The Poetry Foundation, the Chicago Public Library Foundation and the National Museum of Mexican Art are pleased to welcome the 24th United States Poet Laureate Ada Limón as part of our Voices for Justice Series and as our keynote speaker for our 25th Annual Poetry Fest.

Ada Limón 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 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. In October of 2023 she was awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship.

Ada will be in conversation with writer Mark Turcotte.

Writer Mark Turcotte (Turtle Mountain Band Anishinaabe) has been an active member of Chicago’s thriving poetry scene since first arriving in the early 90s. He is author of four collections, including The Feathered Heart and Exploding Chippewas. His poetry and prose have appeared in TriQuarterly, POETRY, Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, The Missouri Review and many other American and International journals, and is included in the first ever Norton Anthology of Native Nations poetry. He has been the recipient of awards from the Lannan Foundation and the Wisconsin Arts Board. He lives in Chicago where he is Distinguished Writer-In-Residence in the English Department at DePaul University.

How to Attend – In Person:
Doors to the Auditorium will open at 1:30 pm and seating is first come, first served (350 capacity). Books are available for purchase, and the author will autograph books at the conclusion of the program.

How to Attend – Virtual:
This event will also take place live on CPL’s YouTube channel and CPL’s Facebook page. You’ll be able to ask questions during the event as well!

Accessibility
Automatic captioning is available via Facebook and YouTube’s closed captioning setting. Need sign language interpretation or other accessibility assistance for this event? Please call (312) 747-8184 or email access@chipublib.org to request accommodations. Requests must be made at least 14 business days before the event.

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