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April 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón has been appointed to serve an unprecedented two-year second term as she turns her attention to NASA and the National Park Service. It is the first time a U.S. poet laureate has been appointed to two years, instead of one, in their second term.
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Limón, the nation's 24th Poet Laureate Consultant in poetry since September of 2022, will begin her second term in September and will continue in the role through April of 2025.
"A two-year second term gives the laureate and the Library the opportunity to realize these efforts and showcase how poems connect to, and make sense of, the world around us," said Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, who made the appointment Monday.
"During her first term, Ada Limón has done so much to broaden and promote poetry to reach new audiences. She also laid the groundwork for multiple laureate outreach efforts to come, many with federal agencies," Hayden said.
Limón participated in several events hosted by first lady Jill Biden, including the state visit with Brigette Macron, the wife of the president of France, as well as other readings at the Library of Congress.
On June 1, Limón will reveal a new poem at the Library, which she wrote for NASA's Europa Clipper mission. The poem will be engraved on the spacecraft as it travels 1.8 billion miles to explore Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.
At the start of her second term in September, the Library will announce details of Limón's signature project, which will join the National Park Service and the Poetry Society of America for the first time to present poems in national parks across the country.
"I am beyond honored to serve for another two years as the poet laureate of the United State," Limón said Monday.
"Everywhere I have traveled during my first term, both nationally and internationally, I've been reminded that poetry brings people together. I am looking forward to continuing the important work of celebrating what poetry can do," she said.
