For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey - The Poetry Shop

For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey

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For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey - The Poetry Shop

Beacon Press

For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey

$16.00
Sale price  $16.00 Regular price 
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For All of Us, One Today is a fluid, poetic story anchored by Richard Blanco's experiences as the inaugural poet in 2013, and beyond. In this brief and evocative narrative, he shares for the first time his journey as a Latino immigrant and openly gay man discovering a new, emotional understanding of what it means to be an American. He tells the story of the call from the White House committee and all the exhilaration and upheaval of the days that followed. He reveals the inspiration and challenges behind the creation of the inaugural poem, "One Today," as well as two other poems commissioned for the occasion ("Mother Country" and "What We Know of Country"), published here for the first time ever, alongside translations of all three of those poems into his native Spanish. Finally, Blanco reflects on his life-changing role as a public voice since the inauguration, his spiritual embrace of Americans everywhere, and his vision for poetry's new role in our nation's consciousness. Like the inaugural poem itself, For All of Us, One Today speaks to what makes this country and its people great, marking a historic moment of hope and promise in our evolving American landscape.

In 2017, U2 is featuring "One Today" during their Joshua Tree tour throughout the United States and Europe. The poem was projected on the stage screens as people entered the stadium to reflect and discuss America and the American experience.

2014 International Latino Awards Winner: Best Biography - Spanish or Bilingual

Book Details

Publisher:
Beacon Press
ISBN:
9780807033807
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
120
Authors:
Richard Blanco
Published Date:
2013-11-19
Language:
English

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About Richard Blanco

Richard Blanco read One Today at President Obama's second inauguration in 2013, the fifth inaugural poet in United States history and the first Latino, immigrant, and openly gay person in the role. Born in Madrid, Spain, he grew up in Miami and studied engineering and creative writing at Florida International University, earning his MFA there. His collection City of a Hundred Fires (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1998) won the Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize. Later books include How to Love a Country (Beacon Press, 2019). He received the Paterson Poetry Prize and the 2021 National Humanities Medal.

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