2026 Southern Summer Book Club Kickoff https://ift.tt/P0MFagr
If we are lucky, we get to have that magical experience of coming across the right book exactly when we need it. I experienced this kind of rarity with Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s latest collection of poetry, Night Owl.
Night Owl first came to me in December, and that last month of 2025, at least where I live in northern Alabama, was unusually cold. I was skipping my daily runs. My dog, missing her own squirrel hunting sessions, whined at the door, in prayer for something just beyond her grasp. The windows seemed to resist the warmth from the few rays of sunlight that broke through the shaded yard. Even the birds’ songs, which frequent as the most perfect background music in my home, seemed quieter than usual. In short, the world I love was there, spinning as always, of course, but I didn’t feel as if I was in sync with it, as I so often do.
Thankfully, this disconnect didn’t last very long.
As I sat down to begin reading upcoming spring and summer releases for “The Southern Summer Book Club,” the first book that caught my eye, with an absolutely beautiful cover, was Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s Night Owl. So, I dove in.
It’s safe to say that it isn’t just the cover that captivates in Night Owl. From the first poem, “Nocturne for Dark Things,” it’s clear that this is a book that shows Nezhukumatahil at her best. We are engulfed in joy, wonder, tenderness, and warmth — hallmarks of Nezhukumatathil’s writing. There’s an irresistible charm throughout these pages. And, for me, someone who was lost in the coldness of an early unpleasant winter, these poems helped me feel restored.
An early standout in Night Owl is “How to Build a Moon Garden When the News is All Horror.” Here, we witness a nighttime walk, as “the moon melts over the garden.” Nezhukumatathil writes, “Under this glow, we could all use a distraction– / dig with a silver shovel and choose colors that swoon.” These kinds of beautifully vivid phrasings populate Nezhukumatathil’s poems.
Two firefly-featuring poems — ”Firefly Ars Poetica” and “Firefly Nocturne” — offer reflection and remind us of the magic of the world that surrounds us. “Sunset, Descending,” set largely on an airplane, above and below the clouds, so beautifully captures the comfort of being safe, at home.
I don’t know that I’ve smiled more while reading a book this year than when I read the daytime and nighttime versions of “What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?”, presented on facing pages. It’s a delightful pairing.
While the book is shaped around nighttime stages, the poems here vary widely in terms of topic. There are works about bees, Mississippi, motherhood, national parks, hummingbirds, race, dark chocolate, and much, much more. Night Owl contains, in so many ways, poems of our lives.
By the book’s close, that temporary separation from the outside world I love so much was gone. I was reminded that even in darkness, there is such immense beauty.
I have loved Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s writing for years and years, and it is an absolute pleasure to be able to select Night Owl as our kickoff title for this new season of “The Southern Summer Book Club.”
I’ll be in conversation with Aimee later this month to discuss Night Owl, as part of our programming. If you have a question you would like to have asked during the session, please check out our social media pages to learn how to submit it, or you can always email editors@southernreviewofbooks.com!
POETRY Night Owl By Aimee Nezhukumatathil Ecco Published March 31, 2026
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