A Conversation with Richard Blanco, National Humanities Medal Recipient

Continuing Letras Latinas’ yearlong 20th anniversary series, in October 2024 Notre Dame welcomed visiting poets Richard Blanco and Rigoberto González. Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology was released in September 2024, and was edited by Rigoberto González, and includes the work of Richard Blanco.

Richard was introduced by his longtime friend, special guest and fellow Miami poet Emma Trelles. Earlier in the day, Emma sat down with Richard for an oral history conversation. Listen in as they discuss the unexpected role of ambition in the creative process, how language can be a way of breathing in the world, and his continuous search for relevance as an elder in the poetry community.

For more information, please visit the Letras Latinas website.

Enjoy this bonus Letras Latinas recording of an oral history conversation with Richard Blanco, interviewed by Letras Latinas director Francisco Aragón from 2007, six years before Richard served as the nation’s fifth-ever inaugural poet for Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration in January 2013.