That was The Cake Shop in Washington, DC.
If you're ever in Washington, DC, go to The Cake Shop
and tell them I sent you.
So the first time I read Aimee Nezhukumatathil's work
was in 2011 as an undergraduate searching the Poetry Foundation
website for something that reflected the kind of poetry
that I wanted to write.
I was looking for poetry that was energetic, lyrical,
and funny, while still offering surprise and depth.
It's a lot to ask from a poem.
There's a lot.
But I found that all in one Aimee Nez poem
entitled "What I learned from the Incredible Hulk."
And I've been a fan boy ever since.
And [INAUDIBLE].
So when it was announced that Aimee would be the visiting
writer here at the Poetry Center,
I shared this information on Facebook
with six exclamation marks in which Hannah
must have seen and realized that I was very excited that Aimee
would be reading here at the U of A.
And then when Hannah later sent me
an email asking if I wanted to introduce her,
I was very, very excited and I replied with only two words--
"uh, yeah."
In which after sending, I immediately
regretted and sent another reply saying
I'm sorry that was very unprofessional,
but, yes, I would love to introduce Aimee.
So Aimee Nezhukumatathil's books include
Lucky Fish, At the Drive-In Volcano, and Miracle Fruit.
And her newest collection, like Hannah was mentioning,
is Oceanic, coming forth from Copper Canyon Press.
Aimee is a recipient of an NEA Fellowship and a Pushcart
Prize.
Aimee, you write in your book Lucky Fish
about how there is always something to cheer for
and I was cheering hard for your essay on the Macarena
during March Fadness and I'm sorry that it lost.
But I will continue to cheer and cheer hard for your work.
So please help me in welcoming Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
[APPLAUSE]