I remember looking at James Joyce's journals. It was just amazing - it looked like ants had written on the page. So much writing on one page, every corner of the page was filled. Some of the lines were underlined in yellow or blue or red. A lot of color, intense writing. Juan Felipe Herrera amazeantblue share on social
I'm very grateful to all the people of Fresno, to Philip Levine and all the poets before me, and all the farmworkers. I didn't get here by myself. Juan Felipe Herrera farmworkerfresnograteful Change image and share on social
Marvin Bell always looked very closely at how lines could break, how you could put over one line into the second line. How you could stop the line two or three times within the line: You could make it stop. Juan Felipe Herrera bellbreakclosely share on social
San Diego shaped me a lot. The visual landscapes, the emotional panoramas, the teachers and mentors I had from the third grade through San Diego High - it's all a big part of the poetry fountain that I continue to drink from. Juan Felipe Herrera bigcontinuediego share on social
Sometimes I have a very fleeting emotional dance with a fleeting phrase, like 'half-Mexican.' Juan Felipe Herrera danceemotionalfleet Change image and share on social
I'm usually writing in English, and then I'll get the hankering to change channels. And usually I'll do that when I want to try a whole new set of keys, like musical keys. Juan Felipe Herrera changechannelenglish Change image and share on social
I am representing California, and all of California, definitely as a Mexicano, a Chicano, a Latino. Juan Felipe Herrera californiachicanolatino Change image and share on social
The banner of the project is 'Casa de Colores.' Under that banner, I'm going to invite people to do a lot of good things. Perhaps working in groups, working on poetry. Juan Felipe Herrera bannercasacolore Change image and share on social
Let's detox our cluttered academic brain. That's what the poet does. People call it daydreaming, detoxing our minds and taking care of that clutter. It's being able to let in call letters from the poetry universe. Juan Felipe Herrera academicbraincall share on social
I know I'm representing the Library of Congress, all the people of the United States and, of course, the Latinos and Latinas as well. Juan Felipe Herrera congresslatinaslatino Change image and share on social
