Juan Felipe Herrera, Poet Laureate of the United States, to speak at WNMU, Silver City
Juan Felipe Herrera will give a talk about his life and work at Light Hall, WNMU on Monday November 21st. This event is free and open to the public; however, to reserve a seat you must pick up a free ticket from the WNMU Office of Cultural Affairs in Hunter Hall. If you do not pick up a free ticket, you may not be able to get a seat at the event. There will be a cocktail meet-and-greet at 5:30 p.m. on the patio, followed by the talk from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
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.
This event is co-sponsored by the WNMU Office of Cultural Affairs, the Western Institute of Lifelong Learning, and the Southwest Festival of the Written Word. For more information, please contact JJ Amaworo Wilson: jjawilson@hotmail.com or 575-956-8758.
