Maine Nature Poetry Mini-series: Richard Blanco

For many of us, the power of nature serves as an inspiration for art, poetry, and action. To recognize the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day and April as National Poetry Month, the Natural Resources Council of Maine created this special series of five podcasts featuring poems by Maine-based poets. In this poetry reading and conversation you’ll hear from award-winning writer and poet Richard Blanco from Bethel, Maine, who was the fifth poet to read at a U.S. presidential inauguration (Barack Obama’s second inauguration).Richard Blanco was born in Madrid and immigrated to the United States as an infant with his Cuban-exile family. He has been a practicing engineer, writer, and poet since 1991. His collections of poetry include City of a Hundred Fires (1998), which won the Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize; Directions to the Beach of the Dead (2005), winner of the PEN/American Beyond Margins Award; Looking for the Gulf Motel (2012), winner of the Thom Gunn Award, the Maine Literary Award, and the Paterson Prize; One Today (2013); Boston Strong (2013); and How to Love a Country (2019). In 2013, Blanco was chosen to serve as the fifth inaugural poet of the United States. Blanco performed, “One Today,” an original poem he wrote for the occasion, becoming the youngest, first Latino, immigrant, and openly gay writer to hold the honor. He has received numerous honors for his writings and performances, including the Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellowship, a Florida Artist Fellowship, and a Bread Loaf Fellowship, as well as honorary doctorates from Macalester College, Colby College, and the University of Rhode Island. Blanco is currently Distinguished Visiting Professor at Florida International University.