RICHARD BLANCO is
an American poet, public speaker, author and civil engineer. Today is
his birthday. He is the fifth poet to read at a United States
presidential inauguration, having read the poem "One Today" for Barack
Obama's second inauguration. He is the first immigrant, the first
Latino, the first openly gay person and at the time the youngest person
to be the U.S. inaugural poet.
Blanco's books include How to Love a Country; City of a Hundred Fires, which received the Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize from the University of Pittsburgh Press; Directions to The Beach of the Dead, recipient of the Beyond Margins Award from the PEN American Center; and Looking for The Gulf Motel, recipient of the Paterson Poetry Prize and the Thom Gunn Award. He has also authored the memoirs For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey and The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood, winner of the Lambda Literary Prize.
In addition, Blanco has collaborated with Caldecott Medal renown cartoonist, author and illustrator Dav Pilkey on One Today illustrated children's book. He also partnered with photographer Jacob Hessler on the limited edition fine press poetry book Boundaries, with artist John Bailey on series of Ekphrastic paintings titled a Place of Mind, and with Ramio Fernandez on the photography book Cuba Then.
He has been a
professor, having taught at Georgetown University, American University,
Central Connecticut State University, Wesleyan University, Wentworth
Institute of Technology, Colby College, Carlow University, and currently
at Florida International University. His passion is to demystify poetry
teaching to all ages including grade school to nursing homes, at
diverse writers workshops (e.g. Omega Institute, Maine Media Workshops),
correctional institutions, and several non-profit organizations
including the Writer's Center. He serves as the first Education Ambassador for the Academy of American Poets.
Blanco released
his fourth volume of poetry, titled “How to Love a Country,” in which he
explores immigration, racism, gun violence and LGBTQ issues in early
2021. In many of his poems, Blanco, a son of Cuban immigrants, speaks
about the challenges of immigrating to a new place and engaging with a
new culture.
A Maine native
who currently lives in Bethel, Bianco received the National Humanities
Medal from President Joe Biden at a March 2023 ceremony.
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