U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón to host nationwide art project during visit to Saguaro National Park

News Release Date:
November 21, 2024

Contact: Beth Hudick

TUCSON, Ariz. - The beauty of the Sonoran Desert has inspired artists for centuries. Ada Limón, the country's 24th Poet Laureate, will celebrate that legacy at a special event in the park on Tuesday, December 3, 2024.

Seven national parks, including Saguaro National Park, were selected by Limón to be part of her signature project "You are Here: Poetry in Parks." The initiative is a partnership with the Library of Congress, the National Park Service, and the Poetry Society of America that features site-specific poetry installations in the parks. Each one will transform a picnic table into a work of public art by featuring a historic American poem that relates to the park in a meaningful way.

"'You Are Here: Poetry in the Parks' aims to deepen our connection to nature through poetry," said Limón. "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. Above all, this project is about rising to this moment with hope, the kind of hope that will echo outwards for years to come."

Over the past several months, Limón visited Mount Rainier National Park in Washington, Redwood National and State Parks in California, Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, and Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. She will also visit Everglades National Park in Florida. In every park, Limón celebrated the installation of a public art picnic table and supported community outreach events that nurtured connections with the natural world.

For the Saguaro visit, Limón will unveil a picnic table with an overlay featuring Ofelia Zepeda's poem "Cloud Song" at the Mica View Picnic Area. Zepeda is a Tohono O'odham poet and language professor at the University of Arizona and the author of several poetry collections.

The public is invited to the unveiling of the picnic table on December 3rd at 1:00 pm. Attendance is limited to 150 participants and is by reservation only. To make a reservation, please contact the Rincon Mountain Visitor Center at 520-733-5153.

Please note that Mica View Road and the one-way portion of Cactus Forest Loop Road will be closed to all traffic for this event beginning the evening of December 2nd. Shuttle buses will be provided for event attendees.

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 430+ national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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