Before Limon became U.S. Poet Laureate (2022-24), The Carrying established her as the most physically grounded and emotionally honest poet of her generation. Her poems about infertility, Kentucky horses, grief, and the body's limits are simultaneously accessible and profound. "Dead Stars" became one of the most widely circulated contemporary American poems. Her Laureate anthology (You Are Here) continued her mission: bringing poetry to people who don't think they like it.

The case for it, the case against, and the rest of the canon open with Pro.