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Bright Dead Things
Bright Dead Things: Poems | Ada Limon
After the loss of her stepmother to cancer, Ada Limn chose to quit her job with a major travel magazine in New York, move to the mountains of Kentucky, and disappear. Yet, in the wake of death and massive transition, she found unexpected love, both for a man and for a place, all the while uncovering the core unity between death and beauty that drives our world. I am beautiful. I am full of love. I am dying, the author writes. It's this narrative of transformation and acceptance that suffuses these poems. Unflinching and unafraid, Limn takes her reader on a journey into the most complex and dynamic realms of existence and identity, all while tracing a clear narrative of renewal.Throughout, the poet lulls us into the security of her lines, only to cut into us where we least expect it. This is not New York and I am not important, she writes midway through a poem about her new home. A poem opens with the revelation that Six horses died in a tractor-trailer fire. / There, that's the hard part. I wanted / to tell you straight away so we could / grieve together.Bright Dead Things examines the chaos that is life, the dangerous thrill of living in a world you know you have to leave one day, and the search to find something that is ultimately disorderly, and marvelous, and ours.
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BookmarkTavern
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Pickpick

While dealing with the loss of her stepmother to cancer Limón weaves together loss and life, triumph and tragedy, to find the beauty and comfort in those dichotomies.

Limón‘s poetry continues to impress me! Her writing has a physicality and a weight to it, and I can feel the steady drumbeat of a heart beneath it. Gorgeous and worth a reread! ?????

BookmarkTavern CW 👇🏻 5mo
BookmarkTavern Downhearted, horse death 5mo
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PaperbackPirate
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Part of a favorite:

HOW TO TRIUMPH LIKE A GIRL
I like the lady horses best,
how they make it all look easy…
I like their lady horse swagger,
after winning. Ears up, girls, ears up!
But mainly, let‘s be honest, I like
that they‘re ladies. As if this big
dangerous animal is also a part of me,
that somewhere inside the delicate
skin of my body, there pumps
an 8-pound female horse heart…

#naturalitsy #midwintersolace #poetry
Photo: Flagstaff AZ 2019

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TheSpineView
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IndoorDame 🤩🤩🤩 1y
dabbe 💚💜💚 1y
SamAnne Love her!!!! 1y
41 likes3 comments
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BookmarkTavern
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Couldn‘t leave the Library of Congress without supporting the Poet Laureate! 🧡

SamAnne Love her poetry. 1y
sarahbarnes Love her! 1y
69 likes2 comments
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MissHel
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For NPM, we‘re (me and my coworker I weaseled into working on it with me) have a selection of poems on our library‘s Insta and on Stories in the Cloud. You can even dial in and listen to us read to you! The Stories in the Cloud number is 715-304-3400!

SamAnne Cool! 2y
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Moll
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I came across this poem this evening (thanks @maddielikesbooks) & wanted to share🍂🌱

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charl08
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Fabulous poetry: getting there with some of my TBR.

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charl08
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Under the overpass a flittering swarm of mud swallows have built careful nests with prairie clay. How do they do it? Demand the sweet continuance of birth and flight in a place so utterly reckless?
How masterful and mad is hope.

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Kayla8
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Kayla8
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Kayla8
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Kayla8
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘m still new to poetry, but damn did this collection move me.

Her writing is very approachable and easy to digest.
Many lines from her poems are still echoing around inside my head.
I‘ll definitely be keeping this book at my bedside.

Also how beautiful is the cover art?!

#poetry

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mariaku21
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Pickpick

There is an honesty in these poems that have made me sit back and think.⁠
Ponder Limón's words about myself, about choices and life situations.⁠

Ponder how words shape and give voice to varying emotions and ages and moments, creating stories and depending on how a reader reads them can be emotional.⁠

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VioletBramble
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My last books of 2019. Little,Big is a re-read (4th time) that I read slowly through the year. The tagged book is a pretty good collection of poetry about finding identity. I also listened to two Audible originals: Viva Durant and the Secret of the Silver Buttons and Holiday Greetings from Sugar and Booze. Both were cute and short. Still trying to finish Fascism: A Warning.

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DoonTheGoon
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Pickpick

While not entirely relatable to my personal experiences in life, these poems had a stunning power to them... often evoking strange and beautiful images in my mind's eye.

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Happy to see you posting more again. Always enjoy your posts. ❤ 5y
DoonTheGoon @StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Awh! Thank you for saying so ♡ 5y
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PaperbackPirate
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This book got to go to the #beach !
🌜Taken at Half Moon Bay in March 🌛
#letstraveljuly
@OriginalCyn620
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Andrew65 Great picture. 5y
OriginalCyn620 Again, wonderful pic! I wish I could visit that beach! 💙🌊 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful 💗 5y
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Carissa-Green-Reads
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Tonight‘s adventure: Hearing Ada Limon read! #poetsinthewild #northwoodswritersconference

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moarbookspleaze
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Currently reading poems between meetings.

readordierachel Loved this collection! 6y
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hwheaties
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Pickpick

How you know when a collection of poetry has wrecked you and remade you as a whole being and inspired you all at the same time.

MelAnn Awesome! 7y
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tjwill
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Pickpick

I recommend this lovely poetry collection. I had never read Limón‘s poetry before, but my cousin had recommended her to me, and I know I will read more of her writing. The poem shown is one of my favorites, and it contains the title of the collection.

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tjwill
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I am loving this collection of poetry. My cousin recommended this poet to me, and this collection specifically. My favorites so far are “The Quiet Machine” and “I Remember the Carrots.” So powerful.

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ErikasMindfulShelf
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Great start. I think I‘m going to like this poetry collection 😍

readordierachel Ooh, I loved this one. 7y
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WanderingBookaneer
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LitLogophile Wow, what a passage 7y
Lindy 💕 7y
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WanderingBookaneer
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When @Pronounced_ing says she is thankful for this book of poetry, you have to buy it!

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marypinko
Pickpick

Wonderful poetry

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flockingmolly
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"I'm learning so many different ways to be quiet." #milkweededitions

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Jokila
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Poetry on the subway ☺️ #NYC

squirrelbrain Saw this back in April when we visited - loved it! 7y
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JessFerg
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My list of 'favorite lines' from Limon's poetry could form a whole new poem.

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shutupsmalls
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shutupsmalls

...You're the muscle
I cut from the bone and still the bone
remembers, still it wants (so much, it wants)
the flesh back, the real thing,
if only to rail against it, if only
to argue and fight, if only to miss
a solve-able absence.

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Christina__Cox
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Sometimes the Poets.org #poemoftheday wallops you in the stomach. 🌿

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CarolynOliver
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Pickpick

These poems were so good that as soon as I returned the book to the library I ordered my own copy.

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mcipher
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I just read this poem in the New Yorker and loved it. I have to get one if her books! #poetry

slategreyskies I just received this book in the mail today! After seeing your post, now I really want to read this next! :) 8y
mcipher @slategreyskies Yay! I can't wait to read it, I liked this poem a lot, and I'm super picky about poetry. 8y
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Redwritinghood
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#bookmail Four new books for my poetry collection.

TrishB Loved Bone and Salt 8y
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Lindy
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My older brother says he doesn't consider himself Latino anymore and I understand what he means, but I stare at the weird fruit in my hand and wonder what it is to lose a spiny layer.

Lizpixie I love those fruits! You can get them at most greengrocers here, they're so juicy and refreshing. 8y
Lindy @Lizpixie I like prickly pears too. I've only seen them in Italian specialty grocers in Edmonton, and only at this time of year. 8y
Lizpixie Most greengrocers carry them here, our climate is perfect for them. You can get all different colour ones, the yellow are really good too. 8y
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Lindy
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These poems made my heart sing. 💖🎼💖

readordierachel Such a great collection 8y
ReadingEnvy I liked them too. 8y
Lindy @ReadOrDieRachel @ReadingEnvy I have a hard time knowing what to say when reviewing poetry. All that eloquence leaves me feeling inadequate with words. 8y
ReadingEnvy @Lindy I usually pull out bits I like and try to step back and see if I can see what the poet is trying to say overall. I usually end up reading poetry collections 2-3 times before reviewing too because there is so much that can be missed. And then I'm still not sure I get their intent, just my own meaning. 8y
Lindy @ReadingEnvy Good advice. I usually read each poem at least twice, and flag passages to return to, yet I still find it hard to express my thoughts. It's like my brain switches to nonverbal mode. 8y
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Lindy
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New York City seemed years away and all the radio stations had unfamiliar call letters and talked about God, the one that starts his name with a capital and wants you not to get so naked all the time.

shawnmooney "wants you not to get so naked all the time" - LOL - love that ♥️ 8y
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Lindy
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#currentlyreading #poetry
"somewhere inside the delicate
skin of my body, there pumps
an 8-pound female horse heart,
giant with power, heavy with blood.
Don't you want to believe it?
Don't you want to lift my shirt and see
the huge beating genius machine
that thinks, no, it knows,
it's going to come in first."
From: How to Triumph Like a Girl

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Readaholics
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From the poem "The Noisiness of Sleep"

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Readaholics
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Holy Shiz...if you haven't read Ada Limon - get thee to the poetry section. No really, it's good. Good enough to be a national book award finalist.

Lindy I'm sold. Thanks for the introduction! 8y
Laura317 I love the glimpse you posted! 8y
merelybookish Thank you! I love getting poetry recs 8y
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ReadingEnvy Thanks! Have added to my list! 8y
kspenmoll Thx for this! 8y
lilycobalt That imagery is amazing! 8y
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JDHawkins
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Readaholics
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Pickpick

Love this book and so does Smokey Joe ( my cat). Technically, he just likes dead things in general. I love Ada Limon's honest prose and familiar imagery. Even her longer poems flow smoothly. Check it out!

MrBook If handsome Joe approves, then it must be good. 😸👍🏻 8y
LauraBeth You can't get any better than a gray tabby 😻😻 8y
Stephanie-Anne 😻👍🏻 8y
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Mariposa_Bookworm Smokey Joe is beautiful! 8y
CherylDeFranceschi 😻❤️ 8y
Zelma Ha ha ha! I love Smokey Joe's description of liking dead things. 😂 8y
Alytrue Great cat! 8y
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Readaholics
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From "How to Triumph Like A Girl" by Ada Limon

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Readaholics
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Pickpick

As soon as I opened this book, I knew I loved it! Ada Limon's poetry is both relatable and evokes historical and personal references. Her first poem "How to Triumph Like a Girl" is fantastic!

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sarahrusso
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Ada Limon reading from her stellar book of poems "Bright Dead Things" tonight at the National Book Critics Circle Awards #nbcc

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stephopitz
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It's hard to pick just one quote but here's a few lines from the poem DOWN HERE: It means, if you‘re alone,/ when love is all around,/ We all tip our lonely hats/ in one un-lonely sound.

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annabelgraham
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"and how I wish I could be silent more, be more tree than anything else, less clumsy and loud, less crow, more cool white pine, and how it's hard not to always want something else, not just to let the savage grass grow." -Ada Limón #brightdeadthings

tkmadden I'm so excited for this one, babygirl! 9y
tkmadden @Lauren you love this one, right? 9y
Lauren I do 9y
Taylor Nice 8y
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