Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden appointed U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón to a second term. This is the first time someone has served a second term as poet laureate.
Limón became the 24th poet laureate in Sep. Her second term will run from Sep. 2023 through April 2025. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced the move.
"During her first term, Ada Limón has done so much to broaden and promote poetry to reach new audiences. She also laid the groundwork for multiple laureate outreach efforts to come, many with federal agencies," Hayden said. "A two-year second term gives the laureate and the Library the opportunity to realize these efforts and showcase how poems connect to, and make sense of, the world around us."
Among Limón's projects is revealing on June 1 a new poem she wrote to be engraved on NASA's spacecraft that will explore one of Jupiter's moons, Europa. Limón will also appear at the National Book Festival in August.
And the Library of Congress will provide details of a partnership Limón is orchestrating between the National Park Service and the Poetry Society of America to present poems in some of the country's national parks.
Limón is the guest editor for the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day series during April, National Poetry Month.
"I am beyond honored to serve for another two years as the Poet Laureate of the United States," Limón said. "Everywhere I have traveled during my first term, both nationally and internationally, I've been reminded that poetry brings people together. I am looking forward to continuing the important work of celebrating what poetry can do."
Limón is the author of six poetry collections, including "The Carrying," which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry, and "Bright Dead Things," a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Books Critics Circle Award. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University and is the recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and the Kentucky Foundation for Women.
What is the U.S. poet laureate?
The U.S. poet laureate is officially called the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. The position resides within the Library of Congress Literary Initiatives Office.
The Library of Congress established the role in 1937 to bring attention to poetry and literature in America. The position grew and evolved. Today, the poet laureate is charged with raising poetry's profile nationwide.
Some of the country's most notable poets have served as U.S. poet laureate, including 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Louise Glück, who served two separate terms. Past poet laureates include Billy Collins, Rita Dove, and Donald Hall.
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