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A photo of U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón writing at a picnic table.
U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón responding to the prompt on the picnic table at Cape Cod National Seashore. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply.

“Poetry in Parks” Travelogue: Cape Cod National Seashore

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In June, Ada Limón and the Library launched the second part of “You Are Here,” her signature project as U.S. Poet Laureate: “Poetry in Parks,” which features site-specific poetry installations in seven national parks across the country. These installations, which will transform picnic tables into works of public art, will each feature a historic American poem that connects in a meaningful way to the park. Limón will travel to each of the parks for an unveiling, and we’ll be reporting on summer visits in “Bookmarked” throughout July.

On Friday, June 14, Ada Limón, along with a team of staff rom the Library of Congress and the National Park Service, woke up in Cape Cod, MA, to seasonal temps and mostly sunny skies. It was kickoff day for Limón’s “Poetry in Parks” initiative, with two events in the Cape Cod National Seashore and an initiative-wide celebration in nearby Provincetown. It was also the culmination of two years’ worth of work with the laureate and Library, as well as the National Park Service’s Washington, DC headquarters and each of the participating parks, and the Poetry Society of America.

The day’s official activities began with a morning “reveal” at the entrance to Beech Forest Trail, sandwiched in-between the streets of Provincetown and the dunes to the north. Visitors arrived to find a picnic table covered in black cloth, facing the picturesque Beech Forest pond, along with a sizable crowd of park staff and a podium. After an introduction by park Superintendent Jennifer Flynn, followed by remarks from the Library’s Literary Director Clay Smith. Limón got up to the podium last to read “Can You Imagine?”—the featured poem, by Mary Oliver. To conclude, all three plus National Park Service Chief of Interpretation, Education, & Volunteers Tom Medema stepped to the picnic table and pulled away the cloth—to reveal “Can You Imagine?” printed on a powder-coated aluminum panel.

Cape Cod National Seashore Superintendent Jennifer Flynn introducing the Beech Forest Trail event for the “Poetry in Parks” visit. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply.
Ada Limón speaking at the Beech Forest Trail event. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply.
Unveiling the picnic table! (From left to right: Ada Limón; Library of Congress Literary Director Clay Smith; National Park Service Chief of Interpretation, Education, & Volunteers Tom Medema; and Jennifer Flynn.) Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply.

Staff and visitors had a few minutes to get a closer look the table, then a sizable group accompanied Limón for a guided tour around the Beech Forest Trail. Aleutia Scott, Supervisory Ranger, Interpretation & Education at the Seashore, led the group and stopped to read other poems by Mary Oliver as well as speak of her life. Oliver (1935–2019), one of the country’s most popular and celebrated poets, spent over 50 years in the area and often walked the trail herself. (Note: last week the Library’s Manuscripts Division opened the Mary Oliver Papers to researchers.)

After the tour, Limón returned to the picnic table, pulled out her notebook and tried her hand at the initiative’s prompt: What would you write in response to the landscape around you?

Ada Limón and Cape Cod National Seashore Supervisory Ranger of Interpretation & Education Aleutia Scott lead the walk on Beech Forest Trail. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply.

That afternoon at the nearby Province Lands Visitor Center, Limón met with more than 30 representatives of the Seashore’s local partners for a moderated discussion. Sharon Polli, the Executive Director of the storied Fine Arts Work Center in nearby Provincetown, led the discussion—which began with Limón talking about her connection to the area and the center, where she was a Fellow from 2001-2002. Polli then called upon audience members to talk about ways they engaged literary and arts communities in the area. The goal in the conversation: to connect the partners, both literary and non-literary, to think about how they may collaborate on poetry-oriented programs and initiatives around the Seashore’s “Spring Fling” in 2025—the first two weeks of which coincide with National Poetry Month.

Ada Limón with Fine Arts Work Center Executive Director Sharon Polli, speaking to park partners at the Province Lands Visitor Center. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply.

The Fine Arts Work Center hosted an event celebrating the national kickoff of the initiative that evening, with a reception in the Daniel A. Mullin Courtyard and a reading in the Stanley Kunitz Common Room (named after the former laureate and consultant in poetry) by Limón of all seven poems, paired with images of each’s parks tabletop designs. The standing-room only crowd greeted the laureate as one of their own, and the event—livestreamed on YouTube—had a friendly feel, though speakers such as Medema invoked the power and reach of the initiative.

Ada Limón speaking at the Fine Arts Work Center “Poetry in Parks” National Kickoff Celebration. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply.
Tom Medema speaking at the “Poetry in Parks” National Kickoff Event. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply.
Ada Limón signing books in the Fine Arts Work Center’s Daniel A. Mullin Courtyard. Photo by Shawn Miller/Library of Congress. Note: Privacy and publicity rights for individuals depicted may apply.

Afterwards, Limón returned to the Courtyard to sign copies of her laureate anthology “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World.” Then the Library/National Park Service/Fine Arts Work Center crew, joined by Milkweed Editions Vice President for Advancement Jane Townsend, went out for a celebratory meal—just in time to miss the rain.

Next up: the laureate’s June 21 visit to Mount Rainier National Park.

Comments (2)

  1. bless the park service and the park.

  2. What a wonderful project! I hope that Ada Limón continues this amazing project! Would love to see her in Northport, NY to walk the Poetry Path in the Village Park!

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