Juan Felipe Herrera (December 27,, 1948 – ) is the first Chicano U.S. Poet Laureate; he served from 2015 to 2017. He is the author of twenty-eight books, including young adult novels, children’s books, musicals, and plays. Herrera is the recipient of the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship in poetry. In 2012, he was appointed California Poet Laureate. In 2011, Herrera was elected a Chancellor of the Academy of American Poets.
