San Marcos,
17
October
2013
|
13:04 PM
America/Los_Angeles

Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera to Visit CSUSM, Tuesday, Oct. 29

Media Advisory by Margaret Chantung

Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera will visit CSUSM for a special event, free and open to the public, on Tuesday, Oct. 29. On Tuesday, Oct. 29 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) will welcome Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, the first Chicano/Latino poet laureate of California, for an event titled, “From Vista to Laureateville: A Reading and Conversation” in the Arts Building, Room 111. It is free and open to the public.

Juan Felipe Herrera is an award-winning writer who was named California Poet Laureate in March 2012. 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 CSUSM event will include a conversation with Juan Felipe Herrera as well as a book signing.

This event is part of the College of Humanities, Arts, Social and Behavioral Sciences’ Engaging Diverse Dialogues Initiative in partnership with the Faculty Center's Diversity Faculty Learning Community and co-sponsored by the Office of Graduate Studies and Research; the Faculty Center; Dean of Students Office; College of Education, Health & Human Services; Office of Diversity Educational Equity and Inclusion and the CSUSM Library. 

About Juan Felipe Herrera

Herrera joined the University of California Riverside Department of Creative Writing in 2005. The son of migrant farm workers, he is known for chronicling the bittersweet lives, travails and contributions of Mexican Americans. He holds a B.A. in social anthropology from UCLA, an M.A. in social anthropology from Stanford University, and an M.F.A. in poetry from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Herrera has published numerous volumes of poetry, prose, theater, children's books and young adult novels, among them “Half of the World in Light: New and Selected Poems” (University of Arizona, 2008), which received the PEN/Beyond Margins Award, the International Latino Award in poetry and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has been elected to the Board of Chancellors of the Academy of American Poets and has received the Guggenheim Fellowship in poetry, fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the California Arts Council, and the UC Berkeley Regent's Fellowship. Other honors include the Breadloaf Fellowship in Poetry, the Stanford Chicano Fellows Fellowship, the Ezra Jack Keats Award, the Hungry Mind Award of Distinction and the Focal Award.

What: From Vista to Laureateville: A Reading and Conversation with Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera

When: Tuesday, Oct. 29 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. (Book signing at 7 p.m.) Where: California State University San Marcos, 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Rd., San Marcos in the Arts Building, Room 111 For more information on parking and directions, visit www.csusm.edu/guide.

Why: To encourage healthy lifestyles for individuals of all ages as well as raise awareness of and garner support for individuals who provide care to family members of all ages.