Nature has inspired a wealth of beautiful poetry, and U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón is among those who frequently turn to the environment as a muse. This year, Limón is inviting the public to share in that connection with “You Are Here: Poetry in Parks,” a series of installations in a handful of the country’s national parks.
The project, which formally kicked off during National Poetry Month in April, transforms picnic tables into public works of art at seven parks — spanning Florida to California — and made its debut in June at Massachusetts’ Cape Cod National Seashore. Each features a piece from a historic American poet whose work “connects in a meaningful way to the park,” per the Library of Congress.
“I believe the way we respond to this crucial moment on our planet could define humanity forever. In conceiving of my signature project, 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 when the initiative was announced.
Contributing poets include Mary Oliver, Lucille Clifton, and Francisco X. Alarcón. (See the entire list of parks, poets, poems, and unveiling dates below.) Limón is also encouraging individuals to get involved, putting forth the prompt, “What would you write in response to the landscape around you?” and asking them to share their answers on social media using the hashtag #YouAreHerePoetry.
Additionally, the poet laureate published an anthology titled You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World on April 2, featuring 50 poems from living American poets. Both the installations and the anthology are seemingly a direct response to what feels to many like a particularly challenging era for the planet and its people.
“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,” Limón said, adding: “Above all, this project is about rising to this moment with hope, the kind of hope that will echo outwards for years to come.”
“You Are Here: Poetry in Parks” Installation Timeline
June 14: Mary Oliver, “Can You Imagine?” at Cape Cod National Seashore (Massachusetts)
June 21: A.R. Ammons, “Uppermost” at Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
June 23: Francisco X. Alarcón, “Never Alone” at Redwood National and State Parks (California)
July 12: Jean Valentine, “The valley” at Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Ohio)
July 20: Lucille Clifton, “the earth is a living thing” at Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina and Tennessee)
Oct. 8: June Jordan, “Ecology” at Everglades National Park (Florida)
Dec. 3: Ofelia Zepeda, “Na:nko Ma:s Cewagi/Cloud Song” at Saguaro National Park (Arizona)
More About Limón
The author of six books of poetry and a native of Sonoma, California, Limón became the 24th U.S. poet laureate in September 2022 — the first Latina to assume the role — and was reappointed for a two-year second term in April 2023.
That June, she unveiled “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa,” for NASA’s upcoming mission to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. The piece will be engraved in Limón’s handwriting on the spacecraft, the Europa Clipper, which is set to launch this fall.
“I wanted to point back to the Earth, and I think the biggest part of the poem is that it unites those two things,” she told Reuters at the time. “It unites both space and this incredible planet that we live on.”
Last October, the poet was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship (or “genius grant”), and she was named one of TIME magazine’s women of the year this past February.
“When I’m in my darkest space, as a poet and as a human, turning to nature is the one thing that will bring me back to myself,” Limón told Time. “It’s very hard to write from a place of fear and isolation. If you can, connect to the natural world — a tree, a shrub, whatever you can set your sight on for a moment. We’re not alone.”
RELATED: From Yellowstone to Yosemite: Celebrate Our National Parks With Free Entrance on These Dates
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