Richard Blanco chosen to read Inaugural Poem

I was interested to read today that Richard Blanco (a poet of whom I had never previously heard) will read a poem (presumably an original composition of his own) at President Obama’s second inauguration.

Richard Blanco will become only the fifth inaugural poet (after Robert Frost in 1961, Maya Angelou in 1993, Miller ­Williams in 1997, and Elizabeth Alexander in 2009).

What's wrong with the Republicans?  Do they think poetry is only for Democrats?

Oh, and Beyonce will sing the national anthem!

I know this is in danger of turning from poetry blog into US political commentary blog, but at least this posting does talk about poets and poems, and I promise some original work soon.

I've been working on some poems inspired by works of art in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland which I intend to enter into their annual creative writing competition.  The closing date for the competition is Friday 18 January, so I promise a flurry of blogging thereafter.

In the mean time, having sampled some of his poetry online, I'm off to order Richard Blanco's book: Looking for The Gulf Motel.



Hat-tip to the Washington Post for its coverage of the 57th Inauguration.