An Afternoon of Poetry with Juan Felipe Herrera California Poet Laureate

In celebration of National Poetry Month, the Latino Arts Network of California and Latino Heritage will be hosting Poet Laureate, Juan Felipe Herrera, the first Chicano/Latino poet laureate of California.  Since his appointment by Governor Jerry Brown last year, Juan Felipe Herrera has been traveling the state eliciting words, stanzas and poems from the public and urging Californians to get involved with poetry and celebrate its vital place in American culture.

The afternoon will include a conversation with Juan Felipe Herrera where he will present the work created with Pasadena youth as well as his various other projects such as LoWriters, El Pan Dulce Rebellion and Unity Poems on PoemFlow. The event will also include a brief interview/Q&A with Maestro Herrera moderated by actress Rose Portillo, followed by an “Exquisite Corpse” collaborative literary exercise with the audience, on the meaning and power of UNITY.

1:30pm - Doors Open
2:00pm - Program

Admission is FREE, but RSVPs are required.

Juan Felipe Herrera - In the late sixties, Juan Felipe Herrera became involved with the new socially centered poetics and the street teatro Civil Rights movement – reading and performing at schools, prisons, farm worker camps and in many college campuses across the nation. With over forty years on the road and twenty-nine books published in poetry, spoken word, novels for young adults and collections for children, he continues to work for all audiences. His recent awards for his writing include the Guggenheim Fellowship, the National Book Critic’s Circle Award, the Latino International Award, the PEN USA award and the Josephine Miles Pen/ Oakland Award.  He is a member of the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poetry.  He served as the Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair for seven years and is currently professor of creative writing at UC-Riverside.  Juan Felipe’s favorite color is Chile Verde green and he says, “If you want to write for the people pour kindness inside every word.”

Sponsors: This program is brought to you by the Latino Arts Network of California, Latino Heritage, and is supported in part by the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission, City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division and the California Arts Council.