The Poet Laureate for the United States will be speaking at Light Hall on Monday, November 21, a free event to the public.
The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with a cocktail meet and greet on Light Hall Patio, followed by a lecture at 6:30 p.m. inside Light Hall Auditorium.
Juan Felipe Herrera is the 21st Poet Laureate of the United States (2015-2016) and is the first Latino to hold the position. From 2012-2014, Herrera served as California State Poet Laureate.
Herrera’s many collections of poetry include Notes on the Assemblage; Senegal Taxi; Half of the World in Light: New and Selected Poems, a recipient of the PEN/Beyond Margins Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross The Border: Undocuments 1971-2007. He is also the author of Crashboomlove: A Novel in Verse, which received the Americas Award.
His books of prose for children include: SkateFate, Calling The Doves, which won the Ezra Jack Keats Award; Upside Down Boy, which was adapted into a musical for young audiences in New York City; and Cinnamon Girl: Letters Found Inside a Cereal Box.
Herrera is also a performance artist and activist on behalf of migrant and indigenous communities and at-risk youth.
Seating for the event is limited and advanced tickets are encouraged for attendees. Tickets are available in the Office of Cultural Affairs, located in Hunter Hall. The event is sponsored by the Office of Cultural Affairs, Western Institute for Lifelong Learning, and the Southwest Festival of the Written Word.
For more information, visit http://wnmu.edu/culture.