The U.S. Poet Laureate and Caldecott honoree Illustrator discuss their transcendent picture book featuring a poem that will travel into space aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper.

Ada Limón’s poem “In Praise of Mystery” will be launched into space as an engraving on the Europa Clipper spacecraft this October. It has also been adapted into her debut picture book. The poem asks us what it means to explore beyond our known world and how the unknown can reflect us back to ourselves. Each page features Limón’s words against a backdrop of the natural world sketched and painted by internationally acclaimed illustrator Peter Sís.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Ada Limón is the author of six books of poetry, including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Her most recent book of poetry, The Hurting Kind, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. She is the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, and a TIME magazine woman of the year. As the Poet Laureate, her signature project is called You Are Here and focuses on how poetry can help connect us to the natural world.

Peter Sís is the author and illustrator of dozens of books for children. He has received the Robert F. Sibert Medal, three Caldecott Honors, and a Sydney Taylor Honor. He was the first children’s book creator to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, and he won the 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Award. He lives in Hudson Valley, New York.

READ THE BOOK:

• Borrow: NYPL Catalog


• E-Book app: SimplyE, available on iOS and Android


• Purchase: The Library Shop — proceeds benefit The New York Public Library

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ACCESSIBILITY

In-Person | Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template. This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs. 

Livestream | Captions and a transcript will be provided. Media used over the course of the conversation will be accompanied by alt text and/or audio description. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template.

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Ada Limón © Lucas Marquardt
Peter Sís © Dox Centre for Contemporary Art