During this year’s National Poetry Month, I had the pleasure of joining my dear friend and fellow poet Kim Dower for a deeply personal and illuminating conversation as part of the WeHo Reads series, presented by the City of West Hollywood.

Together, we explored the ways poetry helps us navigate our identities—how it invites us to listen more deeply to ourselves and one another. We spoke about belonging, memory, and the quiet yet powerful work of language in transforming our experiences into something we can share. Kim’s voice and vision always remind me of the emotional honesty that poetry demands—and the connection it makes possible.

It’s moments like these that affirm why I write: to reach across the spaces between us, to create meaning, and to build community through art.

Learn more about Kim Dower’s poetry, life, and works HERE.

A belated note of gratitude to composer Oliver Caplan for his choral composition of my poem “CLOUD ANTHEM,” and to the New Hampshire All-State Festival Chorus for their dulcet tones. This performance, held on April 9, 2022, at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH, is a moment to pause, breathe, and remember that we are always connected; we “hold light in our lucid bodies like blood…”
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Last month, I was honored to unite with all who attended the “Procession of Angels for Radical Love and Unity”; neighbors, poets, historians, musicians, puppeteers, et al who walked the 2.5 miles through the streets of East Harlem, a.k.a. El Barrio in solidarity for a more compassionate future. Thank you to María Magdalena Campos-Pons and all involved in organizing this heart-touching event; for inviting me to read “Declaration of Interdependence”

Here are some photos of the day we all came together.

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I’m humbled to contribute to the groundbreaking, Latino Poetry | The Library of America Anthology. Edited by Rigoberto Gonzalez, it celebrates the work of over 180 poets including Jose Martí and many of my peers, mentors, and friends. Here I am reading from the anthology “Como Tú / Like You / Like Me,” and “My Voice” by Rafael Campo.

Grab your copy HERE

“Like thirst, like hunger, we ache with the need

to save ourselves, and our country from itself.”

Robert Shetterly unveiled a portrait of me at The Gem Theater, in Bethel (ME), as part of his Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series. I’m humbled to appear in his empowering collection and to read my poem, “Como Tú / Like You / Like Me” (which is excerpted above and on the portrait). I’m sincerely grateful to Robert for his art and all he does to nurture the virtues of our democracy.

CLICK for info and to explore resources for educators.

As the first-ever Poet Laureate of Miami-Dade County, and led by his passion for connecting the community through poetry, Richard Blanco created Miami’s Favorite Poems Project. This project invites people from all walks of life to share a favorite poem that has had some meaningful impact on their life and thinking.

The project was launched at the Miami Book Fair on Nov. 19, 2022. Featured special guest readers included Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega, former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, poet and novelist Sandra Cisneros, and poet Marci Calabretta Cancio-Bello, among others in our community.

CLICK HERE for the Miami’s Favorite Poems Archive

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