Special guest author Ada Limón joins us for this week’s quaranTEEN voices gathering! Ada has written five collections of poetry, including her most recent release, 2018’s The Carrying. The critically-acclaimed, award-winning anthology is a deeply personal poetry collection which touches on a variety of subjects, from today’s political and social climate, to nature, to personal struggles. Ada splits her time between Kentucky, California, and New York.

From Ada:
So many of us are connected to certain animals. We see a bird everyday and think that we have a connection with that bird. Or a dog or a cat, or even something smaller like a bee or a mouse. Paying attention to animals that are around us or that we feel connected to even if we don’t see them on a daily basis, is a good way to remember that we are animals too.

Write a poem about an animal that you feel connected to in some way or another. It doesn’t have to be an animal you see everyday, maybe it’s your favorite animal or the one you feel best represents you. Pay attention to the sounds of the language, describe how the animal moves, how the animal senses the world. How are you and that animal similar? Can you make a connection between the two of you. What do you want for the animal? Do you want the same for yourself? Let the poem lead you somewhere unexpected and surprising.

 
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