What can poetry do? It can bring joy. It can give comfort. Poetry can also help people better understand themselves. It did that for Ricardo Alberto Maldonado. Maldonado grew up in Puerto Rico. He used poetry “to figure out how I felt.” In 2023, Maldonado became the president of the Academy of American Poets. He’s the first Hispanic person to have that job.
News-O-Matic (NOM): What got you into poetry in Puerto Rico?
Maldonado: My teachers always made me read poems. For some reason, I knew what those words were saying. It felt very special that I could. When I was in high school, my dad died. I felt very lonely. Poetry gave me the opportunity to have conversations about my dad and about his death and to figure out how I felt. Poetry helped me see all of it — the tears, the joy, those moments where I felt lonely.
NOM: What do you do at the Academy of American Poets?
Maldonado: I talk about poetry — and the things that poetry can do. I’m reading poems, talking about poems, talking to poets, giving money to poets, and putting more poetry into the world.
NOM: Do you have to be an adult to be a poet?
Maldonado: Poetry is something you can do now. You do not have to wait until you’re older. Your words and experiences are important. We need to hear your stories. They are part of the way that we talk about our communities. Your voices should be a part of those conversations. You can be part of that through poetry.
NOM: How can students get better at poetry?
Maldonado: When you start something, you’re not an expert. It takes a few years to know what you’re doing. Same with poetry. It takes time to learn. But you have to
in yourself. It’s important to know what art means — and how to use art to say something.
NOM: What poets did you love when you were young?
Maldonado: I liked poets that rhymed. They reminded me of songs, and the Puerto Rican tradition comes from song. And it felt a part of my people. In the Puerto Rican tradition, there’s a lot of décimas. That’s a form of poetry that’s sung,
by guitar. I remember falling in love with that. I loved “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A.E. Houseman. I read it right after my father died. The poem is about, “How do we remember those who have died?” I felt like that poem was written for me. I found myself in it. After, I was hooked. I couldn’t stop reading poetry.
NOM: Does Puerto Rico have a strong connection to poetry?
Maldonado: We are a reading culture. I keep meeting Puerto Rican poets. There are Latino writers all over. I’m part of a
community of Latin American poets in the United States. We are reminding this country that we’re part of the national fabric. We’re part of the story and have always been.
NOM: How often should you read poetry?
Maldonado: Every day. It will make you feel part of a community. All those Latino poets reminded me that I was not alone.
NOM: What does it mean to be the first Hispanic president of the Academy of American Poets?
Maldonado: I’m here to honor the work of Latino poets and poets of all backgrounds. I may be the first Latino president of the Academy of American Poets. But I haven’t been the first Latino poet in the organization. There are great people like Juan Felipe Herrera and Natalie Diaz. We all belong in the art form. We’re all part of poetry.
NOM: Do you write in Spanish or English?
Maldonado: I grew up speaking both languages. I started writing poetry in English. Much later I started writing in Spanish. It started after Hurricane Maria hit in Puerto Rico in 2017. That’s when I felt the deep
of trying to write a poem that people back home could understand. I’ve been writing in Spanish ever since. Then I translate my poems into English.
NOM: How can students connect to poetry?
Maldonado: Poetry is for everybody. Chances are, there’s a poem that will speak to you. You just got to find it. Sometimes it takes a bit of searching. Listen to a poem. Think what you like about that poem and what you don’t. Write your own poem!
NOM: What do you love about Puerto Rico?
Maldonado: Everything. I love that I feel at home there. Puerto Rican culture has always been concerned with home. I feel very much a part of it — even when I’m afar.
Updated October 9, 2023, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
