Since President Obama's announcement that he was chosen as the 2013 inaugural poet, Richard Blanco has become poetry's most talked about name. But though he's scheduled to read on one of the biggest stages for poets in the nation -- the upcoming presidential inauguration -- he hasn't forgotten his roots. In fact, he's returning to them later this year.
Blanco will help close out O, Miami's 2013 run, scheduled for the entire month of April, with a reading alongside Thurston Moore. Yes, that Thurston Moore.
See also:
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According to P. Scott Cunningham, co-founder and director of University of Wynwood, which organizes the poetry festival O, Miami, Blanco will join Moore on stage at the New World Center's Symphony Hall on the evening of Sunday, April 28.
"Richard's appointment is just another example of this city becoming a truly world-class cultural hub," Cunningham's wrote in an announcement mailed to University of Wynwood "alumni" this morning. "We have a lot to be proud of here, and my goal for the final weekend of O, Miami (April 26-28) is to celebrate our home in multiple ways."
Cunningham told Cultist that young, relatively unknown Dominican poet Frank Baez is also scheduled to take part in the event, as well as "one more young poet." He's in works to confirm another, bigger name, too. "People from a certain demographic will be excited," he said. "She's an unexpected choice."
Cunningham also said that the 2013 O, Miami will be organized differently than its previous edition. Last time, "we were doing two events a day, which was insane," he remembered. Instead, O, Miami will focus on projects and events designed to expose Miamians to poetry in unexpected ways for most of April, then close out its run with more traditional, staged readings in venues around Miami. Most of those staged reading events will take place April 26-28, "so it has more of a festival feel."
More details about Blanco and Moore's reading, and about the rest of O, Miami's lineup, are due in the next couple months. Visit omiami.org.
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