“...[P]oetry, like bread, is for everyone.” -Richard Blanco (quoting poet Roque Dalton).
American poet Richard Blanco, the youngest, first Latinx, immigrant, and gay person to serve as Presidential Inaugural Poet, and to whom President Joe Biden awarded the National Humanities Medal, will headline the first Westwood Children’s Poetry Festival, planned for February school vacation next year, says Westwood’s Poet Laureate Lynne Viti.
Mr. Blanco's plans to visit Westwood on February 22, 2024, will add excitement and larger geographical and intergenerational interest to the poetry festival. That he will be a thought-provoking participant is a given.
Mr. Blanco, in a biographical note, has said, “Whether speaking as the Cuban Ricardo or the American Richard, the homebody or the world traveler, the shy boy or the openly gay man, the engineer or the presidential inaugural poet, I strive to create story-rich works that illuminates the human spirit. I’m driven by the belief that the questions I ask myself are the same universal questions we all ask ourselves on our own journeys: Where am I from? Where do I belong? Who am I in this world?"
Dr. Viti, with $2,500 in grant money to spend from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, brainstormed with Westwood’s Youth Poet Laureate Lucie Sechler about ways to use it. Both poets were keen to come up with an idea for an event that would bring poetry to elementary school aged students. They hit upon the idea of a children’s poetry festival. They strategically have targeted the festival timing for February school vacation week, given Dr. Viti’s recollections of it being a difficult time to find local activities for kids.
“Many in Westwood - particularly in middle school and high school – families go away the whole week to Disney, the Caribbean, skiing in New Hampshire, rent a house, and the rest are left hanging around town. And I remember that was a really difficult week. What do you do with your kids? You don’t want to park them in front of the TV. . . There are elementary school kids whose parents would be happy to leave them at the library for a few hours where they do a combination of activities,” Dr. Viti explains.
Believing that she could get volunteers to staff the festival, Dr. Viti was determined to go big with the $2,500, and spend it all in one place, on one speaker’s fee. She and Ms. Sechler discussed looking for a poet who had a back story, was a teacher, engaging, and bilingual. “We looked at each other, and we both said, ‘Richard Blanco!’” Dr. Viti exclaims, conveying excitement with the memory.
“I said, ‘This is crazy. This will never happen. We don’t have enough money,’” she recalls. But she had a connection, who had a connection, and she was able to send the famous poet’s assistant an email. She learned that Mr. Blanco commands significant fees, but that projects that grab his interest may be given special treatment.
A description of Mr. Blanco’s interests on his website includes a special mention of educators, and a passion for inspiring students with poetry. He is “committed to empowering educators who wish to enhance their poetry and language arts curriculum with a focus on diversity and inclusion," it says.
“I don’t believe a poem can change the world. I really don’t. But I believe it can change a person. And a person can change the world.” --Richard Blanco, from his website (video)
Dr. Viti’s first overture was not accepted. She tried to find a way to greatly increase her speaker fee budget. While her efforts fell short of her goal, Dr. Viti was able to locate a source of additional funding with the help of Westwood Public Library Director Elizabeth McGovern.
“I went back, and I didn’t think it would carry the day, but that I could call it an interesting experience,” she said.
To her surprise, her offer was successful. As a result, Mr. Blanco will be speaking on the final day of the three-day Westwood Children’s Poetry Festival that will be held on February 20 -22, 2024 at the Westwood Public Library.
“To bring someone of this stature to Westwood . . . we had to pitch to him and he’s willing to come. . . . That’s a big deal,” remarks Dr. Viti.
While planning for the festival is still in the works, Dr. Viti says that activities will be targeted to children in grades 2 to 5, with registration for 40 children operating on a first come, first served basis. Interested 6th graders are also welcome to attend, she says.
Dr. Viti envisions the festival consisting of small group mini-workshops that will include creating poems with musicians who will set participants’ verses instantly to music. There is also likely to be a craft workshop. A number of additional poets, paid an honorarium, will participate by reading poetry, answering questions, and giving some instruction.
The afternoon of the last day of the festival is when Mr. Blanco will make his highly anticipated appearance. Dr. Viti plans to ask him to tell his back story, read poems, talk about the connection between life and the page, answer questions, and sign books. It will be a “short event” for young children, she says. She is mindful not to make the festival feel like school.
American Poet Richard Blanco receives the honor of the National Humanities Medal from President Joe Biden.“It’s primarily for kids, but also for their families. I would like parents, grandparents to be there,” comments Dr. Viti. “This is part of my mission as Westwood Poet Laureate, to bring poetry to people who might not otherwise be invited in.”
Registration for the first Westwood Children's Poetry Festival is expected to open sometime after January 1, 2024.
Thanks to Lynne Viti, Westwood Poet Laureate, for sharing this news with Westwood Minute.
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