Aimee Nezhukumatathil | Meg Weston
I encountered Aimee Nezhukumatathil when a poem of hers was published in Ploughshares in 2019. I recall being blown away by the poem’s exuberance and unbridled expressions of joy. I couldn’t let it go.
When You are Near, I Turn into a Baja Fairyduster
By which I mean I look like that flower that fireworks in midsentence
in the sky, over the end of a sweaty ball game….
With each reading, I entered a world of joy, humanity, and connection to nature.
Aimee’s book of essays, World of Wonders, hit the NY Times Bestsellers list in early 2021. It was her first book of prose and it reached far beyond the usual audience for poetry collections. Now, her fifth collection of poetry, Night Owl, has just been released, described by the publisher as “present[ing] a dazzling vision of nature that celebrates the beautiful noises and silences of this planet, as well as its many complications.”
Several of the poems in this new collection are ones that I’ve brought along to share at workshops, hung up on my bulletin board, and returned to time and again. I often read her poem “What I learned in Greenland” when leading writers’ workshops in Iceland, asking participants to use it as a prompt. It was published in Orion Magazine, where Aimee is poetry editor. It ends with these lines:
I drink up, even in July—I know at least three fin whales
Who promised me cap-slap and sea spray if I return—
A particular round of icy applause I’ll never forget.
I invite you to use this as a prompt “What I learned in…” —when I do, I find myself connecting to my senses—the beautiful sounds and silences of this planet, and I’m inspired to see differently, to experience this world more fully.
When it came time to choose our keynote poet for 2026, we approached Aimee Nezhukumatathil. Although she’s in great demand as a speaker and teacher, we were lucky enough that she agreed to come to Camden. Over this past winter and early spring, we partnered with Maine Writers & Publisher Association (MWPA) to invite ten prose and poetry writers across the state to offer generative writing workshops based on Aimee’s prose and poetry.
During the Festival, Aimee will offer a craft talk entitled “How to Fall Down in the Grass: Writing from the Natural World,” an event taking place on Friday afternoon at the Camden Public Library. Space is limited and pre-registration (on the Festival website) is required. There are scholarships available to those who need them. The keynote presentation on Saturday afternoon during the Festival (at the First Congregational Church of Camden at 55 Elm Street) is entitled “Notes from a Night Owl: Learning to Glow When the World Goes Dim.”
We hope you will join us for this year’s Festival—you’re likely to feel like you’ve encountered a Baha Fairyduster or two along the way! For a full line up of events, visit the website www.CamdenFestivalof Poetry.org/2026-Festival-Schedule.
Meg Weston is the author of two poetry collections, Magma Intrusions and Letters from the White Queen, and a collaborative book with Margaret Haberman, To the Point and Back: Swimming Poems. Weston is co-founder and co-director of the Camden Festival of Poetry along with Mark S. Burrows; founder and host of The Poets Corner, an international online literary community, and president of the board of Millay House Rockland.
