Inaugural poet coming Oct. 13

GREENVILLE — Richard Blanco, the fifth poet to read at a Presidential Inauguration, is coming to Greenville. Blanco will participate in an evening reading and reception after spending the day with school children on Thursday, Oct.13. The evening reception and reading starts at 6 p.m.

“Richard Blanco is a shining star in the world of poetry,” said Roxanne Cunningham of the Greenville schools. “In addition to his world-class poetry, he’s also a civil engineer. So in addition to working with students in English classes and talking about his writing, he is also going to visit with an engineering class at the school. It’s going to be an exciting day for our students and teachers.”

He penned an original poem called “One Today” for the inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama, and read the poem at the ceremony on Jan. 21, 2013. Previous inaugural poets have included Robert Frost and Maya Angelou.

Blanco will take part in a poetry reading and reception that is open to the public and will feature Cuban-inspired food and beverages. Admission includes a seat for the poetry reading, as well as the food and beverages. The evening reception runs from 6-8 p.m. and will be held at The Center for Moosehead History.

Blanco is a Maine resident who immigrated as an infant with his Cuban exile family. He graduated from Florida International University in 1991 with a degree in civil engineering and received his master of fine arts in creative writing in 1997. Ironically, he earned the second degree the same year he passed his engineering boards; he was officially a professional engineer and a poet. Blanco has received a number of awards for his poetry, and his work has appeared in The Nation, Ploughshares, New England Review, and Americas Review.

For more information about the evening poetry reading and reception or to RSVP, contact Roxanne Cunningham at 280-2222 or Roxanne.cunningham@ghslakers.org.