For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet's Journey

by Richard Blanco

For All of Us, One Today  is a fluid, poetic story anchored by Richard Blanco’s experiences as the inaugural poet in 2013, and beyond. In this brief and evocative narrative, he shares for the first time his journey as a Latino immigrant and openly gay man discovering a new, emotional understanding of what it means to be an American. He tells the story of the call from the White House committee and all the exhilaration and upheaval of the days that followed. He reveals the inspiration and challenges behind the creation of the inaugural poem, “One Today,” as well as two other poems commissioned for the occasion (“Mother Country” and “What We Know of Country”), published here for the first time ever, alongside translations of all three of those poems into his native Spanish. Finally, Blanco reflects on his life-changing role as a public voice since the inauguration, his spiritual embrace of Americans everywhere, and his vision for poetry’s new role in our nation’s consciousness. Like the inaugural poem itself, For All of Us, One Today speaks to what makes this country and its people great, marking a historic moment of hope and promise in our evolving American landscape.

In 2017, U2 is featuring “One Today” during their Joshua Tree tour throughout the United States and Europe. The poem will be projected on the stage screens as people enter the stadium to reflect and discuss America and the American experience. 

2014 International Latino Awards Best Biography – Spanish or Bilingual

Genres: Poetry, Memoir, Nonfiction, Book Club, Biography Memoir, Politics, Writing

112 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 2013

About the author

Richard Blanco was born in Madrid in 1968, immigrating as an infant with his Cuban-exile family to the U.S. He was raised and educated in Miami, earning a B.S. in civil engineering and a M.F.A. in creative writing from Florida International University.

In 2013, Blanco was chosen to serve as the fifth inaugural poet of the United States, following in the footsteps as such great writers as Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. Blanco performed One Today, an original poem he wrote for the occasion, becoming the youngest, first Latino, immigrant and openly gay writer to hold the honor.

Following the inauguration, he continued connecting communities through occasional poetry. He has written and performed occasional poems for such organizations as Freedom to Marry, the Tech Awards and the Fragrance Awards. In May of 2013, Blanco wrote Boston Strong, a poem he performed at the Boston Garden Benefit Concert and at a Red Sox game at Fenway. Following his performances, he released a limited edition Boston Strong chapbook, with all proceeds going to those most affected by the Boston Marathon bombings.

His books, in order of publication, are: City of a Hundred Fires (1998), Directions to the Beach of the Dead (2005), Looking for the Gulf Motel (2012), One Today (2013), Boston Strong (2013), and For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey (2013).

Blanco has received numerous honors for his writings and performances, including an honorary doctorate from Macalester College and being named a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. His first book, City of a Hundred Fires received the prestigious Agnes Starrett Poetry Prize. His second book, Directions to the Beach of the Dead won the PEN / American Beyond Margins Award. His third book, Looking for The Gulf Motel received various accolades, including the Tom Gunn Award, the Maine Literary Award and the Paterson Prize. His poems have appeared in countless literary journals and anthologies, including Best American Prose Poems and Ploughshares.

Blanco has been a practicing engineer, writer and poet since 1991. He has traveled extensively in his adult life, living and working throughout Europe and South America. He has taught at Georgetown University, American University, Writer’s Center and Central Connecticut State University. Blanco currently lives and writes in the tranquil mountains of Bethel, Maine.

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to believe that, come 21 January, it will be eight years since Richard Blanco read his poem "One Today" at the Inauguration of Barack Obama. This book tells the story of that performance by layering the three poems he wrote for the occasion between short essays about being selected, writing, revising, preparing for, and finally reading in Washington D.C.

What's almost naive, given how our social fabric has since been ripped apart, is how calm and ordinary it all comes across. Blanco focuses on America via "the spirit of its people" as if we are one people sharing one today every day.

Never once in his description of preparation for and attendance at the Inauguration does he mention fear or possible riots or Washington as an armed camp. Just crowds of cheering well-wishers. Joy. Pride in America.

Oh, how far we've fallen.

So, yeah. It's through a glass darkly that I read this book. Kind of sad, really. Not that we were ever perfect, but at least we didn't give a second thought to armed, right-wing extremists. Will that day ever come again, or was that "One Today" that particular day, Jan. 21, 2013?

Blanco offered three poems to the Inaugural Committee to choose from and, oddly, they didn't choose his favorite, "Mother Country," which was much more personal, drawing more heavily on his background as the son of emigrants from Cuba. Still, friends and fellow poets assured him that "One Today" was the right call, and he quickly grew comfortable with that poem as the one he would share with a huge televised audience.

As for Blanco himself, it's a mini-bio of his roots and current situation. His family settled in Miami, but he eventually settled in Maine, for instance. His favorite "old" poets are Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Hass, Philip Levine, Pablo Neruda, Sandra Cisneros (who helped with "One Today"), Adam Zagajewski, Martin Espada, St. Billy of Collins, and Campbell McGrath (his professor in a Masters writing course).

His favorite "new" poets: Rachel McKibbens, Ada Limón, Marlena Mörling. And if he could have one poem read at his funeral, it would be "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop.

Overall, a nostalgic walk down recent-memory lane as far as Inauguration Week reading goes. Uplifting and, in our present situation, sad.

[Johnny Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Richard Blanco's poem "One Today'' were a featured movie, then his follow up "For All Of Us, One Today'' is the bonus feature that you get at the end of the DVD.

In this new collection, Blanco charts his journey from professional engineer/poet engineer to the phone call he received in late 2012 when he was asked to pen a poem for President Barack Obama's 2013 inauguration.

Blanco gives his readers a behind-the-scenes peek at how he constructed three poems for the president in three weeks and the story behind each one. With humor, he describes the swirl of emotions, from honor and pride to anxiety and fear in accomplishing the task and possible reasons why he may have been chosen.

"I was the youngest, first openly gay, first immigrant and first Latino inaugural poet. And the list can go on and one with other firsts that weren't really highlighted: first engineer, first Floridian, first Mainer, first poet with bushy eyebrows - wait, I think Frost may have beat me on that one!"

But it's the intimate details that ground the book, moments that haven't been told in his radio and TV interviews; how he holed up himself in his Bethel, Maine home where he sat in his kitchen writing each of the poems; how his partner Mark would scribble loving notes and suggestions in the margins of the rough drafts as he slept and how Blanco preferred his second poem "Mother Country'' over "One Today'' because it felt more personal and sounded more like his other poems about biculturalism and what and where home is. In "Mother Country,'' he channeled his mother's emotional journey from Cuba to Spain and New York to Miami to tell the story of all Americans. Another moving detail: how his partner suggested that Blanco's mom sit at the platform of the Capitol during the inauguration instead of him.

"She won't fully understand the poem I will read about America to America in English, but she doesn't have to. She is the poem; she is America," Blanco writes.

Once the White House committee chose "One Today," Blanco practiced delivering the speech wherever he could, from strolling down the aisles of his grocery store to driving his car to the post office. He even practiced behind a makeshift podium out of cardboard on the deck of his home. His audience of one: a snowman.

"Read to the snowman," his partner insisted. "You should rehearse outside. Feel what it's going to feel like."

It's those small personal moments that will resonate with readers because they provide another layer to Blanco, his home life. And in sharing his journey, Blanco also brings his closest relatives, friends and loved ones along so that readers could see how much love and support the poet had from writing the poem and delivering it on national TV to the reception he received after from legions of everyday Americans, White House officials and celebrities (even Beyonce.) In that way, "For All Of Us, One Today'' is a big thank you to the unsung Team Blanco including the Maine inn keepers who provided a private room for his media interviews and the salon owner who gave him and his partner a free makeover before heading to Washington D>C.

As Blanco humbly writes in the book, "I wanted Americans to embrace each other. But I hadn't expected that America would embrace me and that the poem would be gifted back to me in such a way." In that sense, this book of poems and short chapters could have been easily spelled "For All Of U.S." because he makes us gay Cuban writers and Americans muy proud.

My only critique: The book(let) was 100 pages. It felt short. I wanted to keep reading.

[Elizabeth Good · Rating 3 out of 5]

The youngest, first openly gay, first immigrant and first Latino U.S. inaugural poet writes about his process of being chosen for, writing, practicing, and delivering the poem during Barack Obama’s Presidential inauguration. It’s a light, easy, short read and truly fascinating to walk through it with him— I felt I was there, as it’s very personal, descriptive of his emotions and process, and intimate. At the end is the poem, which is very inspiring.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars only? I want to give this as many as are in the firmament, but Goodreads, regrettably, can't provide that option. A small book, a wee book, one that Robert Frost, in his day, might not have had the notion or the opportunity to write, but a resonant, touching, affirming, unique book. Blanco himself, on WBUR, described this last week as a 'memoirette', written to share 'an inaugural poet's journey', but I might add that it's also the journey to a poem, and the journey of a poem, and a journey that a poem can take the poet on: in this case, that poem, "One Today", heard by millions during the second inauguration of President Barack Obama in January of this year. I read it greedily at first, for information, and then again with greater care. And now my purpose for the day is to storm the MFA Boston bookstore and see how many more copies I can sweep to my bosom and give away to family, friends and strangers alike. (Poor, unsuspecting strangers!! ) We usually have a family book club during the holidays, but this year will be a little different. On New Year's Eve, I am going to ask each of our grandchildren to read a stanza from "One Today". We'll discuss the poem's measures and metaphors and meaning, and as the fireworks light the sky and the mountains, and the first sun of the new year rises far to the east of us, "...And always/ one moon like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop/ and every window, of one country--all of us/ facing the stars. Hope---a new constellation waiting/ for us to map it, waiting for us to name it---together. "

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 2014 Seattle Reads choice - their first poet! Blanco will be doing events in Seattle later this month and the library has been providing patrons with copies. A friend passed me one last night and I read it over the course of the next 90 minutes. It starts with his being selected as 5th U.S. Poet Laureate with about three weeks to write three poems for Obama's second inauguration. It makes for a rather perfect introduction to a poet, as person, writer, emerging artist. He takes us behind the scenes if you will (or at least up to Bethel, Maine) during the frenzied process and then the wild days in Washington, DC culminating in his intention to reconnect everyone to the instinctual act of storytelling through poetry. Now I look forward to reading more of his poetry (he included four poems in this short book). True to form I passed the book along to someone else today, because Seattle Reads "For All of Us, One Today."

[AJ Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this on the recommendation from a friend and it is a lovely little book documenting the three weeks Blanco had to write his inauguration poem for the second inauguration of President Obama. It is definitely the most insightful book I've read about "occasional" poetry and is a window into the writing process, especially when under pressure, as well as a dip into his very American life as an immigrant. And, at barely more than 100 pages, it can be read in just a couple of hours. Bless poets and their brevity.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

From http://weeksnotice.blogspot.com/2014/...

I read Richard Blanco's For All Of Us, One Today, which is a short memoir of the 2012 Inaugural Poet. I came away with two impressions. One, he's a great poet. His poem América, for example, is too cool. Second, what a nice guy. He's committed to expressing what it means to be American and an immigrant, with an unjaded wonder.

As he grapples with writing an inaugural poem, he asks himself if he truly loves America:

I discovered that yes, I truly loved America, but not with a blind love or blind patriotism. Rather, with a love that's much like loving another person, a love that demands effort, asks us to give and take and forgive and constantly examine promises spoken and unspoken (p. 32).


What a great way to describe "love of country," which otherwise is too often a blind thing.

What I also liked was how his Cuban family revered poets, yet Americans don't. He notes how in school he never anything by a living poet. I saw myself there because I am not really into poetry, perhaps mostly because I don't have any exposure.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Blanco offers a rare insight into the process of a professional poet writing what might be argued as America's most prestigious occasional poem. Blanco's short memoir reads quickly with his simple conversational style, pulsing with his excellent diction. The book contains the text of all three of the poems commissioned by the Inauguration Committee with Spanish translations by Blanco. I found myself feeling like I was sitting across from Blanco in the kitchen of his Bethel, Maine home looking past his face at the hemlocks as he shared how this momentous opportunity brought him new insight into his personal life and writing. Blanco writes insightfully about the tensions between his personal experience as a gay, cuban immigrant and the classic romantic myths of what it means to be an American. The many allusions to popular culture of the 1970s and classic American patriotic literature moved me from nostalgia to a renewed sense of patriotism as I reconsidered what it means to be an American in the Twenty-First Century.

[Jieru · Rating 4 out of 5]

One word to describe this book: inspiring.

I want to start off by saying that this is not my usual genre, but nonetheless, I was really impressed. The eloquence of the writing really reflected Richard Blanco’s ability as a renowned poet.
The struggle and realization of who he is through the process of writing was an impressive journey. As the fifth inaugural poet, his poems gave us a unique perception of America through the eyes of an immigrant.
What impressed me the most was his relationship with his mother; the courage it took for her to leave their home country in order to provide a better life for him spoke to me on a personal level, and brought tears to my eyes. It reminded me of how truly fortunate we are to have the love we may take for granted.

*I received this book through the First Reads giveaway!

[Liz Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this beautifully crafted memoir, Blanco takes us on his journey to becoming the 2013 Inaugural Poet. Blanco writes about his roots in Cuba, his childhood in Miami, and his life in Maine--all in relation to his selection as Obama's second inaugural poet--and the process of writing and delivering the poem, one of three that he was required to submit. The book includes all three poems as well the first poem Blanco wrote for his first graduate creative writing course, aptly titled "America." Finally, the book is a call to arms for poetry and the power it holds to change our lives. A great read.

[Thomas Pors · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poet Richard Blanco was given the rare opportunity to write a poem about shared experience of country and read it to millions of people, and he hit the ball out of the park with his inaugural poem, One Today. This book tells his story, which is really a story about the many stories of people with similar experiences about relating to home and country, and how poetry can reach out and touch lives like no other medium. He is a champion for the art form, and his poem and story are like a glass of hope and inspiration to start the day. Way to go, Richard.

[Jonathan Tennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

There have only been 5 inaugural poets – Richard Blanco is the latest in that line (Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Miller Williams, Elizabeth Alexander). This short and often times, poetic biography tells not only the story of the author, but also that of the making of the poems he read. Brilliantly constructed, this book and few poems I read of Blanco’s make me want to read more of his work. “One Today” is a gift to America from a poet. What we do with that gift is up to us. I, for one, cherish it.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Idealistic. Uplifting. Looking forward...we can only hope. We don't live up to this beautiful writing or thoughts, yet. Someday.

[Lore H · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh how I adored this book!
memoir, poetry, lyricism all blended into one.

I first stumbled upon Blanco’s “Looking for the Gulf Motel” in my freshman year of high school Spanish class (before I was out, before I had spent time living in a Spanish speaking country) and it stuck. Now here I am 9 years later, at my grandmother’s local library branch in Southern Florida, and I find him again just when I need his words

This book reminded me of the power of folklore, that it takes a village, and the magnitude of a sunrise when you need a sign from the universe.

I often enjoy memoirs but feel that they are padded with “fluff”- that was anything but the case with this book. Finishing reading “For All of Us, One Today” feels like ending a conversation with a long distance friend. You know you will pick up where you left off, but you are still left with that potent heartbreak of not being able to say exactly when (yeah, yeah, I am also a poet, what about it).

I particularly appreciated the intimacy of Blanco’s reflections on his writing process and getting to know how he felt writing each of the three poems that he would go on to submit to the Inaugural Committee.

Reading these pages felt like we were sitting across from him at the kitchen table, getting to create alongside him as we both changed rooms for a fresh perspective. What a tremendous feat to have produced work that resonates with such a wide swath of people in only a three week turnaround.

Blanco’s question I’m going to be thinking about in the coming year: “Why isn’t poetry a part of our cultural lives and conversations; part of our popular folklore as with film, music, and novels?”

[Vanessa Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good friend of mine (and poet himself) attended a reading by Richard Blanco and had him sign a copy of this little gem of a story for my husband (a Cuban) and I. It was a lovely surprise to receive in the mail. And, one made all the more meaningful for the various connections and parallels with my own little part of the world.

As an immigrant to another country myself, married to a one-time immigrant to the US, there is so much that resonates with me in this particular journey and story. Blanco's poems are lovely and meaningful. And, I can see now why he was chosen as the inaugural poet.

Aside from the poems and process of being inaugural poet, the more inspiring bit is his devotion and inspiration to making poetry more relevant and visible in contemporary American life in the wake of his experience. Rather than boasting about being selected as inaugural poet, he desires to do good with that voice gained as a result. And, to give voice to all those whom he influenced and inspired with his poem.

We are a country of immigrants, some newer and some far removed from their ancestors who first stepped foot on North American soil. But, the majority of us are from elsewhere. Embracing that unique mixture and shared reality and history is what makes us truly great to my mind. What a fitting way to acknowledge that diversity and shared history through the selection of Blanco as inaugural poet.

[Josue Samano · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book called "One for All, One Day" written By Richard Blanco was an interesting take on his path to become the Poet that he is today while integrating the poems that he wrote to provide context on how the poems came to be. The poems themselves reflect the struggles and parts of his life that make him who he is that also lead him to be able to accomplish what he didn't think was possible. Parts of the book specifically when he was in a situation of not being able to think about to write about, lead him to question what it is that he's trying to convey through his poem. This resonated with me for the fact that I to was in his shoes when it came to me deciding what it is that I'm going do to improve myself as a student since I was performing poorly when it came to pass on to middle school. Being able to connect with the author throughout the book allowed me to view what others can't see differently. That's what got me to be interested in the book and kept me reading even if I couldn't understand the wording or the message. It's a book that recommends to those who like life lessons through 1st person and who like poems

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had I read Blanco’s book in 2013, when it was first published, I would have no doubt felt a deep sense of admiration, hope, and connection. Blanco regards his poetry as “a mirror in which the reader and the poet stand side by side: the reader catching a reflection of his or her own life blurred with the poet’s life” (76). I have experienced that “mirror” effect with his poetry, which I so love, and I also feel that while reading his prose as well.

Coming to this text in 2025, however, has been a different experience altogether. The mirror is still present, the “blurring” perhaps even more profound, but now, there are windows, glimpses of another time, another vision of America.

Today, America is and isn’t the same country—there is a vastly different climate, and this text reads differently because of it. Passages that might have once filled me with a sense of possibility now make my heart ache and my eyes well up with tears. Nevertheless, I’m comforted (and even galvanized) by Blanco’s comparison of his love for America to love for “another person, a love that demands effort, asks us to give and take and forgive and constantly examine promises spoken and unspoken.”

[Marianne Gambaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully written story of Richard Blanco's experience as the Inaugural Poet for Barack Obama's inauguration. Over a three-week period, he is invited to write and submit three poems to the Inaugural Committee for their consideration, rehearse and prepare for the reading of their selection, and read at the Inauguration. It is a warm and personal book about the man, his relationship with his husband--who took on every other aspect of their lives so Blanco could totally focus on the monumental task at hand, and his Cuban-born mother who sat beside him at the Inauguration and offered a running commentary on the proceedings and the weather. All three poems are included in both Spanish and English. Awe-struck by his experience, Blanco comes across as a genuinely humble and decent person, as well as a wonderful poet. This book has a permanent place in my heart and on my "special" shelf.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read his memoir, so I didn't know he is primarily a poet. This is well-written and very sweet.

For All of Us, One Today is a fluid, poetic story anchored by Richard Blanco’s experiences as the inaugural poet in 2013, and beyond. In this brief and evocative narrative, he shares for the first time his journey as a Latino immigrant and openly gay man discovering a new, emotional understanding of what it means to be an American. He tells the story of the call from the White House committee and all the exhilaration and upheaval of the days that followed. He reveals the inspiration and challenges behind the creation of the inaugural poem, “One Today,” as well as two other poems commissioned for the occasion (“Mother Country” and “What We Know of Country”), published here for the first time ever, alongside translations of all three of those poems into his native Spanish.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book! I liked it all the way through and then at the end when he makes his plea for poetry as action in everyday life it went over the edge and won its fifth star. Obama's second inaugural poet uses phrases from his inauguration day poem to tell the story of writing it and of his life. It was fascinating to learn the process...for example, he had to write three poems, one of which the inaugural committee selected (full text of all three in English and Spanish is in the book.) This slim little volume packs a punch...a little memoir, a little poetry writing craft, a little poetry as culture. Fantastic read for any poet, would-be poet, lover of poetry, or lover of life.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This. Book. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars and I and not sure I ever thought that before. I bought this book over 6 years ago while in vacation. In one way, I wish I hadn’t waited so long. In another, this was perfect timing. It is Blanco’s memoir focused on the period of time, thought process, and presentation of the inaugural poem for President Obama’s second inauguration. And it is his story of becoming a poet, and through this process, truly understanding what America, and being an American, means to him. Interspersed with his prose chapters are a few poems, including the inaugural poem, One Today. Perfect, hopeful words for this difficult time in our country.

[Finn Tronnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first discovered Richard Blanco in eighth grade when I read El Florida Room, and I was so struck by the intimacy of his writing. I also read some of The Prince of Los Cocuyos, but this memoir was my favorite yet. From the first page I was deadass so emotional, and that feeling carried through until the final moment. The only thing I wanted here was for it to be longer, and for the personal reflective moments to be explored further, but I don't think that qualifies as a real criticism. Good shit !!!

[Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

After learning that Blanco was taken by surprise by his selection to be an Inaugural Poet and that he felt rushed by the three-week deadline to produce a new work to read at the Inauguration, my impression is that all writers should keep a draft of an inauguration-appropriate poem in our back pockets just in case we are ever called upon with such an honor.

[Pamela Okano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story behind Richard Blanco's poem read at President Obama's first inauguration. The story starts with the phone call that advised Blanco that he had been picked to read one of his poems, through just after the inauguration itself. The text includes the three poems that Blanco wrote in 3 weeks for submission to Obama aides, who selected one of them as the inaugural poem.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book group choice, and since it’s quite different from type type of books I usually read, I was not so sure that I would like it. But I did. Blanco writes so beautifully — it’s no wonder he was chosen as poet laureate. I highly recommend it.

[Alex Hom · Rating 1 out of 5]

banal. i respect the exploration of identity in american vs cuban culture, but he was really just writing abt his works and not really going in depth. kinda felt self centered and so first impression is i dislike him ://

[Kevin Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brief but inspiring read about Blanco's process in writing the 2013 Inaugural poem. His story shows us the best that America can be.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful language

[Anika · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you thought the poem was inspiring, you need to read the story behind the poem.

[Millie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent explanation of who is is, how he writes, and what it meant to deliver an inaugural poem