Code Switch How poetry helps Ada Limon navigate life, even when it’s tough
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Nov 26, 2025 
Ada Limon, a celebrated poet and former U.S. Poet Laureate, dives into the transformative nature of poetry during turbulent times. She discusses her shift from identifying as a 'summer person' to embracing the reflective beauty of fall. Limon reveals how her collection 'The Hurting Kind' captures themes of loss and identity, while exploring the power of poetry to articulate deeper emotions. She candidly shares her journey through grief and the serendipity of receiving the MacArthur Fellowship, highlighting the financial freedom it brings to her writing.
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Seasonal Shift After Personal Loss
- Ada Limon describes shifting from a lifelong "summer person" to becoming a "fall person" after losses this year.
- She frames fall's darkness as a healing chance to grieve, reflect, and renew.
Flood That Erased Early Work
- Ada recounts losing early drafts and journals in a basement flood in 2021.
- She felt oddly liberated, noting those drafts were never published so in some ways they were already gone.
Poems Reveal The True Self
- Ada Limon says she has "given up" on fixed identity and seeks a truer self beneath labels.
- She finds that core self through writing poems, which she calls the "voice underneath the voice."
