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Poet laureate emphasizes passion

Juan Felipe Herrera spoke at the Frederick Douglass Human Rights lecture at Morgan auditorium Monday Feb. 27. Herrera read poetry, played the harmonica, shared personal stories, and spoke in Frederick Douglass’ honor. Born to migrant farmers in Mexico, Herrera has served as United States Poet Laureate since 2015. Herrera has published 21 books of poetry, children’s picture books and young adult novels./ photo by Alexandra Arkley
Juan Felipe Herrera spoke at the Frederick Douglass Human Rights lecture at Morgan auditorium Monday Feb. 27. Herrera read poetry, played the harmonica, shared personal stories, and spoke in Frederick Douglass’ honor. Born to migrant farmers in Mexico, Herrera has served as United States Poet Laureate since 2015. Herrera has published 21 books of poetry, children’s picture books and young adult novels./ photo by Alexandra Arkley

Tyler Evains
Staff Writer

The first Mexican-American U.S. poet laureate presented the Frederick Douglass Human Rights Lecture Monday evening in Morgan Auditorium.

“The Frederick Douglass Human Rights Lecture was created to highlight the importance of human rights principles to the students and community across intersecting disciplinary approaches,” Lawrence Potter, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said.

The Monday lecture was part of the Lyceum series was designed to promote dialogue about pressing topics such as human rights beyond ULV’s walls through the work and words of activists, authors, contemporary scholars, artists and community leaders, Potter said.

The duty of the U.S. poet laureate is to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry, according to The Library of Congress.

The poet laureate shares through his or her poetry the issues that the nation is facing and how those affected overcome them.

The speaker was introduced with 10 reasons why Herrera’s work is important to the U.S. and the University. Among those reasons were that as a Hispanic serving institution, ULV lacks ethnic and gender studies programs; that all art has a way of humanizing the other; and that because Google and Wikipedia teach us more about our own cultures than school does.

Our school system and society have led Black and Latino people to believe that their struggles lie on separate axes.

Herrera explained how Douglass did not only see the horrific things during slavery in his autobiographies.

“The slave world was tucked away and not to be seen by regular society,” Herrera said.

This reminded him of his childhood.

“Being a campesino child, I thought, ‘we never went to the city’,” Herrera said.

Herrera’s parents were migrant farmers, and the rural area the family lived in was unseen to the urban population.

He told stories of setting fire to ant hills and hurting animals for his own enjoyment. No one knew they were there or what was going on, just like the brutality imposed on slaves, Herrera explained.

Douglass got his first inkling of knowledge which developed a hunger for more, Herrera said. He traded biscuits and bread for new words to build his treasury. Similarly, Herrera’s father bought words for pennies from fellow field workers. Herrera impersonated his father’s raspy voice and mocked his slow and careful delivery of new English words like water.

Throughout the lecture, Herrera read poems he wrote related to the topic of human rights. “Almost Livin’, Almost Dyin.’” He last performed “America, Stop Deporting Us.” Herrera asked the audience to say “America” after every line he read.

“America, have you read the Constitution lately?” Herrera said. “America, loosen up before you tear up your chonies. America, you’re fracking me.”

Herrera emphasized that finding one’s voice is the first step to finding passion and making changes in the world.

“Everyone has a beautiful voice, that’s why I’m here,” Herrera said.

He didn’t find his until seventh grade. His teacher, Mrs. Sampson called him up to speak in front of the class.

When he wouldn’t budge, she asked him to sing a song instead. “I’m right here with you,” she said.

Herrera sang a simple nursery rhyme and his voice only grew from there.

More than just the sound, the words themselves, the meaning behind them and delivery of the words are what makes a voice powerful.

“I think I became a writer by finding a purpose in my life,” Herrera said.

He never thought he would be a poet, but he fell in love with sharing encouragement and knowledge through poetry.

Alumna Jackie Perez attended the lecture because she fell in love with Herrera’s passion when she heard him speak in Washington, D.C., Perez was invited to a small seminar featuring Herrera through her internship with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.

“When I found out he was coming to La Verne I felt hope,” Perez said. “My two worlds came together.”

Perez said she was encouraged to tell her story through writing after interacting with Herrera.

“When people say tell your story, you first need a platform, but I never thought mine would be writing,” Perez said.

Tyler Evains can be reached at tyler.evains@laverne.edu.

Tyler Evains, Editorial Director
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