Skip to content
Juan Felipe Herrera and JJ Wilson read together at Light Hall, WNMU
Photo by Stewart Hale for Silver City Daily Press and Independent

The former Poet Laureate of the United States, Juan Felipe Herrera, has joined the Advisory Board for the Southwest Festival of the Written Word. Herrera, the U.S.’s first Chicano Poet Laureate, memorably performed at Light Hall, WNMU, in 2016 for the festival. On several occasions since then, he has expressed his kinship with our small community.

Herrera is the son of migrant farmworkers, and his childhood experiences are reflected in his work, which includes poetry, prose, Young Adult novels, theater pieces, and picture books for children. His focus on community and his commitment to issues of social justice make him a perfect fit for the festival.
Besides his laureateship, Herrera is a much-garlanded author. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/Beyond the Margins Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Breadloaf Fellowship, and an honorary doctorate from Oregon State University.
He lives in Fresno, California.

Disclaimer:
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Southwest Word Fiesta™ or its steering committee.

TOSC-ANIMATION2
Enriching Life Through Learning in Community

We respectfully acknowledge that the entirety of southwestern New Mexico is the traditional territory, since time immemorial, of the Chis-Nde, also known as the people of the Chiricahua Apache Nation. The Chiricahua Apache Nation is recognized as a sovereign Native Nation by the United States in the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Friendship of 1 July 1852 (10 Stat. 979) (Treaty of Santa Fe ratified 23 March 1853 and proclaimed by President Franklin Pierce 25 March 1853).

Related Articles

Mimbres Press Logo Large

Mimbres Press of Western New Mexico University is a traditional academic press that welcomes agented and unagented submissions in the following genres: literary fiction, creative non-fiction, essays, memoir, poetry, children’s books, historical fiction, and academic books. We are particularly interested in academic work and commercial work with a strong social message, including but not limited to works of history, reportage, biography, anthropology, culture, human rights, and the natural world. We will also consider selective works of national and global significance.