Ada Limón: How Can Poetry Help Us Make Sense Of The World?

For Ada Limón, the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate, poetry is her way of connecting — to others, to ourselves, to our natural world.  Ada’s work is deeply personal, inspired by gratitude for loved ones, awe and nature, and her struggles with scoliosis and infertility. In this conversation with the Surgeon General, she reflects on her process for writing, which she says often starts with the simple act of seeing what’s around her. When Ada shares her poems, she finds joy in other people seeing their own feelings and life experiences in her writing.In the course of this conversation she beautifully recites two of her poems. “The Raincoat” was written for her mother. The other, “In Praise of Mystery,” is shooting through outer space right now on a NASA aircraft bound for Jupiter’s moon Europa.

(07:36)  Can poetry help keep us grounded?
(10:33) How does poetry help when language fails us?
(12:35)  Ada shares her poem "The Raincoat”
(17:50)  What are some unexpected ways poetry opens people up?
(22:40)  What if we don't "get" poetry?
(26:42)  What is it like to live the life of a poet?
(31:38)  How Ada gets herself in the mindset to write
(38:08)  On staying present
(44:02)  How life challenges shaped her creativity
(52:14)  How does Ada define success at this point in her life?
(59:36)  A reading of her poem "In Praise of Mystery."
(01:03:08)  What gives Ada Limón hope?

We’d love to hear from you! Send us a note at housecalls@hhs.gov with your feedback & ideas. For more episodes, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov/housecalls. 

Ada Limón, 24th U.S. Poet Laureate

Instagram: @adalimonwriter

Facebook: @poetadalimon

About Ada Limón

Ada Limón is the author of six books of poetry, including “The Carrying,” which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her book “Bright Dead Things” was nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Her most recent book of poetry, “The Hurting Kind,” was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. She is also the author of two children’s books: “In Praise of Mystery,” with illustrations by Peter Sís; and “And, Too, The Fox,” which will be released in 2025. In October of 2023 she was awarded a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, and she was named a TIME magazine woman of the year in 2024. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship and wrote a poem that will be engraved on NASA's Europa Clipper Spacecraft that will be launched to the second moon of Jupiter in October 2024. As the 24th Poet Laureate of The United States, her signature project is called “You Are Here” and focuses on how poetry can help connect us to the natural world. She will serve as Poet Laureate until the spring of 2025.