My mother was a great storyteller and a great historian in her own way. She only made it to third grade. She came from Mexico City at the tail end of the Mexican Revolution and that kind of turmoil and chaos and frenzy and also excitement. Juan Felipe Herrera chaoscityend share on social
I tell my workshop students, 'I want you to think of yourselves as artists. Then, when you're writing, you're painting, you're crafting, you're making a design, you're sculpting, you're creating choreography, sound, a sound script.' Juan Felipe Herrera artistchoreographycraft share on social
I've worked throughout California as a poet: in colleges, universities, worker camps, migrant education offices, continuation high schools, juvenile halls, prisons, and gifted classrooms. Juan Felipe Herrera californiacampclassroom Change image and share on social
I write while I'm walking, on little scraps of paper. If I have a melody going, I can feel it for days. Juan Felipe Herrera dayfeelmelody Change image and share on social
Poetry, as odd as it is, and as hard to figure out as it is, many times, it's almost something that we're used to. It's kind of like a dream language that we had centuries ago, so that when we speak poetically or write a poem about what's going on, a real difficult issue that's facing our communities, people listen. Juan Felipe Herrera agocenturycommunity share on social
The more we engage in society, the more firsts we have, then there will be a moment when we have no more firsts. Or maybe there will always be new firsts. Juan Felipe Herrera engagefirstmoment Change image and share on social
Just like my parents immigrated from ranch to ranch picking crops, I have migrated from city to city. Juan Felipe Herrera citycropimmigrate Change image and share on social
Diversity really means becoming complete as human beings - all of us. We learn from each other. If you're missing on that stage, we learn less. We all need to be on that stage. Juan Felipe Herrera beingcompletediversity Change image and share on social
I want our young Latinos and Latinas to write their hearts out and express their hearts out and let us all listen to each other. Juan Felipe Herrera expressheartlatinas Change image and share on social