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Richard Blanco is well known as the fifth inaugural poet in US history. He was commissioned to write and recite his work called ‘One America’ in honour of Barack Obama's second swearing-in ceremony in 2013, following in the footsteps of Robert Frost and Maya Angelou and pre-dating Amanda Gorman's offering for President Biden a year ago.1 He was the first, openly gay, Latinate immigrant to receive this honour and I very well remember being taken by the presence, magnificent voice and profound words of this brave young man who kissed his mother before taking the podium on the Capitol steps. His background as a civil engineer and training as a poet came
To experience Richard Blanco reading ‘One Today’, honouring Barack Obama's inauguration, January 21, 2013, see website:
through in well-crafted words and a flow of creative beauty that enthralled crowds on the mall in Washington, as well as millions of viewers around the world. He was tapped by the Presidential Inaugural Committee and given only three weeks to produce not one, but three poems for them to consider!2 I was riveted by this profound artistic moment in the history of our country and have followed Richard Blanco's work ever since, attending readings in Boston, seeing him on YouTube and hearing interviews, recitations and stories on National Public Radio (NPR) and in podcasts. During June 2021, I took a week-long workshop with Richard Blanco and was amazed by his sensitivity to group members, his remarkable fund of knowledge and his adept psychological mindedness.3
As an introduction, I encourage readers to stop here and experience Richard Blanco reading ‘One Today’ found in the following link:
In this essay, I intend to draw attention to