Juan Felipe Herrera
Encyclopedia
Juan Felipe Herrera is a poet, performer, writer, cartoonist, teacher, and activist.
The only son of María de la Luz (Lucha) Quintana and Felipe Emilio Herrera, the three were campesinos
living from crop to crop, and from tractor to trailer to tents on the roads of the San Joaquín Valley
, Southern California and the Salinas Valley
. Herrera's experiences as the child of migrant farmers have strongly shaped his work, such as the children's book Calling the Doves, which won the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award in 1997. Community and art has always been part of what has driven Herrera, beginning in the mid-seventies, when he was director of the Centro Cultural de la Raza
, an occupied water tank in Balboa Park that had been converted into an arts space for the community.
Herrera’s publications include fourteen collections of poetry, prose, short stories, young adult novels and picture books for children with twenty-one books in total in the last decade. Herrera was awarded the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award
in Poetry for Half the World in Light.
, California. His children and grandchildren live in California, Oregon and New York. The author and artist Joaquín Ramón Herrera
is his son.
, his Masters in Social Anthropology from Stanford University
, and his Masters in Fine Arts, in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa
.
, in 2005, Herrera joined the Creative Writing Department at University of California, Riverside
, as Tomás Rivera
Endowed chair, and director of the Art and Barbara Culver Center for the Arts, a new multimedia space in downtown Riverside. He was a teaching fellow with the distinction of Excellence at the University of Iowa, Writers Workshop in 1990.
in San Francisco, California, in 1983-85, develop community art and literature broadsides (1977–78) in San Diego, California, teach poetry in prisons (Soledad Correctional Facility, 1987–88). His current work focuses on working with community colleges and schools in the Riverside country and in Coachella Valley
.
and writes (poetry sequences) for the PBS television series “American Family.” His recent musical, The Upside Down Boy, was well received in New York City, produced by Making Books Sing, libretto by Barbara Zinn Krieger. Lyrics by Juan Felipe Herrera and Music by Cristian Amigo
. Mr. Herrera is a board member of the Before Columbus American Book Awards Foundation and the California Council for the Humanities.
The only son of María de la Luz (Lucha) Quintana and Felipe Emilio Herrera, the three were campesinos
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
living from crop to crop, and from tractor to trailer to tents on the roads of the San Joaquín Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
, Southern California and the Salinas Valley
Salinas Valley
The Salinas Valley lies south of San Francisco, California.The word "salina" is spanish for salt marsh, salt lake or salt pan.-Geography:The Salinas Valley runs approximately south-east from Salinas towards King City. The valley lends its name to the geologic province in which it's located, the...
. Herrera's experiences as the child of migrant farmers have strongly shaped his work, such as the children's book Calling the Doves, which won the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award in 1997. Community and art has always been part of what has driven Herrera, beginning in the mid-seventies, when he was director of the Centro Cultural de la Raza
Centro Cultural de la Raza
The Centro Cultural de la Raza is a non-profit organization with the specific mission to create, preserve, promote and educate about Chicano, Mexicano, Indigenous and Latino art and culture...
, an occupied water tank in Balboa Park that had been converted into an arts space for the community.
Herrera’s publications include fourteen collections of poetry, prose, short stories, young adult novels and picture books for children with twenty-one books in total in the last decade. Herrera was awarded the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
in Poetry for Half the World in Light.
Family
Juan Felipe Herrera lives with his partner, Margarita Robles, a poet and performance artist, in RedlandsRedlands
-Australia:*Redland City, Queensland*SCECGS Redlands, Sydney*Electoral district of Redlands-United Kingdom:*Redlands , country estate of Keith Richards, venue of the Redlands drugs bust*Redlands *Redlands...
, California. His children and grandchildren live in California, Oregon and New York. The author and artist Joaquín Ramón Herrera
Joaquín Ramón Herrera
Joaquin Ramon Herrera is an American children's writer, illustrator, photographer and musician. He was born in Los Angeles, California, Herrera is the son of writer Juan Felipe Herrera.- Published works :...
is his son.
Education
Herrera received his B.A. in Social Anthropology from the University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, his Masters in Social Anthropology from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, and his Masters in Fine Arts, in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
.
Teaching
After serving as chair of the Chicano and Latin American Studies Department at California State University, FresnoCalifornia State University, Fresno
California State University, Fresno, often referred to as Fresno State University and synonymously known in athletics as Fresno State , is one of the leading campuses of the California State University system, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, USA.The campus sits at the foot of...
, in 2005, Herrera joined the Creative Writing Department at University of California, Riverside
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of the ten general campuses of the University of California system. UCR is consistently ranked as one of the most ethnically and economically diverse universities in the United...
, as Tomás Rivera
Tomás Rivera
Tomás Rivera was a Chicano author, poet, and educator. He was born in Texas to migrant farm workers, and worked in the fields as a young boy...
Endowed chair, and director of the Art and Barbara Culver Center for the Arts, a new multimedia space in downtown Riverside. He was a teaching fellow with the distinction of Excellence at the University of Iowa, Writers Workshop in 1990.
Community Arts
Juan Felipe has received grants to teach poetry, art and performance in several different settings, including community art galleries such as the Galería de la RazaGalería de la Raza
Galería de la Raza is a non-profit art gallery and artist collective that serves the heavily-Latino population of San Francisco's Mission District. GDLR mounts exhibitions, hosts poetry readings, workshops, and celebrations, sells works of art, and sponsors youth and artist-in-residence programs...
in San Francisco, California, in 1983-85, develop community art and literature broadsides (1977–78) in San Diego, California, teach poetry in prisons (Soledad Correctional Facility, 1987–88). His current work focuses on working with community colleges and schools in the Riverside country and in Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley
Coachella Valley is a large valley landform in Southern California. The valley extends for approximately 45 miles in Riverside County southeast from the San Bernardino Mountains to the saltwater Salton Sea, the largest lake in California...
.
Awards
- Ezra Jack KeatsEzra Jack KeatsEzra Jack Keats , Caldecott-winning author of The Snowy Day, was one of the most important children's literature authors and illustrators of the 20th Century....
Award, for Calling the Doves - Hungry Mind Award of Distinction
- Americas Award
- Focal Award
- Pura BelpréPura BelpréPura Belpré was the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City. She was also a writer, collector of folktales, and puppeteer. There is some dispute as to the date of her birth which has been given as February 2, 1899, December 2, 1901 and February 2, 1903.- Education :She was born in Cidra,...
Honors Award - Smithsonian Children’s Book of the Year Award
- Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice
- IRA Teacher’s Choice
- LA Times Book Award Nomination
- Texas Blue Bonnet Nomination
- New York Public Library Outstanding Book for High School Students Award
- two Latino Hall of Fame Poetry Awards
- two National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Writers’ Fellowship Awards - four California Arts Council grants
- UC Berkeley Regent’s Fellowship
- Breadloaf Fellowship in Poetry
- Stanford Chicano Fellows Fellowship
- 2008 National Book Critics Circle AwardNational Book Critics Circle AwardThe National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
in Poetry for Half the World in Light - 2009 PEN/Beyond Margins Award
- 2010 Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
Film and Stage
Herrera produced “The Twin Tower Songs,” a San Joaquin Valley performance memorial on the September 11, 2001 attacksSeptember 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
and writes (poetry sequences) for the PBS television series “American Family.” His recent musical, The Upside Down Boy, was well received in New York City, produced by Making Books Sing, libretto by Barbara Zinn Krieger. Lyrics by Juan Felipe Herrera and Music by Cristian Amigo
Cristian Amigo
Cristian Amigo is an American composer, improviser, guitarist, and ethnomusicologist of Chilean birth. His compositional output includes music for the stage and screen, chamber and orchestral music, opera, avant-jazz and rock music, country blues, and art/pop song. His work has been published by...
. Mr. Herrera is a board member of the Before Columbus American Book Awards Foundation and the California Council for the Humanities.
Theater
Juan Felipe Herrera founded a number of performance ensemble during the last three decades: Teatro Tolteca (UCLA, 1971 – a choreopoem theatre utilizing jazz, spoken-word and movement), TROKA ( Bay Area, 1983, a percussion/spoken word ensemble, Teatro Zapata, (Fresno, Ca., 1990 – a student community theatre), Manikrudo: Raw Essence ( Fresno, Ca., 1993, a culturally diverse, performance art ensemble and workshop), Teatro Ambulante de Salud/The Traveling Health Theatre (2003, Fresno, Ca. for migrant communities in the San Joaquin Valley) and Verbal Coliseum – A Spoken Word Ensemble (UC Riverside, 2006), “Prison Journal,” an experimental play was featured at the Univ. of Iowa Playwright’s Festival, 1990. Latin@ Theatre/Movement & Improv training: Luis Valdez/Teatro Campesino, Enrique Buenaventura, Rodrigo Duarte-Clark, Olivia Chumacero, Jorge Huerta, James Donlon.External links
- Biography at Harper Collins
- Biography at Scholastic
- "An Interview with Juan Felipe Herrera", Parents Choice
- Juan Felipe Herrera Nov. 2007, footage of Juan’s reading at the Ruskin Arts Center in Los Angeles, Nov. 2007