Congratulations to Ada Limón, First Mexican American Woman To Be Named U.S. Poet Laureate

Ada Limón, the 24th Poet Laureate, at the Library of Congress. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress.

Ada Limón, named the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States by the U.S. Library of Congress this past July, assumes her position today, September 29th, with a reading of her work in the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library.

The first Mexican American woman to be named to the position, Limón is originally from Sonoma, California, and is the author of several poetry collections. The Carrying, published in 2018 by Milkweed Editions, won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry.

Limón earned an MFA from New York University and is the recipient of various fellowships. Her works have appeared in numerous publications including the New Yorker, Harvard Review, Pleiades, and Barrow Street.

Limón is the host of the acclaimed podcast, “The Slowdown,” and lives in Lexington, Kentucky.