Post by natuppe35 on May 20, 2012 20:08:23 GMT -5
Ada Limón, known for her poems that depict life through aspects of nature, grew up in the typical Northern California setting in Sonoma Valley amongst wine vineyards and ranches. Born in 1976, Limón began writing poems and songs at age eight and was influenced by poems written by family friends, her father, and her stepfather. During her childhood, Limón was constantly surrounded by art mainly because her mother, Stacia Brady, was an artist.
Although Limón had always connected with poetry, she did not realize her true passion for writing until college which led her to attend New York University. Limón decided to pursue poetry after taking workshops at the University of Washington and became, as she describes, “totally addicted.” At NYU, Limón obtained a Masters of Fine Arts from the Creative Writing Program and she studied under poets Philip Levine, Marie Howe, and Mark Doty. Limón remained in Brooklyn, writing poems and working at Travel and Leisure magazine where she became the creative director of advertising.
Thus far, Limón has published three volumes of poetry and she has received recognition within the poetry community as she was the recipient for the Autumn House Poetry Prize and the Pearl Poetry Prize in 2005 for her collections The Lucky Wreck and This Big Fake World, respectively. In addition, renowned poet Marie Howe described Limón’s poems as “stunning” and “the real deal.”
Limón’s experiences in both her hometown in California and New York City are evident in her poetry. She creates a contrast between urban and rural life in her book Sharks in the River as she explores “the ancient rivers of California to the concrete canyons of her New York City home.” Limón seeks to portray, as she has said, the “real wonder of living” and displays her passion for life. The different environments featured in Limón’s poetry allow her to emphasize the need for a balance between the solitude of nature and the upbeat lifestyle of the city.
In her poetry, Limón examines different elements of nature to represent the beauty and agony associated with life. Her poems deal with a wide variety of issues like death of family members to everyday things like having a crush. Readers become captivated by Limón’s poetry because of her simplistic and fluid style and her ability to capture emotions. It requires little effort to connect with Limón in her poetry because she has said that her “single goal of all [her] work is to help people…constantly recommit to the world.” Limón addresses serious questions like “Who knew it would be hard to get to thirty-two?” and encourages the reader to “hold close to the lost and the unclear.” Her poems remind us that every person has their own problems though even in “this terrible cement city,” we can find comfort and a sense of community through nature and the relationships made with other people.
In the past two years, Limón has traveled the country for numerous poetry readings so I would like to thank Ms. Limón for joining us tonight despite her hectic schedule. Please help me in welcoming Ms. Ada Limón to share and give insight about her poetry.
Word Count: 526
Although Limón had always connected with poetry, she did not realize her true passion for writing until college which led her to attend New York University. Limón decided to pursue poetry after taking workshops at the University of Washington and became, as she describes, “totally addicted.” At NYU, Limón obtained a Masters of Fine Arts from the Creative Writing Program and she studied under poets Philip Levine, Marie Howe, and Mark Doty. Limón remained in Brooklyn, writing poems and working at Travel and Leisure magazine where she became the creative director of advertising.
Thus far, Limón has published three volumes of poetry and she has received recognition within the poetry community as she was the recipient for the Autumn House Poetry Prize and the Pearl Poetry Prize in 2005 for her collections The Lucky Wreck and This Big Fake World, respectively. In addition, renowned poet Marie Howe described Limón’s poems as “stunning” and “the real deal.”
Limón’s experiences in both her hometown in California and New York City are evident in her poetry. She creates a contrast between urban and rural life in her book Sharks in the River as she explores “the ancient rivers of California to the concrete canyons of her New York City home.” Limón seeks to portray, as she has said, the “real wonder of living” and displays her passion for life. The different environments featured in Limón’s poetry allow her to emphasize the need for a balance between the solitude of nature and the upbeat lifestyle of the city.
In her poetry, Limón examines different elements of nature to represent the beauty and agony associated with life. Her poems deal with a wide variety of issues like death of family members to everyday things like having a crush. Readers become captivated by Limón’s poetry because of her simplistic and fluid style and her ability to capture emotions. It requires little effort to connect with Limón in her poetry because she has said that her “single goal of all [her] work is to help people…constantly recommit to the world.” Limón addresses serious questions like “Who knew it would be hard to get to thirty-two?” and encourages the reader to “hold close to the lost and the unclear.” Her poems remind us that every person has their own problems though even in “this terrible cement city,” we can find comfort and a sense of community through nature and the relationships made with other people.
In the past two years, Limón has traveled the country for numerous poetry readings so I would like to thank Ms. Limón for joining us tonight despite her hectic schedule. Please help me in welcoming Ms. Ada Limón to share and give insight about her poetry.
Word Count: 526