This October, NASA will launch its Europa Clipper spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa. Engraved into the craft’s side is the poem “In Praise of Mystery” by Ada Limón.
As US poet laureate, Limón has created You Are Here, an anthology (Milkweed Editions, April) and installation project in partnership with the National Park Service that explores the connection between poetry and nature.
Limón, a MacArthur fellow and one of Time magazine’s Women of the Year for 2024, spoke with American Libraries about her signature project, the role libraries have played in her life, and how she feels about sending a poem into the solar system.
What was your reaction when you learned that one of your poems would be going to space?
I have always loved space; I grew up on Star Wars. That was a big part of my childhood.
One of the biggest things that struck me was the idea of it being such a human endeavor—not only space exploration, but poetry, and then combining the two.
When I found out the poem was going to be in my own handwriting, it made me panic a little bit. Even though I had done 20 drafts of the poem, trying to write it in my own handwriting was hard. But I just recently saw the plate, and it’s beautiful. It’s a huge honor.
What was the process of writing the poem?
[NASA] gave me three things that I needed to consider: It had to be under 200 words, it had to be able to be read at the 4th-grade level, and it needed to include water. The biggest thing that I knew in my bones was that as much as it is a poem that is going out into the expansiveness of space, it really is a poem that points back to Earth. It needed to point back to this incredible planet as the climate crisis worsens and we approach a new type of reality.
One part of your signature project as poet laureate was editing You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, a collection by some of the world’s leading poets. What surprised you as you read everyone’s contributions?
One of the things that really shocked me was that these 52 different individuals came up with 50 original contemporary poems, all of them really speaking to one another. Even though some of them were in urban landscapes, some were personal, some were more public, the core message was that there is a beauty and wonder that Earth possesses, and that we feel really drawn to it. At the same time, we’re at this moment where we do have anxiety about our relationship with the planet. Each poem really spoke to this particular moment.
What spurred your own close relationship with nature?
I grew up in a rural area—Glen Ellen in Sonoma [County], California. It’s quite beautiful. Almost all my family members could name and identify plants and animals, and that was essential to my growing up. We did visit many of the national parks, particularly the Redwoods because those are in California. My little brother was a park ranger at Mount Rainier [in Washington]. Nature has been where I’ve always gone to breathe, to really get myself straight again after I feel untethered.
What role have libraries played in your life?
I’m such a huge fan of libraries. My library growing up was Sonoma Valley Regional Library, and it’s incredible. I was really into biographies when I was in high school, and I remember a librarian would just point out all the different kinds that I could check out. I think libraries really allowed me to peek into the world of different people.
Sometimes I visit libraries, and they have a small poetry collection. Being able to have a librarian who knows how to expand what’s on the shelves is essential to bringing people into poetry, so they have more access.
