The Library of Congress has appointed Ada Limón (GSAS '01) the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States. Limón follows some of the nation's most prestigious poets — Louise Glück, Rita Dove, Robert Hass, Tracy K Smith, and others — in serving as an ambassador for the reading and writing of poetry. After receiving her MFA from the Graduate School's Creative Writing Program, Limón went on to publish six poetry collections, winning awards and fellowships from the National Book Critics Circle, the Guggenheim Foundation, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and more.
"Again and again, I have been witness to poetry's immense power to reconnect us to the world, to allow us to heal, to love, to grieve, to remind us of the full spectrum of human emotion,” Limón said. “This recognition belongs to the teachers, poets, librarians and ancestors from all over the world that have been lifting up poetry for years. I am humbled by this opportunity to work in the service of poetry and to amplify poetry's ability to restore our humanity and our relationship to the world around us."