One light, waking up rooftops, under each one, a story Of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truthĪcross the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies. Peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores, The first stanza links geographically diverse areas of the country through the image of the rising sun: Over the course of its nine stanzas (69 lines), “One Today” offers a sweeping view of America during a single day, from sunrise to sunset. Given these restrictions (not to mention the severe time restrictions on writing the poem), Blanco succeeds admirably at the task. Any inaugural poem must adopt a form, tone, and level of diction appropriate for consumption by millions of Americans, as well as a uniformly positive view of the nation that carefully avoids explicit and implicit criticism of our government. Blanco’s inaugural poem, “ One Today,” was and is a celebration of the shared American experience, an experience made possible not despite but because of our diverse individual histories and cultural backgrounds.īlanco, like all inaugural poets, was presented with a true challenge: writing an inaugural poem that not only meets the requirements of the occasion but also stands on its own merits.
Last Monday, however, Blanco finally had a chance to let his poetry take center stage.
Leading up to his performance at Barack Obama’s second presidential inauguration, Richard Blanco’s biography-he is the first openly gay and first Latino Inaugural Poet-was the focus of the media. Inaugural Poet Richard Blanco with the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, Natasha Trethewey, in the Library’s Poetry Room. Richard Blanco’s Inaugural Poem: “One Today”
0 kommentar(er)
