WASHINGTON, D.C. – Richard Blanco, who recited his poem “One Day” at the January 2013 inauguration of President Barack Obama, was awarded a National Humanities Medal Tuesday.
Blanco, of Bethel, Maine, is the first openly gay man, as well as first Latino man, to recite a poem at a presidential inauguration. He was one of 12 recipients honored by President Joe Biden at a ceremony Tuesday that also included presentation of the Charles Frankel Prize to Bruce Springsteen, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, and others.
The National Humanities Medal was created in 1997 to honor individuals or groups whose work has deepened the nation’s understanding of the humanities and broadened Americans’ engagement them. Blanco and the other 11 awardees brought the total of medal recipients to 199.
“Thank you, Mr. President & @NEHgov for this tremendous honor. I am humbled to join this esteemed group as a recipient of the National Humanities Medal,” Blanco tweeted after the ceremony.
Checking it’s not chocolate! @OfficialJLD @NEHgov pic.twitter.com/XiOVOt7ttS
— Richard Blanco (@rblancopoet) March 22, 2023
National Endowment for the Humanities Chair Shelly C. Lowe said, “The National Humanities Medal recipients have enriched our world through writing that moves and inspires us; scholarship that enlarges our understanding of the past; and through their dedication to educating, informing, and giving voice to communities and histories often overlooked. I am proud to join President Biden in recognizing these distinguished leaders for their outstanding contributions to our nation’s cultural life.”
Blanco, a son of Cuban immigrants, was born in Madrid, Spain, and grew up in New York City and Miami. He moved to Bethel, in western Maine, 15 years ago.
In “One Day,” Blanco mused about what it means to be American. The first line of the poem is, “One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores.”
The poem takes a broad view of the country, but also responds to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which had occurred only a month before the inauguration. Blanco also pays tribute to his Cuban American parents and acknowledged American diversity and inclusiveness in the work.
Steven Moyer, of the NCH, noted in his profile of Blanco, that growing up in a working-class, immigrant family in a Miami suburb didn’t give him much access to the arts and the humanities. Blanco excelled in math and science in schol, but loved creative activities, too. He graduated in 1991 from Florida International University with a degree in engineering, then took an evening creative writing workshop, studying with poet Campbell McGrath. He later earned an MFA from FIU.
Blanco is the author of several books. He teaches poetry and promotes poetry reading and treating it as central to America’s cultural foundations. “He views poetry as a beacon for interest in the humanities,” Moyer wrote.
The other 11 recipients of the medal Tuesday were Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Walter Isaacson, Earl Lewis, Henrietta Mann, Ann Patchett, Bryan Stevenson, Amy Tan, Tara Westover, Colson Whitehead, audio program Native America Calling, Elton John (awarded separately in September, 2022).
