Richard Blanco:
Poetry Along the Bay

Richard Blanco: Poetry Along the Bay

Long inspired by the cultural diversity and beauty of Miami, the city where he spent most of his life, acclaimed Cuban American poet Richard Blanco reads from his works during an evening cruise onboard the Miami Lady. As the boat sails on Biscayne Bay under the stars, past illuminated landmarks old and new, audiences will hear a poetry that grapples with the state of the world and our place in it, and demonstrates why Miami remains an incubator for artistic talent in many fields. 

An influential poet and storyteller, Richard Blanco invites audiences to reconnect to the heart of human experience. Born in Madrid to Cuban exiled parents and raised in Miami, he has created a body of work characterized by the negotiation of cultural identity and place. He is the author of the award-winning memoirs The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood and For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey; the poetry chapbooks Matters of the Sea, One Today, and Boston Strong; the poetry collections Looking for the Gulf Motel, Directions to the Beach of the Dead, and City of a Hundred Fires; a children’s book of his inaugural poem, “One Today,” illustrated by Dav Pilkey; and Boundaries, a collaboration with photographer Jacob Hessler. With Ruth Behar, he is co-creator of the blog Bridges to/from Cuba: Lifting the Emotional Embargo, which provides a cultural and artistic platform for sharing the real lives and complex emotional histories of thousands of Cubans across the globe. He has been a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow and received honorary doctorates from Macalester College, Colby College, and the University of Rhode Island. He has continued to write occasional poems for organizations and events such as the re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Havana.

Richard Blanco: Poetry Along the Bay is part of Living Together, curated by Rina Carvajal, MOAD’s Executive Director and Chief Curator, and independent curator Joseph R. Wolin. Living Together is made possible by the generous support of Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; and the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council.