You Are Here

in sunset. then the wind again:a wave through leaves greenwith deep summer, the walnut's

green husk. we are alive in a greencrashing world. soon winter.
the boat forgotten. the oceans,

their leaping animal light, off screen.past. future. this is a process. the eaglesat the river's edge cluster

in the bare tree. they steal fish
from ducks. they eat the hunter'sdiscards: offal and lead. the juveniles

Magnolia



Matthew Zapruder, It Was Summer, The Wind Blew



Prageeta Sharma, I am Learning to Find the Horizons of Peace



Roger Reeves, Beneath the Perseids



Kazim Ali, The Man in 119



torrin a. greathouse, No Ethical Transition Under Late Capitalism



Rigoberto González, Summer Songs



Adam Clay, Darkling, I Listen



Camille Dungy, Remembering a Honeymoon Hike



Erika Meitner, Manifesto of Fragility / Terraform



Jake Skeets, In Fire



Paul Tran, Terroir



Jason Schneiderman, Staircase



Kiki Petrosino, To Think of Italy While Climbing



Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Heliophilia



Jennifer L. Knox, Central Iowa, Scenic Overlook



Alberto Rios, Twenty Minutes in the Backyard



Patricia Smith, To Little Black Girls, Risking Flower



Ruth Awad, Reasons to Live







Notes



Acknowledgments

"This beautifully curated anthology of 50 previously unpublished poems challenges preconceptions about 'nature poetry' as it meditates on humanity's relationship to the planet . . . This collection stands apart for the strength of its entries and the breadth of its superb meditations on a pressing theme."-Publishers Weekly



"Ada Limón commissioned some of the finest poets of our era to write to perhaps the most pressing issue of our time, in an anthology that is uniformly intimate, if diverse in subject matter.... This collection will speak to those who love contemporary poetry and those who don't yet realize they do, as well as all who care about our natural world, and our place within it.... This collection is superbly designed for multiple audiences: nature lovers, poetry mavens, casual readers, or even as a generative teaching tool."-Mandana Chaffa, The Brooklyn Rail




"Nature is the unifying theme of this poetry anthology edited by current U.S. poet laureate Ada Limón, who was born and raised in Sonoma County. Each featured poet, including Joy Harjo, Paul Tran, Rigoberto González and more, is invited to tangle with their local landscape to produce previously unpublished work."-San Francisco Chronicle, "22 new works to energize your spring reading"







"Whatever you think 'nature poetry' is, you might be surprised by this collection. Each poet writes about their local landscape in new and sometimes unexpected ways, showcasing a diversity of methods with which to interact with the natural world. It's a slim but powerful volume of poetry that demands you slow down, stop, and immerse yourself in the natural world, if even just for a few minutes."-BookRiot, "8 New Science Books to Look For in Early 2024"



"It's clear through her work-including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award-that Ada is connected to something higher, bigger, more ethereal in all that she notices, discovers, and shares. Yet it is exactly those same attributes that plant her so firmly in this physical plane, here on Earth. It's no surprise, then, that this kind of groundedness is at the heart of her latest book, a project that uplifts individual voices while creating authentic and profound unity. [. . .] Through her work, written and otherwise, Ada reminds us of everyday magic and the importance of connection."-Chicago Review of Books




"In a moment where many are reevaluating their relationship with the natural world, this collection of poems by 50 celebrated contemporary writers reflects on just that topic. Published in association with the Library of Congress, and edited by Ada Límon, the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, You Are Here challenges readers to rethink what they know about 'nature poetry,' as both the poetic landscape and the literal landscape of the world are currently changing before our very eyes."-W Magazine




"The poems in this collection explore various facets of nature, from the beauty of the earth to the looming climate crisis [. . .] there's no better time to read this meditation on the world around us."-Washington Square News




"The expansive You Are Here surveys both the landscape of the natural world and the landscape of contemporary poetry. Pastoral witness neighbors environmental concern; established talents neighbor emerging voices; lakes and forests neighbor pools and cemeteries. Dear gardeners, bookworms, lumberjacks, cartographers, bird-watchers, scholars, students, poets, and general readers: You Are Here will leave you more attuned to the textures of countryside and country. Language and land become a capacious singularity in Ada Limón's superb compilation."-Terrance Hayes, author of American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin



"The poets in this collection share the richness of their breathing. Rich with noticing, rich with longing, rich with grace, their breath-preserved in poems-become our breathing. The gift here is the true scale of our breath, an interspecies, planetary scale. The scale of gratitude. I am so glad you are here."-Alexis Pauline Gumbs, author of Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals