Thursday April 6th, 7 PM | St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 262 Main St, Norwich, VT (*Please note the DATE and LOCATION shifts!)

Selected by President Obama as the fifth inaugural poet in US history, Richard Blanco is the first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in such a role. Born in Madrid to Cuban exile parents and raised in Miami, the negotiation of cultural identity characterizes his four collections of poetry.

First Wednesdays is a program of Vermont Humanities and is co-hosted by the Library and the Norwich Historical Society. The Friends of the NPL have generously underwritten this year’s host fee. This specific event’s underwriter is Otto & Associates.

About Richard Blanco:

Richard Blanco’s collections of poetry include How To Love a Country; City of a Hundred Fires, which received the Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize from the University of Pittsburgh Press; Directions to The Beach of the Dead, recipient of the Beyond Margins Award from the PEN American Center; and Looking for The Gulf Motel, recipient of the Paterson Poetry Prize and the Thom Gunn Award. He has also authored the memoirs For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey and The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood, winner of a Lambda Literary Award. His poem for President Obama’s second inauguration, “One Today,” was published as a children’s book, in collaboration with renowned illustrator Dav Pilkey.