A poetry reading by Richard Blanco, National Humanities Medal recipient and Presidential inaugural poet. Blanco will read from his rich and intensely intimate collection of new poems, as well as his picks from previous volumes. The poems in Homeland of My Body range in subject and setting, but are all characterized by the poet’s keen eye and deep sensibility. Blanco’s poems cover a wide range of topics including historical events, autobiography, current events, pop culture, and historical texts. He also highlights the stories of marginalized peoples in the fabric of the American narrative, including his own experiences as a gay Latinx man.
“Richard Blanco’s contributions to the fields of poetry and the arts have already paved a path forward for future generations of writers.”
– President Barack Obama
“What a gift, this new gathering of poems from the singular Richard Blanco. A cause for rejoicing!”
– Krista Tippett, author of Being Wise and host of On Being
“Blanco’s poems are journeys to a homeland within the heart, a welcome homecoming earned from a lifetime’s wise voyaging.”
– Sandra Cisneros
The presentation will be followed by a Q&A with the audience, moderated by Lourdes Blanco, chair of our Literature Program.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Institute of Latin American Studies
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS BUILDING
420 West 118th St. @ Amsterdam Ave., NYC
Conference Room 802
SPACE IS LIMITED
FREE ADMISSION (RSVP required)
RSVP/REGISTER at: https://shorturl.at/4FZzt
PLEASE NOTE: When you register, you will receive a QR code that you need to show along with an official ID at Columbia’s main entrances (116th street). This is the policy currently in place at Columbia.
For additional details, write to: info@cubanculturalcenter.org
This event is part of our CreateNYC Language Access Series on Cuban History, Art, and Literature. It will be held in English.
Richard Blanco is the recent recipient of the National Humanities Medal. He has
received awards for several of his books, including the poetry collections How To Love a Country and Looking for The Gulf Motel, and memoirs For All of Us, One Today and The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood. He was selected by Barack Obama as the fifth presidential inaugural poet in US history, and he was named as the American Academy of Poets first-ever education ambassador. Connect with him online: richard-blanco.com, Twitter (rblancopoet), Facebook (RichardBlancoPoetry), and Instagram (poetrichardblanco).
This literature event is co-sponsored by the Institute of Latin American Studies and the Greater Caribbean Studies Program at Columbia University
In association with Beacon Press
And supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and made possible by the New YorkState Council on the Arts and the New YorkState Legislature.
With the promotional cooperation of Rialta, 14yMedio and Diario de Cuba
