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.)
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…
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.
In this latest episode of Village Voice, Poet Richard Blanco joins Jim and Margery on Boston Public Radio to explore A-I-generated poetry.
“I was going to choose Halloween poems, but I think this topic is even scarier.” He said.
Blanco asked Chat GBT to generate two poems. One, in the style of his own voice, after his poem “Palmita Mia” which translates to “Little Palm of Mine.” (From City of a Hundred Fires.) For the second, he asked it to write a poem in the style of “How to Triumph like a Girl” (from Bright Dead Things) by Ada Limón.
Richard Blanco returns to Boston Public Radio and joins hosts Gerrard Bowen and Andrea Cabral for another segment of Village Voice. They speak a little about Richard’s forthcoming collection, HOMELAND OF MY BODY, and how the concepts of home and love are ever-changing landscapes we carry within us. Tune in for Richard’s reading of his own “beach poems,” and the stories and memories that informed them.
Enjoy the poems copied below as they are read and discussed. read more…
In this edition of the Village Voice, Richard Blanco recites poems to celebrate the 2016 National Park Service Centennial. For the occasion, The Academy of American Poets commissioned 50 poets from 50 states to write poems about their State Parks as a way of documenting the natural and historical sites through the poetic eye.
“A little tidbit, Campbell McGrath was my graduate school mentor in poetry. He is still the editorial voice in my head.”
Enjoy the poems listed below as they are read, and the conversation that surrounds them. read more…
Richard Blanco joins Jim and Margery on Boston Public Radio to celebrate Poetry Month with his favorite “Ars Poetica” poems.
“Ars Poetica is in some way shape or form a poem about the art of poetry, it can take on many different meanings… The mystery of the process is a subject to explore.”
Blanco shared thoughts on the creative process, “Write as though nobody will read it,” and emphasized the importance of language to cultivate meaning in our lives.
Follow along with the poems listed below as they are read and discussed. read more…
“I want to use this platform to invigorate the humanities because they are under attack in this country and it is essential that this be part of our education system. Especially in Florida!”
A recent recipient of the National Humanities Medal, Richard Blanco spoke with Jim and Margery about his tremendous honor. How he first thought the email from the White House was a scam, to meeting his idols; talking poetry with Bruce Springsteen; joking with Julia Louis-Dreyfus; and how the awards ceremony was a deeply humbling and profound experience — all gathered and united in the belief and advocacy for America’s highest ideals: education, compassion, equality.
Tune in to hear all the details and enjoy Richard’s reading of his inaugural poem “One Today.” read more…
On this episode of the Village Voice, Richard Blanco joins Jim and Margery to share poems that commemorate Black History Month.
(Margery wondered if Florida was allowed to celebrate Black History Month with Gov. DeSantis in charge.) Richard shares two poems by Toi Derricotte and comments on “the power of poems that are seemingly simple” and how “sometimes you just want to live your life without politics.”
He went on to share “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton.
Enjoy Richard’s reading of the poems listed below and the conversations that surround them. read more…
In the latest installment of “Village Voice,” Blanco spotlights Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Anthology. Forthcoming on January 19th and comprised of 54 poets celebrating all things Dolly, the anthology is “one of the wonderful, fun ways that poetry enters our lives.” Said Blanco.
Blanco went on to praise Parton’s Imagination Library, where all royalties from the anthology will be donated. Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, the foundation sends 2 million a month to local community partners in the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and Republic of Ireland to gift books free of charge to children from birth to age five.
Enjoy the conversation and the poems (excerpted below) as they are read and discussed. read more…