New poet laureate wants Americans to encounter poetry in unexpected places; how about their local newspapers?

Ada Limón (Library of Congress photo / Shawn Miller)

Poetry was once a staple of rural newspapers, perhaps because they were the most accessible vehicle for literature, and poetry was once a staple of language classes. But as education and other facets of society have changed, it has become rare for poetry to appear in the pages of a newspaper.

Enter Ada Limón of Lexington, Ky., the latest poet laureate of the United States. She told Tom Eblen of WEKU-FM that she is still thinking about what she wants to accomplish as the nation's 24th poet laureate, but does think that she would like to encourage the appearance of poetry in unexpected places.

When Eblen noted that most poets laureate have some special project and asked if she had decided on one, or was still thinking about it, she said the latter. But she added, "I would like to see a project that might emphasize poetry in public spaces. I would love for people to have accidental and unexpected experiences with poetry."

Limón said the time is right for more poetry. "Right now, we really need poetry in our lives. . . . I really believe in its power and its importance to help us heal, and I think we're just moving from one chaotic event to the next chaotic event and not doing any processing and not doing any breathing . . . and I think poetry is that way of remembering that you are a thinking, breathing human being, living in the world."

So, perhaps readers would appreciate some calming poetry amid the chaos of the news. “I think it would be wonderful if local newspapers would publish poems again,” Limón told The Rural Blog. “I know some still do, but I don’t see it very often. . . . I say bring back poems in the press!”

Limón told Eblen that poems can "help people reclaim their humanity" and have a deeper appreciation of shared experiences, such as the death of  beloved relative. They are "the way we can remember that we're not alone, that someone else may have had that experience," she said. "It's not just empathy, it's the connection of all living things."