"I have always been too sensitive, a weeper / from a long line of weepers," writes Limón. “I am the hurting kind.” From the publisher: "What does it mean to be the hurting kind? To be sensitive not only to the world’s pain and joys, but to the meanings that bend in the scrim between the natural world and the human world? With Limón’s remarkable ability to trace thought, The Hurting Kind explores those questions—incorporating others’ stories and ways of knowing, making surprising turns, and always reaching a place of startling insight. These poems slip through the seasons, teeming with horses and kingfishers and the gleaming eyes of fish. There are flashes of the pandemic, ghosts whose presence manifests in unexpected memories and the mysterious behavior of pets left behind. But The Hurting Kind is filled, above all, with connection and the delight of being in the world."

This slim little book—a print edition of Limón’s final lecture as U.S. poet laureate—will surely launch hundreds of literary adventures this season. Her cri de coeur is read more poetry! And after reading, I wanted to do exactly that. Some of her reasons for loving poetry have been oft-repeated: seasoned readers know poems make you feel things. But some of her reasons were new to me, and intriguing. If you have a collection of poetry books waiting for you, great! If not, Limon offers plenty of starting points, including excerpts from many of her favorite poems. For fans of Limon's You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World and Robin Wall Kimmerer's The Serviceberry.