Join Indiana Humanities for a visit with the author of "World of Wonders," the 2022 One State, One Story book. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. ASL interpretation will be provided.
Offered as part of Indiana Humanities’ Unearthed programming, a multiyear initiative encouraging Hoosiers to discover and discuss their relationships with the natural world, this special INconversation with Aimee Nezhukumatathil will feature a moderated conversation with Indiana’s own Adrian Matejka, former Poet Laureate of the state of Indiana and current editor of Poetry Magazine. The evening will wrap up with an audience Q&A followed by book sales and signing.
Schedule
Book Discussions
Join one of our book discussions on a variety of dates at various library locations. Free copies of World of Wonders to keep are available at most library branches for discussion participants - contact your local branch to see if they have any available. See our book discussion schedule.
About INconversation
INconversation engages an intimate group in interesting and insightful conversations with some of the nation's most intriguing thought leaders. This highly participatory question-and-answer style discussion involves the thought leader, a moderator and the audience. INconversation is a signature program of Indiana Humanities.
About One State / One Story: World of Wonders
Indiana Humanities’ One State / One Story: World of Wonders invites Hoosiers to engage deeply with Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments as part of a statewide conversation tied to Indiana Humanities’ Unearthed initiative, which explores Hoosiers’ relationships with the natural world. The heart of One State / One Story: World of Wonders is communities coming together to talk about Nezhukumatathil’s remarkable collection of essays. In total, 30 organizations are taking part in community reads of the collection, with more than 90 programs happening across the state.
About Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Aimee Nezhukumatathil is the author of the New York Times best-selling illustrated collection of nature essays and Kirkus Prize finalist, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, & Other Astonishments (2020, Milkweed Editions), which was chosen as Barnes and Noble’s Book of the Year. She has four previous poetry collections: Oceanic (Copper Canyon Press, 2018), Lucky Fish (2011), At the Drive-in Volcano (2007), and Miracle Fruit (2003), the last three from Tupelo Press. Her most recent book is Lace & Pyrite, a Collaboration of Epistolary Garden Poems with the poet Ross Gay. Her writing appears twice in the Best American Poetry Series, The New York Times Magazine, ESPN, Ploughshares, American Poetry Review, and Tin House.
Honors include a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pushcart Prize, a Mississippi Arts Council grant, and being named a Guggenheim Fellow in poetry. In 2021, she became the first-ever poetry editor for SIERRA magazine, the storytelling arm of The Sierra Club. She is professor of English and Creative Writing in the University of Mississippi’s MFA program.
About Adrian Matejka
Adrian Matejka's most recent collection of poetry is Somebody Else Sold the World. His other books are Map to the Stars; The Big Smoke, which was the winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and a finalist for both the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize; Mixology, which was selected for the National Poetry Series; and The Devil's Garden (Alice James Books, 2003), winner of the New York / New England Award. Among Matejka's other honors are fellowships from the Academy of American Poets, the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and United States Artists. He served as Poet Laureate of the state of Indiana in 2018-19 and is Editor of Poetry Magazine.
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