You Are Here: Poetry in Parks at Beech Forest Trail

A portion of the picnic tabletop panel featuring a poem selected by the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate.

NPS

Quick Facts

Location:

Beech Forest Trail trailhead

Significance:

Art installation by 24th U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón

Amenities

1 listed

Picnic Table

This picnic table at the trailhead of Beech Forest Trail is an art installation by the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón. Limón selected Mary Oliver's poem "Can You Imagine?" for this poetry installation as part of her signature project "You Are Here: Poetry in Parks." The project includes additional installations at six other national parks.

Mary Oliver (1935-2019) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet who lived in the Provincetown area for more than 50 years. Oliver was known for her nature poetry and Beech Forest was a special respite for her. She spent hours walking the trail and finding inspiration in the natural surroundings of the area. Read more about Mary Oliver.

What Would You Write in Response to the Landscape Around You?

You Are Here, the signature project of the 24th U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, invites you to explore the relationship between language and the natural world through the words of poets and your own imagination.

Use #YouAreHerePoetry to share your thoughts!

• "Can You Imagine?" by Mary Oliver

  
  

  The 24th U.S. Poet Laureate, Ada Limón, reads the poem "Can You Imagine?" by Mary Oliver. Limón selected the poem for a poetry installation at Great Smoky Mountains National Park as part of her signature project "You Are Here: Poetry in Parks."

  Credit / Author:

  Library of Congress

  Audio Transcript