Through conversation and exercises we’ll take a deep dive into the golden rule of writing poetry, “show don’t tell.” Though it’s a familiar rule we often apply instinctually, we’ll examine how it truly works and why, in order to gain a stronger, more purposeful command of it. In this context, we’ll also explore the dynamics between poet, poem, and reader. We’ll apply these discoveries by starting poems grounded in place and time, thinking about the relationship between the physical, tangible landscapes that we “show” and what they “tell” or convey about the intangible emotional landscapes at the heart of a poem.

Richard Blanco, the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history, is the youngest and the first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in that role. Born in Spain to Cuban exile parents, he was raised in Miami. The negotiation of cultural identity characterizes his four collections of poetry: “City of a Hundred Fires,” “Directions to The Beach of the Dead,” “Looking for The Gulf Motel” and his latest book of poems, “How to Love a Country.” His memoir “The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood” won a Lambda Literary Award. “One Today,” his inaugural poem, was published as a children’s book. He has a home in Bethel.