The Kansas City Public Library hosts poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil for a presentation called At the Drive-In Volcano on Thursday, March 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

Ezra Pound once commanded poets to “Make it new,” and critical praise for Nezhukumatathil says her work fulfills that instruction with extravagant and accessible poems that “contain just the right amount of darkness and elegance.”

Nezhukumatathil is a Chicago native, born to a Filipina mother and south Indian father. She obtained degrees from Ohio State University and teaches creative writing and environmental literature at SUNY-Fredonia. Her poem “Love in the Orangery” won a 2008 Pushcart Prize. She is author of At the Drive-In Volcano and Miracle Fruit, which earned the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award and the Global Filipino Award.

Rainy Day Books will be on hand to sell copies of Nezhukumatathil’s books. The author will sign copies purchased at the event.

This presentation is a part of the Park University Ethnic Voices Poetry Series. Financial assistance for this project has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

The program complements the exhibit, Singgalot (The Ties that Bind), the story of Filipino migration to the United States.