Introducing the United States First Latino Poet Laureate

Born the son of migrant farmworkers, the poet Juan Felipe Herrera now has the country's highest honor in poetry. The Library of Congress announced on Wednesday that the author of 28 books of poetry and novels will become the first Latino poet laureate of the United States. Herrera will succeed Charles Wright in the country’s highest honor in poetry. Herrera was the poet laureate of California from 2012 to 2015.
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said in a statement, calling Herrera a “an American original. ”I see how they champion vices, traditions and histories, as well as cultural perspective, which is a vital part of our larger American identity.”