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livfrew2's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
hereisenough's review against another edition
5.0
Gorgeous and lush poetry circling big and tiny topics, often through a lens of nature. Really really clever.
ceallaighsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
“…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
yddrll's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
suddenflamingword's review against another edition
4.0
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.
howifeelaboutbooks's review against another edition
5.0
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.
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