Former U.S. Poet Laureate to Visit Hancock
APRIL 20, 2026-- Allan Hancock College will welcome acclaimed poet and former U.S. Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera for a special poetry reading and community zine workshop April 24 from 4 to 6 p.m. in Boyd Concert Hall (bldg. F) on the Santa Maria campus.
The free event, which is open to the public, will offer attendees the opportunity to hear from one of the nation’s most influential literary voices and participate in a collaborative, hands-on creative workshop.
Herrera, the son of farmworkers, was born in Fowler, California, and has spent more than five decades shaping American poetry through his writing, teaching, and community engagement. He served as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2015 to 2017, becoming the first Mexican American to hold the position, and previously served as California’s Poet Laureate.
Over the course of his career, Herrera has authored more than 30 books across multiple genres, including his recent poetry collections Every Day We Get More Illegal and Akrílica. His work has earned numerous honors, including the National Book Critics Circle Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the 2022 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in American poetry.
Herrera’s influence extends beyond the page. His poem “Sunriders” was included in the NASA Lucy spacecraft mission launched in 2021, and his visual art has been exhibited in galleries across California. A longtime educator, he is a professor emeritus at California State University, Fresno, and continues to support creative expression through his work with the Laureate Lab Visual Wordist Studio.
The April 24 event at Hancock will combine a public reading of Herrera’s work with a community zine workshop, inviting participants to explore their own voices through poetry and collaborative art-making.
The event will take place in Boyd Concert Hall (Building F) at Allan Hancock College, located at 800 S. College Drive in Santa Maria. Admission is free.
