Songs for America

🎟 This event is FREE and open to the public! An RSVP grants general entry, but seating is not guaranteed, so please try and show up early. Please RSVP only if you intend to join us.

Join Nicole Tallman, Poetry Ambassador for Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, for a special National Poetry Month performance of Songs for America. Featuring Miami poets Richard Blanco, Oscar Fuentes (The Biscayne Poet), Jen Karetnick, Caridad Moro-Gronlier, Trey Rhone, Rani Ruado, and Nicole Tallman, the program will commemorate the 250th anniversary of America’s founding through a dynamic integration of poetry and live music.

Poets: Richard Blanco, Oscar Fuentes (The Biscayne Poet), Jen Karetnick, Caridad Moro-Gronlier, Trey Rhone, Rani Ruado, and Nicole Tallman

Nicole Tallman serves as the official Poetry Ambassador for Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a position she has held since April 2021. In this role, Nicole created the County's very-first Poet Laureate program and works to celebrate and elevate poetry and poets, connect community, and promote literacy. Nicole is the author of four poetry collections, including her latest: Dolce Vita/Let There Be a Little Light. She also serves as poetry and interviews editor for South Florida Poetry Journal, creator and co-host of the Lunchtime Poetry & Jazz Series at Miami-Dade County’s Main Library, and communications director for JackLeg Press. Find her on social media @natallman.

Rani Ruado (he/they) is an award-winning poet, baker, first-generation Filipino-American, teacher, secretary, songstress, and amateur grandma. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he is a recent graduate of FIU’s Creative Writing MFA program. If you ever need a karaoke partner, he is always available!

Oscar Fuentes (The Biscayne Poet) was born in Manhattan to Honduran immigrant parents and is a Miami-based multidisciplinary artist with over 30 years in the arts. His latest book, Geography of Light (2026), explores family and memory. He is the author of 13 books, including Relics of the Heart (2024) and Poetry City (2025). He appeared on The Real Housewives of Miami, showcasing his typewriter poetry. Oscar hosts a poet-in-residence program at 1 Hotel South Beach and received the Miami-Dade Mayoral Poetry Commendation from Daniella Levine Cava.

Caridad Moro-Gronlier is the recipient of an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship (2025) for her work as Poet Laureate of Miami-Dade County (2024–2026). She is the author of Visionware (2009), Tortillera (2021), Through the Lens (2026) and As to Your Comment forthcoming in 2027 from Texas Review Press. A community-driven poet, Caridad’s public work includes collaborations with cultural, educational, and civic institutions throughout South Florida. She is a Senior Editor of SWWIM Every Day and Poetry Curator-at-Large for The Betsy’s Writer’s Room. Her work has been featured by NPR, The Academy of American Poets, The Knight Foundation, and others.

Trey Rhone is a queer Black writer who hails from Augusta, Georgia, but now resides in Miami, Florida. He currently has an MFA from Florida International University. His work has appeared and is forthcoming in The Blue Mountain Review, Broadsided Press, BULL, Daily Drunk Magazine, Florida Review, Frozen Sea, MAYDAY, Olney Magazine, and Stirring Lit. If he isn't ranting about the latest music release, ask him to tell you a fun fact about his favorite animal, the possum.

Richard Blanco was selected as the fifth Presidential Inaugural Poet in U.S. history, and was the youngest, the first Latinx, immigrant, and gay person to serve in that role. In 2023, Richard was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden. Born in Madrid to Cuban exile parents and raised in Miami, where he served as the County’s inaugural Poet Laureate from April 2022-2024, cultural identity characterizes his many collections of award-winning poetry, including his most recent collection, Homeland of My Body. Richard serves as Education Ambassador for The Academy of American Poets and is an Associate Professor at Florida International University.

Jen Karetnick is the author of 13 collections of poetry, including Inheritance with a High Error Rate (January 2024), winner of the 2022 Cider Press Review Book Award. Forthcoming books include Organ Language (Lit Fox Books, September 2026) and Domiciliary (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, October 2026). She is the recipient of more than a dozen grants, fellowships, and residencies. The co-founder and managing editor of SWWIM Every Day, she has forthcoming work in New Ohio Review, North American Review, Plume, South Dakota Review, and elsewhere. See jkaretnick.com.

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