Full Name
Anne Irza-Leggat
Job Title
Educational Marketing Manager
Company
Candlewick Press
Bio

Juan Felipe Herrera, the twenty-first United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, is the author of acclaimed works of prose and poetry for both children and adults.

During his laureateship Herrera traveled widely and became known for his energy, enthusiasm, and desire to include everyday citizens in the joyous work of creating literature. Continuing his long career as an educator, Herrera encouraged writers of all ages to participate in such projects as “La Casa de Colores” (“The House of Colors”), which invited Americans to contribute to a collaborative epic poem, pairing that work with treasures from the Library of Congress’s collections, a Chicago Public School program, Wordstreet Champions and Brave Builders of the Dream, and the Laureate Lab Visual Words Studio.

The son of migrant farmworkers, Herrera has credited his mother and engaged teachers with encouraging him to write poetry. His work Imagine, a buoyant, breathtaking poem, speaks to every dreaming heart imagining where life might take them. He has received many honors, including a PEN Center USA Poetry Award, two Américas Awards, two Pura Belpré Author Award Honors, an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award, and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement.

Juan Felipe Herrera lives in California.

Anne Irza-Leggat