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Although the man
and his work will

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be familiar to
many of you, we can

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be very proud to welcome Juan
Felipe Herrera back to Tucson

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today, especially
because it was just

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announced on Thursday
night in New York

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that he is the winner this year
of the National Book Critics

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Circle Award for poetry.

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[APPLAUSE]

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This is his book, Half
of the World in Light,

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which is the prize winner.

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I want to point out
to you that this

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is a product of our own
University of Arizona Press.

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[APPLAUSE]

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Part of it is a bargain
because it includes

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not only the written word
selected for many of his books,

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but also as part
of the package, you

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get a CD of Mr. Herrera reading
his work from many other books

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as well.

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So I want to plug
this book but also

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to tell you he has
another new book

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out from City Lights
Publishing, 187 Reasons

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Mexicanos Can't
Cross the Border.

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Juan Felipe Herrera is
no stranger to awards,

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nor can many poets claim so
much success and recognition

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in a career not only established
but also outlaw diverse.

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In addition to nearly 30
books, some for children

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and adolescents, as well as
many more for adult readers,

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Mr. Herrera has written
plays and libretto

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for musical theater.

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And he has founded theatrical
and musical performance

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ensembles in Los Angeles,
Fresno, San Diego, the Bay

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Area.

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And I'm not even sure
that's a complete list.

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In addition to a lifetime of
involvement in community arts

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outreach, he has enjoyed
a diverse teaching career.

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Today, he occupies the
Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair

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at the University of
California, Riverside.

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And he serves as Director
of the Art in Barbara Culver

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Center for the Arts in
downtown Riverside, California.

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His awards include two National
Foundation for the Arts writers

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fellowships, four
California Arts Council

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grants, the Berkeley Regents
fellowship, numerous poetry

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awards, and best book selections
in both Bread Loaf and Stanford

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fellowships.

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He received his BA in Social
Anthropology from UCLA,

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his Master's from Stanford,
and an MFA in creative writing

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from the University of Iowa.

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An early and active participant
in the Chicano Movimiento,

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Juan Felipe Herrera's
poems are grounded

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in the personal
experiences of his family

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and the political and social
life of Chicano culture,

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yet the influences on his
writing are cosmopolitan.

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One reviewer compares
his use of slang

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and the long discursive
line to Allen Ginsberg.

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Herrera himself has recently
described both nature

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and culture as the
sources of inspiration

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and claims an interest
in post-war poets

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of Central Eastern Europe.

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Anyway, I thought I
would try to give you

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a stylistic description
of his work,

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but it's really
impossible to pigeonhole.

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There's a strong element
of spoken-word poetry.

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But also, he's
written sensitively

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in academic forms in
both English and Spanish.

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He's had experiments
in language poetry

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and conceptual and concrete
modes, which are also apparent

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in his work.

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And so like you, I'm curious
and excited to see what he will

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honor us with this afternoon.

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[APPLAUSE]

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