A Conversation with Presidential Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco: “One Today,” One Year Later

By Gregg Barrios, Los Angeles Review of Books

AN UNEXPECTED CALL in December 2012 changed Richard Blanco’s life: he was asked to write an original poem for President Barack Obama’s second inauguration. For a brief seven minutes in January, he was front and center reciting his poem, “One Today” before a national TV, radio, and online audience of 20 million — and countless more worldwide. Media and poetry critics lauded his poem, placing it among the best inaugural verse. Just as important was the TV image of the handsome, 45-year-old Blanco, the first immigrant, the first Latino, the first openly gay, and the youngest person selected for the honor of inaugural poet.

I initially spoke with and emailed Blanco last January, but the White House had embargoed all media interviews except for The New York Times and NPR. We reconnected on the eve of the publication of his new memoir, For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey.

Blanco apologized for making the wait so long. Our conversation took place by phone. He spoke from his home in Bethel, Maine. We spoke in two separate and lengthy sessions. At the end of the first session, he joked. “Once you get a Cuban talking, he never stops.”

Click HERE to read the full interview.

[Screenshot courtesy of CSPAN]

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