Juan Felipe Herrera

Son of farmworkers, Juan Felipe lives in Fresno with his wife, poet, Margarita Robles. During the last fifty years he has dedicated his life to poetry, community, art and teaching. In the last ten years, he has been the Poetry Laureate of the United States and California. His awards include the National Book Critic’s Circle Award, Guggenheim Fellowship, LA Times Robert Kirsch Award, Latino Hall of Fame Award, Pushcart Prize, UCLA Chancellor’s Medal and the UC-Riverside Lifetime Award.  The Juan Felipe Herrera Elementary School is scheduled to open in Fresno in the Fall of 2021. One of his inspiration poems will be placed in the capsule of the NASA Lucy robotic Spacecraft this Fall. With over thirty books in various genres, his recent work is Every Day We Get More Illegal (City Lights Publishers). Graduate of UCLA, Stanford, University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop.