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The Anatomy of Sand is the first poetry collection written in English by the Finnish–New Zealand poet Mikaela Nyman.
In an expansive new collection encompassing myths and science, the political and personal, the local and global, lyrical and technical language, from outer space to the microscopic, Nyman ask us to pay attention to how our present-day actions will impact future ecological events.
These poems listen to the creaking of space and wash of oceans, document the methane dunes on Pluto and eroding runes at Back Beach, and search the Finnish Kalevala mythology for answers.
‘Like the tide, The Anatomy of Sand returns to the shoreline as a haven and a lens to examine our relationship with nature and environmental loss. Nyman is fascinated by the ways we insist on artificially replicating what nature has already abundantly provided, and reminds us that we do not sit outside of our environment. This book is urgent and timely, rich and lively.’ —Helen Heath, author of Are Friends Electric?
‘This is a book with flashes of humour, a querying of everything, and minute observation. There is a lovely mental toughness, an evolution in the poet herself, in a collection that is absolutely contemporary.’ —Elizabeth Smither, author of My American Chair
Mikaela Nyman is from the autonomous, demilitarised Åland Islands in Finland and lives in Taranaki. Her climate fiction novel SADO was published by Te Herenga Waka University Press in 2020. Her two poetry collections in Swedish were nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize in 2020 and 2024 respectively. Her second poetry collection, To get out of a riptide you must move sideways (Ellips), connects Taranaki and Finland and was awarded a literary prize in 2024 by the Swedish Literary Society (SLS) in Finland. In 2024, she was the Robert Burns Fellow.
Cover art and photograph: Ellie Field
