On (Not) Attending Richard Blanco's Talk

Like many members of the Clark community, I trudged through icy slush to the Traina Arts Center’s Razzo Hall on Monday, January 20, looking forward to attending a presentation by poet Richard Blanco. Having been Obama’s inaugural poet exactly one year previous and having a unique perspective on what it means to be an American, Blanco seemed a perfect choice to speak on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Evidently, I was not the only one who thought so. By the time I arrived for the 4:00 presentation, at roughly 3:50, the doors to Razzo Hall had been closed and the lobby was packed. I was told that there were going to be attempts to stream the speech on screens in the lobby for those who could not fit in Razzo. After waiting around a few minutes, I ultimately decided it was not worth it. If the event was going to be streamed, I thought, it would also be recorded and I could watch it at a time when I did not have quite as much homework.

Upon coming in to work at the English Department yesterday, I found out that the presentation was actually not recorded for the reason that it had moved locations to Jefferson 320 mere minutes after I gave up and left. So not only was I unable to attend the talk, I had missed it by that much, and would never be able to view a recording. To add insult to injury, it also turned out that, had I stayed, I probably would have been in the front for Blanco’s speech because the last to arrive at Razzo were the first to arrive at Jefferson.

If there was any consolation to be found, it was in the lovely article written by Jim Keogh for the Clark University website that recapped the presentation and reception that followed. If you too did not make it, or perhaps went and would like to reminisce, check it out!

http://news.clarku.edu/news/2014/01/22/inaugural-poet-richard-blanco-packs-the-house-twice/