Inauguration poet Richard Blanco to give free UofL reading

Richard Blanco, the fifth and most recent U.S. inaugural poet, will speak at the University of Louisville Sept. 22.

Richard Blanco

His free, public reading from “For All of Us, One Today” and question-and-answer session will begin at 7 p.m. in the Swain Student Activities Center Multipurpose Room. Book sales and signing and a reception will follow.

The Hispanic/Latino Faculty and Staff Association and the LGBT Center are presenting Blanco during Hispanic Heritage Month and Pride Week.

His recent and first prose publication, “For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey,” reflects on the Jan. 21, 2013, reading of his original poem “One Today” written for the second inauguration of Barack Obama. He was the youngest and the first Latino, immigrant and openly gay writer to be chosen for the honor.

He has performed other works since then, most notably his poem “Boston Strong” written after the April 15, 2013, Boston Marathon bombings and read at the Boston Garden Benefit Concert and a Boston Red Sox game.

The prize-winning author’s other books include another memoir, “The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood,” due in September; and the poetry collections “Looking for the Gulf Motel,” “Directions to the Beach of the Dead” and “City of a Hundred Fires.” Born in Spain to Cuban exiles, Blanco grew up in Miami and earned a civil engineering degree and a master’s degree in fine arts in creative writing, both from Florida International University.

Blanco is a professional civil engineer who also has taught writing at Central Connecticut State, Georgetown and American universities. Recently, the Maine-based writer has been a Woodrow Wilson visiting fellow for the Council of Independent Colleges.

For more information, contact Brian Buford at 502-494-0620 or brian.buford@louisville.edu or Manuel Medina at 502-852-0501 or manuel.medina@louisville.edu

Originally posted by U of L Today, here.