and delicately handled in the much-anticipated second book of poems At the Drive-In Volcano (Tupelo Press, $16.95 paperback) by Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
In “Fugu Soup Blues,” for example, the reader’s introduced to the toxic porcupine fish, “the only fish/ that can close its eyes.” But the poem moves beyond reportage of facts and into the terrain of people’s attraction to risky behavior, i.e. the consumption of such a dangerous delicacy. The closing stanzas, however, beg associations to all of those other uncontrollable urges and indulgences:
You cannot stop this hunger. When
something this good can kill you, every pin prick
of white pain just adds more flavor.
The process of taking the unexpected, disconcerting detour from the seemingly charming direction of the poem is found in numerous pieces but most notably in “How the Robin’s Breast Became Red,” “Bee Wolf” and “Planaria,” about the “murderous business” of biology class dissections. It’s as if the poet has taken to heart the ars poetica cleverly ensconced in the poem about a jealous woman hiding a scorpion in her bride-to-be sister’s hair:
Invent a new line
for me, sketch me something
with lots of hair, extra bite. I crave
a new monster, all of its life
and saliva, how it gives me proof
my blood can still slam from one end
of my body to the other…
Nezhukumatathil’s poetic lens is indeed smudged with an anxiety that gives her second book a distinctively sinister edge. Witness the following lines from three different poems:
If you take away my glass before I’m finished, the ice
will cry soft in its melting, without my last mouthfeel.
*
This is the last hotel where the towels in the corner
of the bathroom (crumpled, dark) look
like someone was shot.
*
…even peeling an apple gives me
a small happy terror—the bright sheen of blood
and seed-skin.
Though the endnotes explain that the five sections of the book “are divided into specific thematic movements in a volcano’s lifespan,” the ordering of the poems within each section only hint at this larger construction. What’s more apparent is the speaker’s own movement in the first-person poems from one marker of identity to the next: sister, daughter, girlfriend, student, teacher, wife. This succession of roles stays connected by the speaker’s constant examination, volcano in the title notwithstanding, of the small and mostly eye-level encounters with the extraordinary ordinary things. The title poem, with its assertion that “Even in this darkness/ there is so much light,” appears to be addressing a new stage in the author’s poetics—a less innocent, and certainly a more perilous worldview. The result is daring and dazzling.
But fans of Nezhukumatathil’s previous volume Miracle Fruit should not be alarmed since they will find traces of that earlier project in this one, such as in the poem “First Fool,” about those men who rush to the summerwear at the first signs of sunlight:
The pale scissors
of this guy’s legs always cut me up. All
that’s left of me is a paper snowflake—
nothing but folds and tiny diamond holes.
REVIEW PUBLISHED IN lunapoetry.blogspot.com
In “Fugu Soup Blues,” for example, the reader’s introduced to the toxic porcupine fish, “the only fish/ that can close its eyes.” But the poem moves beyond reportage of facts and into the terrain of people’s attraction to risky behavior, i.e. the consumption of such a dangerous delicacy. The closing stanzas, however, beg associations to all of those other uncontrollable urges and indulgences:
You cannot stop this hunger. When
something this good can kill you, every pin prick
of white pain just adds more flavor.
The process of taking the unexpected, disconcerting detour from the seemingly charming direction of the poem is found in numerous pieces but most notably in “How the Robin’s Breast Became Red,” “Bee Wolf” and “Planaria,” about the “murderous business” of biology class dissections. It’s as if the poet has taken to heart the ars poetica cleverly ensconced in the poem about a jealous woman hiding a scorpion in her bride-to-be sister’s hair:
Invent a new line
for me, sketch me something
with lots of hair, extra bite. I crave
a new monster, all of its life
and saliva, how it gives me proof
my blood can still slam from one end
of my body to the other…
Nezhukumatathil’s poetic lens is indeed smudged with an anxiety that gives her second book a distinctively sinister edge. Witness the following lines from three different poems:
If you take away my glass before I’m finished, the ice
will cry soft in its melting, without my last mouthfeel.
*
This is the last hotel where the towels in the corner
of the bathroom (crumpled, dark) look
like someone was shot.
*
…even peeling an apple gives me
a small happy terror—the bright sheen of blood
and seed-skin.
Though the endnotes explain that the five sections of the book “are divided into specific thematic movements in a volcano’s lifespan,” the ordering of the poems within each section only hint at this larger construction. What’s more apparent is the speaker’s own movement in the first-person poems from one marker of identity to the next: sister, daughter, girlfriend, student, teacher, wife. This succession of roles stays connected by the speaker’s constant examination, volcano in the title notwithstanding, of the small and mostly eye-level encounters with the extraordinary ordinary things. The title poem, with its assertion that “Even in this darkness/ there is so much light,” appears to be addressing a new stage in the author’s poetics—a less innocent, and certainly a more perilous worldview. The result is daring and dazzling.
But fans of Nezhukumatathil’s previous volume Miracle Fruit should not be alarmed since they will find traces of that earlier project in this one, such as in the poem “First Fool,” about those men who rush to the summerwear at the first signs of sunlight:
The pale scissors
of this guy’s legs always cut me up. All
that’s left of me is a paper snowflake—
nothing but folds and tiny diamond holes.
REVIEW PUBLISHED IN lunapoetry.blogspot.com
October 12, 2008
I was listening to Damien Rice in the background as I finished reading this and my concentration would go back and forth between them and in a way their voices merged. This is not to speak ill of either one of them. I am in love with these two voices and somehow they were a duet this evening. The quiet and loud stretches of the music - the rise and fall of the voice in these poems...
I can't say that I liked this collection quite as much as Miracle Fruit, but there is more of an immediacy to this in ways. There's more anger, more passion in general. I find this to be incredibly powerful in some of the poems here and somewhat distancing in others. These seem to be more bitterly personal at times. At some points, that pulls me in and at other times I feel as if I have missed a small part of the story.
Overall, I love this collection. I simply feel that it stretches too much at a few points, that it strays too far into the realm of melodrama occasionally to have quite the impact as Miracle Fruit.
And this all sounds so much more negative than I intend. Read this 4 as a 4 1/2. Maybe even 4 3/4. I want to give it a 5, but I feel that it is just below Miracle Fruit.
I can't say that I liked this collection quite as much as Miracle Fruit, but there is more of an immediacy to this in ways. There's more anger, more passion in general. I find this to be incredibly powerful in some of the poems here and somewhat distancing in others. These seem to be more bitterly personal at times. At some points, that pulls me in and at other times I feel as if I have missed a small part of the story.
Overall, I love this collection. I simply feel that it stretches too much at a few points, that it strays too far into the realm of melodrama occasionally to have quite the impact as Miracle Fruit.
And this all sounds so much more negative than I intend. Read this 4 as a 4 1/2. Maybe even 4 3/4. I want to give it a 5, but I feel that it is just below Miracle Fruit.
October 21, 2012
I'm always reading at least one volume of poetry. Sometimes I have a pipeline built up, but in this case, I was without follow-up when my previous volume wound down. Browsing at a bookstore, I was drawn to this volume by the candy heart on the cover and the poetry of the poet's name. It also had a plug on the back by Naomi Shihab Nye, who I've become a fan of lately. I was not misled. You can find the rest of my review at http://chris-west.blogspot.com/2012/1...
April 19, 2013
Tight narrative poems full of personality and quirk. If I were to ever teach undergraduate poetry classes again, this would immediately go on the syllabus--Nezhukumatathil makes so many fantastic moves in her poetry that are clean and crisp.
My favorite was First Fool, which appeared in Pleiades (and isn't online). A nice smattering a villanelles as well, making me think I might try my hand again.
My favorite was First Fool, which appeared in Pleiades (and isn't online). A nice smattering a villanelles as well, making me think I might try my hand again.
March 27, 2017
This was my second collection of Nezhukumatathil’s poetry and I continue to be amazed at how bright and joyous her poetry is. So much of the poetry I read is about loss, death, war, etc that reading how wonderful and beautiful nature can be through the words of this poet is a breathtaking experience. I am working my way through Nezhukumatathil’s work and would highly recommend you do the same if you enjoy poetry.
January 9, 2012
Whoa. The praise is deserved. This is tingly poetry filled with the stuff I love. Critters and strong language and odd juxtapositions.
"Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia" at Slate:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/po...
It's also a beautifully created book. Nicely done, Tupelo Press.
"Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia" at Slate:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/po...
It's also a beautifully created book. Nicely done, Tupelo Press.
April 5, 2012
This book is full of my favorite kind of poetry, rich with explosive detail, colorful imagery, and attention to sound. The whole collection has a satisfying narrative arc as well, from falling in love, to crushing disappointment and anger, to starting over with a new love. Wonderfully written!
June 19, 2008
Different. Pseudo surrealistic. Lots of dog love in the poem in a non focal kind of way. I like. And now I look forward to Miracle Fruit.
May 10, 2023
“…I crave
a new monster, all of its life
and saliva, how it gives me proof
my blood can still slam from one end
of my body to the other, gives me
more energy to stay wide awake,
one more reason to check under my bed.”
— from “INVENTION OF THE MONSTERS”
TITLE—At the Drive-In Volcano
AUTHOR—Aimee Nezhukumatathil
PUBLISHED—2007
PUBLISHER—Tupelo Press
GENRE—poetry
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—lots of nature poetry (ants, deep sea creatures, flowers), love & community, food poetry (fugu soup, candy necklaces, mangos), family & marriage traditions, immigration & cultural displacement, beauty in life’s mundane (school picture day, vending machines), racism & discrimination, travel poetry, haibun, a mix of traditional & experimental poetic forms
WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
STORIES—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—Really lovely to reread this collection and revisit some of the earliest poems that I read that featured my favorite poetry structures and that inspired me to write some of my own.
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“I love the dance of every one helping…
…It's this dance of ants
down a tree, around a stubborn frog—I want
to dance with you—how brave the line,
how tiny the step, a hundred green valentines.”
— from “WHEN WEAVER ANTS CUT (A VALENTINE)”
My thoughts:
I just love how Nezhukumatathil writes so delicately and sensitively about grief & memory, and displacement & love, as she does about deep sea creatures & candy, and soap & vending machines—her poems are playful and profound all at once.
The huge diversity of her poems’ forms and structures are also really fun and interesting. I especially still love the haibun poem structure that she uses towards the end of the collection, which she explains in the notes as being “a Japanese form of travel writing, combining the prose poem and haiku.” I wrote a *lot* of these for my college poetry class at a time when I was traveling the world more than I was attending classes. 🤣
This book is best read light-heartedly & curiously.
Final note: Another lovely reread of my favorite of Nezhukumatathil’s collections. I think it’s past time for me to collect the rest of her works!
“I live with paint that is like a wreath; if you touch me,
you will do me irreparable harmony.
Your cards enfold me, like villains
climbing over walls.”
— from “SUGAR PAINS ME”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Further Reading—
- everything else by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
- more Japanese poetry
- I need to find some kind of book that talks more about the craft behind different poetic structure and forms…
- Kiki Petrosino (WITCH WIFE or FORT RED BORDER)
- EVERYONE KNOWS I AM A HAUNTING, by Shivanee Ramlochan
- Akwaeke Emezi
- Warsan Shire
- Romeo Oriogun
June 15, 2020
A very tentative 4. Nezhukumatathil is a stylistic eccentrist, and when that works alongside her realism of body-to-body it makes for intensity. Poems like "Flashlight Fish," "Fugu Soup Blues," and "Origin of the Mango" reflect how this sweeps in everything from the bounded/bound relationship between humans and nature to how memory is drawn most to what engages it. Sadly poems like the titular "At The Drive-In Volcano," "After the Auction, I Bid You Goodbye," and "High School Picture Re-take Day" fall away from this intensity in a way that makes them stand out for their lack.
(In particular the latter of the three made me think of modern Say Anything, who tried to recapitulate their edgier music from ...Is A Real Boy almost a decade later on Anarchy, My Dear despite having gone from early 20-somethings to inarguably adults. That's not saying Nezhukumatathil is like Say Anything, exactly, but the thought struck me as meaningful even if not for an obvious reason.)
In short, At The Drive-In Volcano is a thematically rounded collection that suffers from an inability to keep up its metaphoric intensity in the long run. Its worst pieces are to its best as stickbugs are to sticks, when you stare at them long enough.
(In particular the latter of the three made me think of modern Say Anything, who tried to recapitulate their edgier music from ...Is A Real Boy almost a decade later on Anarchy, My Dear despite having gone from early 20-somethings to inarguably adults. That's not saying Nezhukumatathil is like Say Anything, exactly, but the thought struck me as meaningful even if not for an obvious reason.)
In short, At The Drive-In Volcano is a thematically rounded collection that suffers from an inability to keep up its metaphoric intensity in the long run. Its worst pieces are to its best as stickbugs are to sticks, when you stare at them long enough.
August 17, 2017
3 1/2 stars. Not all of these poems captured me, but the ones that did made me want to read more of her. My favorites included "Fugu Soup Blues", "Love in the Orangery", "What the Mosquito Gives" and this one which starts the collection:
"When Weaver Ants Cut (A Valentine)
I love the dance of every one helping.
Each ant chews and chews a bit of juicyleaf
and stands on his back four legs to raise
the leaf shape up high above his head.
The congo line--a honey shimmer of bodies
rushing to bring the cut leaf home. For twelve
years, the ruler of Garwara, India was a jackal.
All the laughing in that town cannot
compare to what you have brought
into my home: a filament of light inside
a dark jellyfish bell. It's the dance of ants
down a tree, around a stubborn frog--I want
to dance with you--how brave the line,
how tiny the step, a hundred green valentines."
"When Weaver Ants Cut (A Valentine)
I love the dance of every one helping.
Each ant chews and chews a bit of juicyleaf
and stands on his back four legs to raise
the leaf shape up high above his head.
The congo line--a honey shimmer of bodies
rushing to bring the cut leaf home. For twelve
years, the ruler of Garwara, India was a jackal.
All the laughing in that town cannot
compare to what you have brought
into my home: a filament of light inside
a dark jellyfish bell. It's the dance of ants
down a tree, around a stubborn frog--I want
to dance with you--how brave the line,
how tiny the step, a hundred green valentines."
May 20, 2024
i just truly didn’t connect with this poetry whatsoever and didn’t personally care for this style of poetry, nor the writing of it. I wanted to like this more than I did, as I loved the idea of nature (animals, plants, volcanoes!) incorporated into poems. I think was the best Fugu Soup Blues (“Those who eat fugu soup are stupid. Those who don’t eat fugu soup are also stupid.”)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2022
3.5 stars - I really enjoy Nezhukumatathil’s writing but I didn’t connect with this collection. I enjoyed section four the most, followed by section five.
I do enjoy the combination of the natural world and relationships. There’s a lot of poems centered on romantic love and relationships.
I do enjoy the combination of the natural world and relationships. There’s a lot of poems centered on romantic love and relationships.
July 31, 2021
I quite liked this little book of poems but I'm still not so great at describing or talking about poetry even when i write it. Would reccomend this book nonetheless.
August 23, 2021
More nature— human, animal, and plant—uniquely and vividly rendered.
January 2, 2022
Liked the poems; didn't like the font.
July 7, 2022
This one will stick with me <3
October 20, 2022
This is the third collection by Nezhukumathil that I've read this year, and it is by far my favorite. The other two are great too, but this one is just so exactly what I needed.
August 14, 2024
- i like her other collections better! i think perhaps bc I don't like poems abt breakups?
- some favorites: when weaver ants cut (a valentine), fugu soup blues
- some favorites: when weaver ants cut (a valentine), fugu soup blues
May 14, 2024
Re-read May 2024: I’d previously read this collection during lockdown and became obsessed with Aimee’s zoom readings and events, especially with Ross Gay! Re-reading it now, after reading her first essay collection (and starting the second!) gave me such a full picture of her life and her mind. Obsessed!
Originally read August 2020: I could not love Aimee Nezhukumatathil more. She’s been doing so many Zooms and book events during quarantine that I feel like she’s my friend - she just doesn’t know it yet! Anyway, I’ve had this book awhile and read it before but apparently never reviewed it. As I wait for more of her books to arrive in my mailbox, I wanted to re-read this one. This is a great book to sit back and ready slowly so you can soak it in. This is a great book to read if you think you don’t like poetry. This book will change you.
Originally read August 2020: I could not love Aimee Nezhukumatathil more. She’s been doing so many Zooms and book events during quarantine that I feel like she’s my friend - she just doesn’t know it yet! Anyway, I’ve had this book awhile and read it before but apparently never reviewed it. As I wait for more of her books to arrive in my mailbox, I wanted to re-read this one. This is a great book to sit back and ready slowly so you can soak it in. This is a great book to read if you think you don’t like poetry. This book will change you.
January 21, 2015
At the Drive-In Volcano was my introduction to Aimee Nezhukumatathil. The collection won the 2007 Balcones Poetry Prize and generally received a lot of praise for its distinctive voice and wonderfully crafted poems. I liked the book... I didn't love it. Nezhukumatathil is an undeniable talent; but, At the Drive-In Volcano didn't speak to me as much as I'd hoped. Nevertheless, my favorites included: The Summer Of No Smiles, I Am Not The Hand, BloodFlower, Why I Crave Ribs Tonight, and At the Drive-In Volcano.
June 13, 2009
I found the poems in the first section of this book managed a distance between writer and subject, enough so that they felt personable and charming. However, as the writer brought the subject closer, alluding at times to an M, the poems lost their tension and mystery. It's not that I am against sentimental poems, it's that when the sentimentality presumes my sympathy, instead of persuading me to it, I usually flinch.
September 15, 2007
very lovely. i loved all the insects and animals!!!! reminds me that i should try to write more light-hearted poetry. there was a good balance of humor and gravity...
Want to read
January 7, 2008gotta love the kerala-connection!!! can't wait to read this...
February 17, 2008
There is something honest about these poems. Something honest that pierces me when I read them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 24, 2009st. lucia
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July 21, 2022
Love this book of poetry! Her poems are so colorful! You will not be disappointed. Found this book years ago at a Border's Book store and she is now one of my favorite poets.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews