U.S. Poet Laureate to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park

On July 12, at 6 p.m., Cuyahoga Valley National Park will host the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón for a special event.

The event is part of an initiative started by the National Park Service, Library of Congress and the Poetry Society of America that features site-specific poetry installations in the parks. In each park, a picnic table transformed into a work of public art will be unveiled. Each table is inscribed with a historic American poem that relates to the park in a meaningful way.

While in CVNP, Limón will unveil a picnic table inscribed with Jean Valentine’s poem, “The Valley.”

The project includes an invitation for public participation. The National Park Service and Limón hope people of all ages – poets and non-poets – will feel moved to write their own responses to the prompt: “What would you write in response to the landscape around you?” People can share their responses on social media using the hashtag #YouAreHerePoetry. ∞