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…

In the latest edition of “Village Voice,” Richard Blanco wraps up National Poetry Month with poems by Marianne Moore and Ada Limón and shares insights on his new role as the first-ever Poet Laureate of Miami-Dade County.

Poetry Month was started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, for which Richard is the Educational Ambassador. He hopes to build upon this role with his laureateship, fostering intercultural exchanges among Jamaican, Haitian, and Central American communities. “We all need to share our stories!” He said. He also hopes to bring poetry to underserved communities and schools.

The two poems shared are in conversation, challenging our preconceptions of poetry. As Billy Collins writes in “Introduction to Poetry,” we do not need to tie a poem to a chair and beat it with a hose to find out what it really means. read more…

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, poet Richard Blanco joins Jim and Margery on Boston Public Radio to share a few of his own poems (listed below), each one highlighting significant moments from his love life. He also shares thoughts on poets and love poems that have moved him, including the classic Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Dedications” by Adrienne Rich, and an excerpted reading of “You Are Who I Love” by Aracelis Girmay.

You can follow along with the selected poems here: read more…