I had the honor to serve at the judges table for the State Championships for POL again this year. Click through here to read about my adventures.
Tag: Poetry Out Loud
California’s Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera
Again today I am lucky in my search for a great poem and poet to share on the Cupertino Poetry Exchange. Juan Felipe Herrara is the current California Poet Laureate — and if ever there was a cheerleader for poetry, this is the guy.
Earlier this week, Central Coast Public Radio, KUSP, hosted an interview with Juan Felipe on their Poetry Show. (Can we all just pause in wonder and admiration right now for a radio show with a “poetry show”???!!!)
It’s a delightful interview and Sr. Herrera also reads a couple of his poems. So, please, take a break, listen to the interview and poetry, and if you want more information about what this amazing energizer bunny for poetry is doing, visit his website and explore his projects. Here’s what he says about his life:
I grew up on the farm worker migrant trail. Marshall Elementary in SF, San Diego High. Attended UCLA, Stanford and the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Write in many genres. Twenty-nine books. Have received a number of awards, most recent the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Guggenheim Fellowship. Abundant gratitude to my parents, families, teachers and students on many roads. Trees, animals, rivers and clouds. Gracias.
Let Me Tell You What a Poem Brings
for Charles Fishman
I was very very fortunate to meet Sr. Herrera first at a California Poets in the Schools symposium last summer, and then to work with him again in March at the California State Poetry Out Loud Championship events in Sacramento. Here’s a photo of me (in the middle) with Brandon Cesmat (to the left, former CPitS board member) and Juan Felipe (shocked and amazed by the amazing students poetry performers and our exhaustion).
You can learn more about Juan Felipe at Poets.org and PoetryFoundation.org.
California State Poetry Out Loud Finals
California State Poetry Out Loud Finals (Brochure)
California POL website. Thanks to the California Arts Council.
I’ll be one of the judging team (technically the prompter) at this exciting event this weekend in Sacramento. I’m so excited!
Learn more about this amazing program here.