Oceanic is revelatory in the sense that it positions nature and its creatures as teachers of life to acknowledge and consider. I think Aimme Nezhukumatathil does an excellent job at coinciding the body as nature, and using the symbology and imagery of insects, plants and animals to accentuate the complexities of life. She muddles the line between human and creature, and creates an enmeshment of seeing ourselves as connections to the planet, specifically the ocean, as whole. My favorite poems include: "Mr. Cass and the Crustaceans," "Self Portrait as Niagara Falls in Winter," and "Flowers at the Taj Mahal."
Specifically in "Mr. Cass and the Crustaceans," she elicits a series of images of large whales on the beach shores, dead from the intake of plastic juxtaposed to the metaphor of whales and birds singing to her. This poem acts as an ode to Mr. Cass, and it in I think she is referencing to her child-like wonder and appreciation for the ocean that was instilled in her by this teacher.
"[...] Mr. Cass, who
gave us each a crawfish he found just past
the suburbs of Phoenix, before strip malls
licked every good desert with a cold blast
of Freon and glass" (8).
This stanza in the poem is significant, because Aimee is drawing a correlation to how the urbanization that occurs in deserts is reflective of the deaths we see in the ocean. It's slight dig at consumerism, and how its literally and spiritually killing various bodies of nature (desert, ocean, whale, human innocence). She ends the poem: "I think/ how you first taught is kids to listen to water/and I'm grateful for each story in its song" (9). Here, Aimee positions nature as art (water as song), but more specifically, how both are crucial to preserving. And how that preservation and nurturing of it must be effectively taught.
I also felt the deep connections she makes between human beings and the natural world, and I loved her comparison between the ocean and the dessert in this poem. It made me remember that the desert was once an ocean, and the impending transformation of the desert, this time through urbanization, is like another geological cycle, although I agree with your analysis of it digging at consumerism and the killing of various bodies of nature.
ReplyDeleteI think it's quite a testament to Mr. Cass that he was able to create such appreciation for the ocean in kids living in the desert. though maybe in the desert, the ocean takes on a type of mystique for kids that it doesn't for those of us raised near the coast.
Glad you found her sassy. More on the book and the poems as a whole would give me a better sense of your engagement.
ReplyDeletee