The Prince of los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood

A poignant, hilarious, and inspiring memoir from the first Latino and openly gay inaugural poet, which explores his coming-of-age as the child of Cuban immigrants and his attempts to understand his place in America while grappling with his burgeoning artistic and sexual identities.

Richard Blanco€s childhood and adolescence were experienced between two imaginary worlds: his parents€ nostalgic world of 1950s Cuba and his imagined America, the country he saw on reruns of The Brady Bunch and Leave it to Beaver€"an €œexotic€ life he yearned for as much as he yearned to see €œla patria.€

Navigating these worlds eventually led Blanco to question his cultural identity through words; in turn, his vision as a writer€"as an artist€"prompted the courage to accept himself as a gay man. In this moving, contemplative memoir, the 2013 inaugural poet traces his poignant, often hilarious, and quintessentially American coming-of-age and the people who influenced him.

A prismatic and lyrical narrative rich with the colors, sounds, smells, and textures of Miami, Richard Blanco€s personal narrative is a resonant account of how he discovered his authentic self and ultimately, a deeper understanding of what it means to be American. His is a singular yet universal story that beautifully illuminates the experience of €œbecoming;€ how we are shaped by experiences, memories, and our complex stories: the humor, love, yearning, and tenderness that define a life.