The Love of Poetry with Richard Blanco, Pt 1
The Inaugural Poet on Politics, Poetry, and Power
With the official announcement of our forthcoming Young Poets Anthology, the inaugural publication from 1455 books, it makes sense to revisit our conversation with Richard Blanco, an inaugural poet who also is generously contributing a foreword to the collection.
Richard Blanco was selected by President Obama as the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history—the youngest, the first Latinx, the first openly gay person, and the first immigrant to serve in that role. Last year, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden. In addition to being a deeply gifted writer and public intellectual, he’s also an educator, an advocate, and one of the most thoughtful people I’ve had the pleasure of speaking with.
We cover a lot in this episode. Art and activism, yes—but also attention and agency. We talk about the challenges of writing political poetry that is also beautiful, personal, and true. We talk about the pressure of platform, what it means to have a public voice in a fractured nation, and how to resist despair in a time when cruelty and confusion seem to have the upper hand.
Some highlights from our discussion, below. Stay tuned for Pt 2 (and the complete video)!
ABOUT RICHARD BLANCO
Instagram: @poetrichardblanco
Facebook: Richard Blanco Poetry
X (formerly Twitter): @rblancopoet
Website: richard-blanco.com