Richard Blanco
“An engineer, poet, Cuban American… his poetry bridges cultures and languages – a mosaic of our past, our present, and our future – reflecting a nation that is hectic, colorful, and still becoming.”
– President Joe Biden, conferring the National Humanities Medal on Richard Blanco
Homeland Of My Body: New & Selected Poems
Beacon Press, Release date: October 24, 2023.
A rich, accomplished, intensely intimate collection with two full sections of new poems bookending Blanco’s selections from his five previous volumes.
In this collection of over 100 poems, Richard Blanco has carefully selected poems from his previous books that represent his evolution as a writer grappling with his identity, working to find and define “home,” and bookended them with new poems that address those issues from a fresh, more mature perspective, allowing him to approach surrendering the pain and urgency of his past explorations. Pausing at this pivotal moment in mid-career, Blanco reexamines his life-long quest to find his proverbial home and all that it encompasses: love, family, identity and ultimately art itself. In the closing section of the volume, he has come to understand and internalize the idea that “home” is not one place, not one thing, and lives both inside him and inside his art.
Upcoming Events
April 28, 2024
The Joshua Ringel Memorial Reading.
Baltimore, MD.
More info>>
May 18, 2024
May 20, 2024
92Y. School Engagement in the Arts
New York City, NY.
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June 21, 2024
EcoTheo Wonder Festival
Wickford, RI
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June 24-28, 2024
Maine Media
Rockport, M.A.
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July 23-28, 2024
Macondo Writers Workshop
Trinity University, TX.
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Keep in Touch
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Latest News
Richard Blanco reads “Democracy: A Proclamation,” at Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s State of the County Address.
It was a tremendous honor to write (and recite) a poem about democracy and interdependence for Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s State of the County Address. I’m grateful to have a mayor invested in the community, the arts, and the environment. Remember the power of your vote this election season.
Shoutout to Nicole Tallman for her stellar efforts as Poetry Ambassador for Miami-Dade County!
Watch Mayor Daniella’s State of the County Address. (January 24, 2024.)
Village Voice: Poet Richard Blanco Spotlights *Glitter Road* by January Gill O’Neil
Poet Richard Blanco returns to Boston Public Radio for an episode of the “Village Voice,” to celebrate poet January Gill O’Neil’s latest collection Glitter Road, and to retroactively honor Black History Month, and Women’s History Month.
O’Neil is a professor at Salem State University and the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Poetry Festival. Her latest collection reflects on “Marriage, loss, and a new relationship, with the backdrop of a Mississippi season. She explores the legacy of Emmitt Till and how his legacy is braided with hers; how race blights us all.” Said Blanco. read more…
Village Voice: Richard Blanco On His New Book, ‘Homeland of My Body: New & Selected Poems’
Richard Blanco joins Jim and Margery on Boston Public Radio to reflect on his most recent collection: Homeland of My Body: New and Selected Poems. He reads a selection of new works and shares thoughts on the inspiration that kindled them, as well as the creative journey that led him to this mid-career collection.
“The new poems are, in a sense, a letting go of things…the ego-driven idea of finding home, all the homes I’ve had that still live in me.”
The final poem he read, “Become Me” is dedicated to his husband, Mark, as is the book as a whole.
Enjoy the poems as they are read and discussed.
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