US Poet Laureate
Former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera begins with English and Spanish readings from Akrílica (2022), trading languages with translator Farid Matuk. Together, they also read Herrera’s poem "i am not a paid protestor," which Herrera terms a "duo poem" for two voices in dialogue with one another. Herrera closes out the reading with poems and remarks about mass shootings, classical music, space exploration, and human suffering and connection.
U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón reads poems that center on the natural world, resilience, women's strength, and the interconnection of all living things. She reads from her books Lucky Wreck (2006), Sharks in the Rivers (2010), Bright Dead Things (2015), The Carrying (2018), and The Hurting Kind (2022). Limón closes with two poems written during her laureateship, commissioned by the National Climate Assessment and NASA.