Queens University of Charlotte Creative Writing Instructor Named 24th Poet Laureate of the U.S. by the Library of Congress.

Ada Limón, a creative writing instructor in the College of Arts & Sciences at Queens University of Charlotte, has been named the 24th Poet Laureate of the U.S. by the Library of Congress.Ada Limon

“What an incredible honor to be named the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States,” said Limón. “Again and again, I have been witness to poetry’s immense power to reconnect us to the world, to allow us to heal, to love, to grieve, to remind us of the full spectrum of human emotion. This recognition belongs to the teachers, poets, librarians, and ancestors from all over the world that have been lifting up poetry for years.

“I am humbled by this opportunity to work in the service of poetry and to amplify poetry’s ability to restore our humanity and our relationship to the world around us,” she said.

Limón will open the Library of Congress’s 2022-23 literary season Sept. 29 with a reading of her work in the Coolidge Auditorium in Washington, D.C. Limón’s term as Poet Laureate begins September. She will also be the first Poet Laureate to offer an early event outside the U.S. as she does her first unofficial event July 28 at the Queens Charlotte Latin American residency in Buenos Aires.

Limón is author of six poetry books. Her work includes “The Carrying,” winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for poetry and named one of the top five poetry books of the year by the Washington Post; “Bright Dead Things,” finalist for the National Book Award, and most recently, “The Hurting Kind,” published in May.

Limón has taught in the Queens Charlotte MFA program since 2014, both in Charlotte and Latin America. She is also host of The Slowdown poetry podcast and freelance writer in Lexington, Ky.