Aimee Nezhukumatathil
"I realized that if writing was going to take me away from my boys or my husband, then I wanted to find the joy and happiness in life and find ways to record that in my poems."
— Aimee Nezhukumatathil
for Creatives | writing, poetry, solitude of creating, artists must EXPERIENCE, Aimee Nezhukumatathil
"I hope that whoever reads my work, no matter the subject matter, will be able to tell that this poet is so clearly in love with the animals and plants and mysteries of this planet and tried to do her very best to get you to feel the same way too." (camera owner)
— Aimee Nezhukumatathil (self-portrait by Sulawesi crested macaque)
for Creatives | nature, create for YOURSELF, writing, poetry, writer-reader relationship, artist's message, flora & fauna, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, David J. Slater
"If I was writing about a crow feather, I wanted to make sure I got the shape exactly right, the right point and feel. This began my incorporating research into my poetry, and to this day, I still do a lot of research to make sure I always portray the natural world correctly." (artist)
— Aimee Nezhukumatathil (artwork by Jody Edwards)
for Creatives | nature, art, artists, writing, poetry, painting, flora & fauna, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Jody Edwards
"I often start something and have no idea how it'll end. The sense of surprise there, to me, is like magic every time."
— Aimee Nezhukumatathil
for Creatives | intuitive writing & pantsing, creative process, magic/mystery of creating/art, writing, poetry, creating in the moment, story endings, Aimee Nezhukumatathil
"With poetry in particular, I just feel like Mother Nature is the best creator of metaphor on the planet." (artist)
— Aimee Nezhukumatathil (artwork by Josephine Wall)
for Creatives | nature, art, artists, language, writing, poetry, Aimee Nezhukumatathil
"The surprise of what you'll find after rendering an image and how different if often comes out is the exact same thing I love about writing poems."
— Aimee Nezhukumatathil
for Creatives | creative process, magic/mystery of creating/art, art, writing, poetry, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, drawing/illustration
"It wasn't fantasy, but there was just something... like, I'd paint a still life but the colors wouldn't be quite like you'd expect them to be. That's the magic of it, and I love it—the world building that occurs on the canvas as it does on the page."
— Aimee Nezhukumatathil
for Creatives | intuitive writing & pantsing, creative process, magic/mystery of creating/art, fantasy, writing, creating in the moment, painting, Aimee Nezhukumatathil
"Avoid 'explaining' too much and just [let] the reader encounter a situation."
— Aimee Nezhukumatathil
for Creatives | writing, poetry, writer-reader relationship, Aimee Nezhukumatathil
"I do try to startle myself into a small combo of delight, wonder, and a dash of fright as I am composing a poem, just to keep me on my toes."
— Aimee Nezhukumatathil
for Creatives | creative process, create for YOURSELF, writing, poetry, Aimee Nezhukumatathil
"I decided that I wanted to have a record for my sons that would say, 'Wow, Mom really marveled at the world. She really championed the good on Earth.' That's how Lucky Fish partially came to be. And I've never really written for a specific audience in mind until that particular book."
— Aimee Nezhukumatathil
for Creatives | books, writing, poetry, reaching your audience, writer-reader relationship, artist's message, Aimee Nezhukumatathil
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