Against Breaking: On the Power of Poetry

by Ada Limon

24th Poet Laureate of the United States Ada Limón inspires us to see poetry as much more than just words—as a powerful force for healing, a call to action, and a vibrant celebration of humanity’s many voices.

Ada Limón—celebrated poet laureate and 2023 MacArthur fellow—takes us on an inspiring journey into a world where poetry is both a soothing balm for the soul and a spark for transformation. With her blend of accessible yet profound prose, Limón delivers a powerful poetry has the ability to heal, connect, and remind us of our shared humanity.

Limón’s mission to make poetry approachable shines brightly in this slim but impactful book. Recognized as a 2024 Time magazine Woman of the Year for her commitment to bringing poetry into everyday lives, Limón passionately argues that poetry is essential to understanding ourselves—our tenderness, courage, imperfections, and our deep, unshakable worthiness of love.

Drawing from her own experiences as the 24th US poet laureate, Limón shares how poetry connects us not only to each other but to the natural world. This theme is at the heart of her project You Are Here, which celebrates the beauty of our environment and our place in it. Her prose, like her poetry, feels like an open invitation—welcoming readers of all backgrounds to explore the richness of human experience through verse.

Fans of Robin Wall Kimmerer, Matthew Zapruder, or Jesmyn Ward will find a kindred spirit in Against Breaking—which offers a refuge, a reminder of the resilience and beauty found within us and all around us. As Limón writes with heartfelt clarity, “If you need to remember what makes us human, tender, brave, flawed, and worthy of love, you need poetry.”

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction

80 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication April 7, 2026

About the author

Ada Limón is the author of three books of poetry, Lucky Wreck, This Big Fake World, and Sharks in the Rivers. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from New York University. Limón has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and was one of the judges for the 2013 National Book Award in Poetry. She works as a creative writing instructor and a freelance writer while splitting her time between Lexington, Kentucky and Sonoma, California (with a great deal of New York in between). Her new book of poems, Bright Dead Things is forthcoming from Milkweed Editions in 2015.

Reviews

[Bonny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Against Breaking is a slim book that manages to feel both intimate and expansive. Ada Limón writes with the same clarity, warmth, and emotional intelligence that make her poetry so resonant, and here she makes a compelling, generous case for why poetry matters, not as an academic exercise, but as a part of being human.

Drawing on her experience as the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, Limón reflects on poetry as a force for connection, healing, and attention. Her prose is accessible without ever being simplistic; it’s thoughtful, inviting, and deeply humane. This is not a book that tells you what poetry should be, but one that gently opens a door and says: come in, this is for you, too.

One of the most moving threads in the book is her insistence on tenderness, not as weakness, but as courage. Limón writes about worthiness, about paying attention to the natural world, and about the way language can tether us to one another in fractured times. Her You Are Here project, which centers place, environment, and belonging, underscores how poetry can reorient us toward care, for the land, for others, and for ourselves.

What I loved most is how welcoming this book feels. It doesn’t demand prior knowledge or reverence for poetry; instead, it meets the reader exactly where they are. Limón’s writing reminds us that noticing is an ethical act, and that beauty and grief often coexist.

Against Breaking is a refuge, a rallying cry, and a reminder. If you’ve ever felt intimidated by poetry, this book will help dissolve that fear. If you already love poetry, it will renew and deepen that love. And if you simply need reassurance that being tender, flawed, and attentive still matters, this book offers that, generously and without pretense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on April 7, 2026.

[Kym · Rating 5 out of 5]

In these dark and muddled times, I frequently find myself turning to the words of my favorite poets for comfort, refuge, and sanctuary. What a gift, then, to receive an advance copy of Ada Límon’s slim volume Against Breaking: On the Power of Poetry, due to be published in early April 2026.

Lately, I find my emotions live very close to the surface. It doesn’t take much these days, it seems, to reach my tender heart and bring tears to my eyes. Such was the case as I read Ada Límon’s heartfelt words in this, her closing lecture to the Library of Congress as she ended her term as the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States. What a beautiful case she makes . . . for poetry! Right now. For all of us. As the world we know shifts under our feet, Ada Límon reminds us that poetry can save us with its offer of hope and connection and possibility.

I cannot wait to have a copy of this wonderful volume for my own poetry library. I will read it again and again. And probably cry every time I do.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for providing me with an advance copy of Ada Límon’s Against Breaking: On the Power of Poetry in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published on April 7, 2026.

5 stars

[Ambi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Ada Limón. Against Breaking: On the Power of Poetry explores Limón’s time as the 24th US poet laureate and the things she accomplished and learned from her three years in the position. I found this small book to be deeply touching. In a time that feels so divisive, this speech brings connection and hope. Poetry is for the people, something Limón expertly demonstrates here.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC!

[Molly Quinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly beautiful prose on the meaning and importance and value of poetry from Ada Limón. This work was inspired and moving, I think I underlined half the book so many poignant words gifted herein. Absolutely stunning.

Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC.

[victoria marie]

Not yet published • Expected 7 Apr 26