photo by: Submitted/Lucas Marquardt

Ada Limón

The poet laureate of the United States will be in Salina for a free event later this month.

Ada Limón will provide a free poetry reading and participate in other public events on Oct. 17 in Salina. Among the poetry pieces Limón will read is “In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa.” The poem is in honor of the launch of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft that will explore the moons of Jupiter. When the Europa Clipper launches on Oct. 10, the poem will be engraved on the spacecraft, a first for a poem.

Limón is coming to the state as part of celebrations of National Arts and Humanities Month, and the organization Humanities Kansas is helping to bring Limón to Salina. Limón will speak at 7 p.m. on Oct. 17 at Stiefel Theater in Salina. There is no cost to attend the event, but tickets are required. People can register for tickets at humanitieskansas.org or can call 785-357-0359. Information about how the event can be watched via livestream also is available from Humanities Kansas.

Limón, who in 2023 was named a MacArthur Genius Fellow, is the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States. Her signature project is called “You Are Here.” It explores how poetry can help connect people to the natural world. Limón has an anthology of work of the same name. In total, she has authored six books, including “The Carrying,” which is a winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award.