Richard Blanco is the nation’s fifth inaugural poet and the first Latino, immigrant, and openly gay person to fulfill the role.  Join IPRH for lunch and an informal conversation with this award-winning poet and civil engineer, who delivered his poem “One Today” at Obama’s second inauguration.  His recent memoir, “The Prince of Los Cocuyos,” explores his coming-of-age as the child of Cuban immigrants and his attempts to understand his place in America while grappling with his burgeoning artistic and sexual identities.

This IPRH Inside Scoop session offers an opportunity for all interested undergraduates, no matter their majors, to engage with creative minds in the humanities.  Lunch will be served.

This event is free and open to all U of I undergrads but registration is required.  Places are limited, so please register here https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/9444737 by April 1, 2015.

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IPRH also is sponsoring a Poetry Reading  by Richard Blanco on April 7, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Alice Campbell Alumni Center (601 S Lincoln Ave, Urbana).

Join in for an evening reading followed by a book signing.  Richard Blanco’s books will be available for purchase in the foyer outside the ballroom.  This event is free and open to the public.

Richard Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history -- the youngest, first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in such a role.  He was born in Madrid to Cuban exiled parents and raised in Miami, and the negotiation of cultural identity and place characterize his three collections of poetry:  “City of a Hundred Fires,” “Directions to The Beach of the Dead,” and “Looking for The Gulf Motel.”  His awards include the Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize from the University of Pittsburgh Press, the Beyond Margins Award from the PEN American Center, the Paterson Poetry Prize, and the Thom Gunn Award.  He has been featured on “CBS Sunday Morning” and National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air.”  A builder of cities as well as poems, Blanco holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an M.F.A in Creative Writing.  He is a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow and has received honorary doctorates from Macalester College, Colby College, and the University of Rhode Island.  He has taught at Central Connecticut State University, Georgetown University, and American University.  Blanco currently lives in Bethel, Maine.  A memoir of his childhood in Miami, “The Prince of Los Cocuyos,” was recently published by Ecco/Harper Collins.

This event is co-sponsored by IPRH, the Chancellor's Inclusive Illinois Lecture Series, the School of Engineering, and the Creative Writing Program's Carr Reading Series.

Thanks to Nancy Castro of the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities  for these information items.

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