Homeland of My Body is a collection of new and selected poems by Richard Blanco.
There are over 100 poems in this latest work. While the majority of them are culled from his previous books, groups of new poems bookend this collection.
As he does in many of his poems, Blanco is still grappling with the concept of home. But in the new poems, we see the ways his perspective has changed.
Richard Blanco is now at a pivotal mid-career moment, and considers that being in middle age allows him new perspectives on “home.” It is not just a place. It is an internalized idea. It means much more than it used to and perhaps other related concerns also emerge as being as vital and critical.
He is a 2023 recipient of a National Humanities Medal and was selected by Barack Obama as the fifth presidential inaugural poet in US history.
This new volume—even for its comprehensiveness—feels very new and very different. Blanco is still at the top of his game with his total command of the craft. The poems offer a variety of subjects, forms, settings.
In this interview, Richard Blanco discusses wide-ranging topics, including a discussion of how his idea of home has morphed and how he continues to work to bridge the past and the present, languages and cultures through his unique voice and vision.
A special treat: Richard Blanco reads three poems from the book at the beginning of this very special episode.
Richard Blanco is the author of Homeland of My Body: New & Selected Poems.
