In June, U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón launched “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.
Just off of a spectacular day in Mount Rainier National Park, the laureate and staff from the Library and the National Park Service caravanned south—with an overnight in Portland, then on to Redwood National and State Parks for our June 23rd visit. As with Cape Cod and Mount Rainier, Ada had a personal connection to the park: she visited often as a child, driving up from her home in the Sonoma area with her grandparents.
Limón shared this experience at the morning’s private event at the park’s Thomas H. Kutchel Visitor Center. The event, led by Interpretation and Education Manager Patrick Taylor, focused on cultural organizations south of the park and included not only the laureate but also dance artist, director and educator Lauren Godla—one of the recipients of the park’s year-old Artist-in-Residence program. Members of the organizations introduced themselves to each other and, after a brief conversation with Limón and National Park Service Education Strategist Shauna Potocky, shared ideas about how to connect to the park for arts-oriented programs and initiatives, with a focus on poetry.