Ada Limón of Lexington, Kentucky has been chosen as the next U.S. poet laureate, according to a July 12 announcement from the Library of Congress.
The announcement said the 46-year-old poet would begin her year-long tenure with a reading of her work at the launch of the library's literary season on September 29. The announcement, which has been linked to a post on Twitter, quoted Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden as saying Limón's poems "speak of intimate truths, of the beauty and heartbreak that is living, in ways that help us move forward."
Limón had published six collections of poetry, the Library of Congress noted.
Her most recent Book was "The Hurting Kind," it said. It also mentioned that her 2018 collection "The Carrying" had won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry.
Limón was going to be the 24th U.S. poet laureate since the creation of the position of Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry in 1937, the library said. The Poet Laureate was expected to strive for a greater awareness of poetry among Americans, the Library of Congress said.
NEWS: Ada Limón (@adalimon) is the next U.S. Poet Laureate & will take up her duties in the fall, opening the Library’s annual literary season on Sept. 29 with a reading of her work in the Coolidge Auditorium. https://t.co/YmHN4I6IEH
— Library of Congress (@librarycongress) July 12, 2022Nature and the orality of language
Writing about Limón in The New York Times, Elizabeth Harris said: "Her melodic poems, which embrace the orality of poetry and language, often touch on the natural world, which she uses as much more than just a setting." Harris noted that the poet had received a Guggenheim fellowship and had been a finalist for the National Book Award.
Host of 'The Slowdown' podcast
NPR noted Limón was currently the host of "The Slowdown." Harris noted that this poetry podcast had been started by Tracy Smith during her tenure as poet laureate. Information on how to listen to the podcast can be found at slowdownshow.org.
'A fiercely loyal Kentuckian'
The Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Limón, a native of Sonoma, California had become "a fiercely loyal Kentuckian" after moving to the state 11 years ago.
The newspaper said much of her recent poetry had been characterized by observations of nature around her Lexington home and Kentucky horse farms.
She told the newspaper that America had "a rich history of literary accomplishment throughout each state, and I’m proud to represent Kentucky in that way." The paper noted that two other writers from the state, Allen Tate and Robert Penn Warren, had served as the nation's poet laureate.
Last year, the Cambridge Union posted a video of Limón speaking at a virtual event.
She said: "Poetry is really important to me, but I want to also just clarify that I don't think it's the end-all be-all. It's not going to save us.... And yet I do think it can ground us. It can widen our hearts, open our minds and give us breath. One of the things that I have always loved about poetry is it's one of the only art forms that has breath built right into it."
The Library of Congress announcement noted that Limón's ancestors had come from Mexico and she was currently part of the faculty for a low-residency master of fine arts program at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina.
