Miracle Fruit

Rating:
Summary: extremely crisp and colorful writing
Review: A+ So good! I was blown away. Important to note that this is a poet who is not afraid to take herself too seriously while sounding out gorgeous strings of words and whose writing is an absolute delicious delight! Period.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning.
Review: Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Miracle Fruit (Tupelo Press, 2003)

One of the fringe benefits of being a reviewer in the age of the Internet is that finding information on authors is much easier. A perusal of Aimee Nezhukumatathil's weblog shows us a woman who is (or comes across on the Internet, at least) funny, but in a quiet rather than a slapstick way; beautiful; shockingly intelligent, but with enough presence of mind to know when to dump the brain and rely on the heart, the gut, or the funny bone; thoughtful, observant; somewhat humble. It should not surprise many that her first book-length collection, Miracle Fruit, is a perfect mirror of these traits. It is also, in many places, unexpected; old ground gets fresh, surprising treatment. Even the hoary old love poem gets a new luster:

"...I like to think of Orion--
not hunting at the moment,
but nudging fools like me out of the way, saying

not your turn, not like this. I ignore him, press on, until
I come to that ruddy shoulder and find it's too big
to even try to circle around. The way it pulses just a little
makes me think of my own blood in my veins,

how it flows and kisses each muscle only
as long as I stay put upon this earth. And maybe he's right:
scribbling notes on lovers' shoulders, necks, throats--
is not the way. But I love the trying, not the mess, the rugs

and dust scattered. Only this sweet business of trying."
("Betelgeuse")

The book is full of clever twists and turns, with a gentle, self-deprecating humor that casts the poems here in molds that lend themselves to the easiest of reading, that beguile the reader into letting them linger on the tongue long after the final word is spoken. This is fine work, some of the best poetry released in recent years that's come across my desk; mark the (easy-to-remember, certainly) name Aimee Nezhukumatathil, for if there is any justice in the poetic world, you will be seeing it a lot more in the years to come. A strong candidate for my top twenty-five reads of the year. **** ½

Rating:
Summary: Ho-hum...Nothing New Here...Don't Waste Your $ or Time!!
Review: Aimee Nezuhkumatathil's name has been appearing in many a lit. journal lately...whether it be an interview in Black Warrior Review to poems in big name magazines such as Prairie Schooner, The Southern Review, and Mid-American Review.

But, what is the appeal?

Having read Miracle Fruit, I have come to a few conclusions. First, her first lines are TERRIBLE! I kept flipping through the book, scanning for something that would grab my attention, but was ultimately disappointed. Secondly, it appears as though she is milking the "Filipino" angle for all it's worth. There is nothing said in these poems about the Asian-American experience that hasn't been said before (and better). I find that her poems fall flat, lack any real emotion, and are simply, well, trite.

Aimee may be having her day in the sun, but I feel as though these "miracles" will quickly be pushed under the rug as poets truly more willing to quit playing it safe emerge.

Rating:
Summary: inspiring
Review: As inspiring to read as to hear her speak the words themselves...a fantastic poet and a fantastic teacher to those who wish to follow that same path.

Rating:
Summary: Ho-hum...Nothing New Here...Don't Waste Your $ or Time!!
Review: Just came across this author's work on Poetry Daily and was blown away by the attention to detail, the sensitive nuances she uses to create fantastic and heartfelt mini-worlds in her poems. There is a dymanic range here--from elegant ghazals, sweeping lyric poems and delightfully charming narrative poems. I read this cover to cover in one sitting and I NEVER do that. Trust me... You will finish this book with a smile on your face. A dazzling debut--I look forward to her next book and plan on teaching this book next fall semester! Simply delicious.

Rating:
Summary: Finally! A miraculous debut!!
Review: Nezhukumatathil can blend humor and vulnerability and sharply wrought observations like no other young poet writing today. looking for pretense? jargon? name-dropping? convoluted lines to show how "deep" she is? sorry, buster, you won't find them here.

I found this book unexpectedly moving and charming and dazzling all at once. To me, if I am haunted by lines while I am brushing my teeth days later and those lines force me to grab the book and savor those lines again, it is well worth the bang for your buck.

POEMS THAT SIZZZLE: "Small Murders" "Betelgeuse" "Why I am Not Afraid of King Cobras" "Swear Words" "The Woman who Turned Down a Date with a Cherry Farmer"

Her name is all over the lit magazines now and i've watched her success with much joy and pride: I own a copy of her hard to find chapbook! Hundreds of editors and fans cannot be wrong. Only the most jaded and jealous would begrduge this work's uncanny and honest miracle of bringing smiles to readers. Imagine that: a poet who can actually make people smile!
Miracle Fruit is one of those rare first books that feature and eclectic and fascinating look into the small joys and wonder of nature, science, math, food--and yes: heartbreak and love too.
I've lent my copy out to a pal and it came back all dog-eared and underlined. Truly worth savoring each and every page!

Rating:
Summary: Finally! A miraculous debut!!
Review: Nezhukumatathil can blend humor and vulnerability and sharply wrought observations like no other young poet writing today. looking for pretense? jargon? name-dropping? convoluted lines to show how "deep" she is? sorry, buster, you won't find them here.

I found this book unexpectedly moving and charming and dazzling all at once. To me, if I am haunted by lines while I am brushing my teeth days later and those lines force me to grab the book and savor those lines again, it is well worth the bang for your buck.

POEMS THAT SIZZZLE: "Small Murders" "Betelgeuse" "Why I am Not Afraid of King Cobras" "Swear Words" "The Woman who Turned Down a Date with a Cherry Farmer"

Her name is all over the lit magazines now and i've watched her success with much joy and pride: I own a copy of her hard to find chapbook! Hundreds of editors and fans cannot be wrong. Only the most jaded and jealous would begrduge this work's uncanny and honest miracle of bringing smiles to readers. Imagine that: a poet who can actually make people smile!
Miracle Fruit is one of those rare first books that feature and eclectic and fascinating look into the small joys and wonder of nature, science, math, food--and yes: heartbreak and love too.
I've lent my copy out to a pal and it came back all dog-eared and underlined. Truly worth savoring each and every page!

Rating:
Summary: At Last: a witty and elegant read
Review: Simply put: one of the BEST new voices and books in recent memory. I surprised myself--how often I caught myself smiling. A rare feat these days in young poets' verse. Absolutely full of charm and a humble intelligence.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME FRUIT
Review: This book blew me away. Period. Funny, sexy, smart. And the books not bad either!