Richard Blanco, a member of The Poets Corner Advisory Board, will be reading from his new book, Homeland of My Body, Sunday, Feb. 11, from 4 - 5:30 p.m., via Zoom. In conversation with TPC founder/director Meg Weston, Blanco will talk about his creative journey, poetry writing practice, the making of this book, and of course whatever other topics come to mind. He’ll answer Q&A from the chat in the last half-hour of the program.

“In this collection of over 100 poems, Richard Blanco has carefully selected work from his previous books that represent his evolution as a writer grappling with his identity, working to find and define ‘home,’ and bookended them with new poems that address those issues from a fresh, more mature perspective, allowing him to approach surrendering the pain and urgency of his past explorations,” said The Poet’s Corner, in a news release.

About Richard Blanco:

Selected by President Obama as the fifth Presidential Inaugural Poet in U.S. history, Richard Blanco was the youngest, the first Latinx, immigrant, and gay person to serve in that role. In 2023, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Blanco has received numerous awards, including the Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize, the PEN American Beyond Margins Award, the Patterson Prize, and a Lambda Prize for memoir. Currently, he serves as Education Ambassador for The Academy of American Poets and is an Associate Professor at Florida International University.

About The Poets Corner:

The Poets Corner is a virtual platform dedicated to creating a community for writers and readers of poetry and short prose. Co-Founded by Meg Weston of Camden, Maine, former president of Maine Media, and Kathrin Seitz, writing coach, in June of 2020, today it has over 4,500 members from around the world. The Poets Corner hosts virtual readings, discussions, craft talks, competitions, and more offerings that connect poetry lovers, writers, and scholars, creating a vibrant space for the appreciation and creation of poetic expression. Visit www.thepoetscorner.org for more information.

Upcoming Events on The Poets Corner include:

March 10, The Poetry of Sergey Gandlevsky, translated by Philip Metres. Gandlevsky, one of Russia’s most noted poets, has been living in exile since the war in Ukraine began. Philip Metres translated and edited this new volume of poems and will read from them, followed by a live conversation with Gandlevsky zooming in, moderated by Christopher Nelson, publisher of Green Linden Press.

April 14: Essential Queer Voices in U.S. Poetry. Over 100 poets are included in this anthology published by Green Linden Press, and 5 of them will join us in April to read on The Poets Corner: Rick Barot, Ellen Bass, Richard Blanco, Lee Ann Roripaugh, and Charif Shanahan.