On Thursday, Sept. 19, the Poetry Salon will begin its new season, featuring the work of poet Richard Blanco.

Blanco was born in Madrid and immigrated to the United States as an infant with his Cuban-exile family. He has been a practicing engineer, writer and poet since 1991. In 2013, Blanco was chosen by Barack Obama to serve as the fifth inaugural poet of the United States. In that role, he performed “One Today,” an original poem he wrote for the occasion, becoming the first Latino, immigrant and openly gay writer to hold the honor. He has won many awards for his poetry and was named the education ambassador for the Academy of American Poets. A resident of Bethel, Maine, he has published several collections of poetry, including “Homeland of My Body: New & Selected Poems” (2023).

Please join Claire Keyes, professor emerita at Salem State University, at 2 p.m. on Sept. 19, in person or via Zoom, for a reading and discussion of Blanco’s poems. Registration is required to attend in person or via Zoom. Please register at tinyurl.com/Blanco-Poetry-Salon.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of Abbot Public Library.

For additional information, please visit www.abbotlibrary.org, email [email protected] or call 781-631-1481.