NPR's Book of the Day Ada Limón talks forgiveness, ghosts and fertility on 'Wild Card'
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Apr 24, 2026 
Ada Limón, poet and 24th U.S. Poet Laureate known for lyric work that navigates grief and joy. She talks about the optimism behind her anthology You Are Here. Short, playful segments reveal memories of grandparents and a haunted apartment. She discusses forgiving herself, fertility choices guided by a premonition, and returning to a childhood creek to reclaim wonder.
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Grandparents' Fudge Becomes A Memory Anchor
- Ada Limón remembers her grandparents' competing fudges as a vivid scent-memory tied to childhood visits and a walk-in cupboard of Tupperware jars.
- The smell of chocolate and those specific fudges instantly evokes afternoons with her grandmother, who once asked Ada to write a rhyming poem for her husband.
Childhood Ghost Question Taught Her To Accept Unknowing
- As a child Ada asked her mother about a rumored haunted apartment and learned adults sometimes answer with I don't know rather than a firm denial.
- That openness led Ada to experience benign phenomena herself, like a disappearing figure at bedtime that felt more like a remnant than a threat.
How Public Recognition Can Strip The Art's Buffer
- Ada Limón feels most like an outsider in rooms of wealthy non-artists where attention shifts from art to her person.
- Without poems as a buffer she becomes "untethered and unskinned," needing to balance vulnerability with protection.
