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…

On the latest episode of Village Voice, Poet Richard Blanco joins Jim and Margery to celebrate the work of Sandra Cisneros, and shares the “sexy poem” listed below.

The House on Mango Street was Cisneros’ first book, and one of Richard’s early influences, inspiring him to explore writing about family and culture. Her new poetry collection, Woman Without Shame is the first to be in published in twenty-eight years, and is now available for purchase at your local bookstore.

Tune in to hear the discussion, and to learn of Richard’s “big news!” read more…

Richard Blanco joins Jim and Margery for the latest installment of “Village Voice,” to share a couple of poems to help us better understand our lives and times. Richard read ‘an oldie but a goldie,’ “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost, and a poem that characterizes the poet’s life as a political activist, “Lot’s Wife” by Anna Akhmatova.

“Sometimes the pen is not enough. I’m thinking about becoming more politically active. The pen is mightier than the sword but sometimes you need a figurative sword as well,” said Blanco.

He went on to joke about migrating to Canada, citizenship and loyalty to country, the authoritarian government in Cuba from which his parents fled, and ended on a ‘high note”– the role of the Poet Laureate, with a congratulatory nod to his good friend and newly appointed Poet Laureate, Ada Limon.

Enjoy the poems copied below as they are read and discussed. read more…

In the latest edition of “Village Voice,” Jim Braude and Margery Eagan celebrate Pride Month with poet Richard Blanco.

Blanco kick-starts the show with a Father’s Day throwback poem, “My Father, My Hands.” It is an exploration of how poetry serves as a way to recapture the essence of loved ones lost.

Blanco goes on to share reflections on Pride Month. Including concerns on big issues that surround Florida, the good work Equality Florida does, and he shares the poem “Between [Another Door”].

“The poem comes from a collaborative project I did (Boundaries) with photographer Jacob Hessler, and deals with gender normativity, heteronormativity, and also connects with Gov. DeSantis’ ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill…” Blanco shares personal experiences of how poems can “open people’s minds and hearts.”

Enjoy the poems listed below as they are read and discussed. read more…

In this latest episode of “Village Voice” poet Richard Blanco explores poems on motherhood.

“Since we did National Poetry Month, I figured we’d revisit Mother’s Day…My mother occupies a lot of my poetry, and my psyche.”

Richard shares the inspiration for writing “Mother Picking Produce,” after reading the poem “Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams.

“‘So much depends upon a red wheelbarrow’…I was studying that poem when I first started writing and I was looking at my mother in the kitchen, her everyday routine… how much depends upon my mother.” read more…