The NEA Big Read brings communities together by reading the same book. Thanks to a grant from the NEA, the Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts is now hosting our 13th Big Read program for Camden, South Jersey, and the Rutgers–Camden campus.
The National Endowment for the Arts Big Read, in partnership with Arts Midwest, is a nationwide initiative that broadens our understanding of ourselves and our neighbors through the power of a shared reading experience. By centering communities around a single book, the NEA Big Read encourages meaningful conversations, celebrates local creativity, uplifts diverse voices, and strengthens connections across neighborhoods.
Goals of the Program
The NEA Big Read is designed to:
- Inspire thoughtful dialogue across communities
- Celebrate creativity at the local level
- Elevate a wide variety of voices and perspectives
- Encourage cross-sector collaboration
- Build stronger, more connected communities
This Year’s Book: You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World
For this cycle, communities will read You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, a poetry anthology edited by Ada Limón during her tenure as U.S. Poet Laureate. The collection features 50 poems from some of the nation’s most accomplished poets, each exploring the theme “Our Nature.”
These works engage with landscapes both vast and intimate—forests, rivers, valleys, backyards, scenic overlooks, and even built environments—illuminating how the natural world shapes identity, memory, and imagination.
Keep an eye on this page for upcoming NEA Big read events
About the Author
Kentucky-based poet Ada Limón, the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States, not only curated this anthology but also launched the Poetry in Parks Initiative, which brings poetry into public outdoor spaces.
Ada Limon introduces ‘You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World’ and discusses her project ‘Poetry in Parks Initiative’
New Yorker Poetry Podcast. Ada Limon reads poetry from ‘You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World’ with commentary by her and Kevin Young, Poetry Editor of the New Yorker magazine.
What’s Your Nature?
This year’s NEA Big Read with Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts features You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, curated by Ada Limón. We invite you to join the conversation by showing us how nature—whether forest, garden, park, or city street—shapes who you are.
- Share a photo of yourself reading You Are Here in your natural element.
- Post a favorite excerpt from the book alongside your image.
- Nature can be wild or man-made, urban or rural—any place where life finds a way.
Use the hashtag #YourNature so we can celebrate and share your stories.
Let’s see how the landscapes around us mold the people we’ve become.
