Inaugural poet Richard Blanco a diversity two-fer: Latino and Gay

Photo: Richard-Blanco.com

Blanco, the son of Cuban exiles, will be also be the youngest inaugural poet to join the likes of Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. He was named after Richard Nixon, lives in Maine, and has an engineering degree. Fox News Latino reports:

“I’m honored that Richard Blanco will join me and Vice President Biden at our second Inaugural,” Obama said, according to the committee statement.
     “His contributions to the fields of poetry and the arts have already paved a path forward for future generations of writers. Richard’s writing will be wonderfully fitting for an Inaugural that will celebrate the strength of the American people and our nation’s great diversity,” Obama added.
     Blanco’s works explore his family's exile from their native country and "the intersection of his cultural identities as a Cuban-American gay man," the inaugural planners said.