NEW YORK – The U.S. poet laureate, Ada Limón, is launching her intended signature project in April, which is National Poetry Month.
The project is called “You Are Here” and includes an anthology of nature poems and visits to seven national parks.
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“I wanted something that could both praise our sacred and natural wonders and also speak the complex truths of this urgent time,” Limón said in a statement released Wednesday by the Library of Congress. "It may seem easier to surrender to the overwhelm of the world’s challenges right now, but I believe that singing out, offering something back to the earth, noticing our connection to the planet, could help us all move forward together in a powerful way.”
On April 2, Milkweed Editions, in association with the Library of Congress, will publish “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World,” which includes a foreword by Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, an introduction by Limón, and poems from Joy Harjo, Jericho Brown and Carl Phillips, among others.
In June, Limón will begin “You Are Here: Poetry in Parks,” which includes Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, along with stops by the poet laureate in four other states. Each visit will feature poetry installations, dedicating works by Mary Oliver, June Jordan and Lucille Clifton, along with others.
The park events will be coordinated with the National Park Service and the Poetry Society of America.