Today on My Poetic Side, we take a look at a new anthology of poetry and the 30^th anniversary of the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation.

New Anthology of Poetry to be Published by Ada Limon

A new book which has been edited by Ada Limon, the twenty-fourth Poet Laureate of the United States and published in association with the Library of Congress, has been announced. The book contains a collection of poems that reflect on “our relationship to the natural world”. They have been written by 50 different contemporary poets, all of whom are celebrated in their own right.

The book is titled “You Are Here”, and the poems included in the anthology have been written by accomplished writers, including Diane Seuss, Jericho Brown and Joy Harjo. Every poem takes a look at its writer’s own local landscape and offers a glimpse at what we think of the world around us and the diversity that exists across the United States.

In order to pull the project together, Limon worked with Mary Austin Speaker who was responsible for putting together the cover of the book. Speaker used cut paper designs in order to create the aesthetic that she felt echoed the poems in the book. Both Speaker and Limon wanted to create something that was timeless and grounded and spoke to nature at the same time. The resulting book is one that they hope will really attract people to buy it for its beauty and keep it for its content.

The book will be published for release in April 2024.

30^th Anniversary of Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation Celebrated

Billy Collins, the former poet laureate of the US, will be celebrating the 30^th anniversary of the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation on 2^nd November 2023 with an event titled “Adventures in Poetry”.

This is a milestone anniversary for the foundation, and they are excited to be hosting a number of different events on the day, most of which will see Collins speaking in some capacity. There will also be question-and-answer sessions and even an opportunity to get signed books.

The work of Laura (Riding) Jackson has been highlighted by Collins for several years, and he even included “Take hands”, one of her poems, in his “Poetry in Motion” series, which featured on the buses and subways of New York City.

The mission behind the LRJF is to aim to preserve a feature of the history of Florida in the historic “cracker-style” home of the author and to help maintain the garden of Florida native plants which can be found surrounding the property. The foundation also nurtures writers within the local community through events such as workshops, writers’ groups and poetry festivals. There is also an annual Poetry and Barbeque festival, which is attended by a number of guest poets.

The work of LRJF is committed to preserving the property where the author lives and to honour her belief that language is a promise that can help to create a community. The property itself is open to visitors and also holds poetry workshops throughout the year.