Stanislaus State alumnus Lee Herrick is on a two-year mission to spread the art of poetry across California, inspire an emerging generation of literary artists and educate all Californians about the many poets and authors who have influenced creative literary expression in the state.
It’s a tall job. But Herrick is the California Poet Laureate, and that’s the job description.
A Fresno City College professor who graduated from Stan State with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1994 and a master’s degree in English in 1997, Herrick was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in November to be the state’s 10th poet laureate and the first Asian American in the role.
Shortly before making the appointment, the governor and First Partner Jennifer Seibel Newsom visited Herrick in his classroom. Then Newsom announced the appointment, and Herrick’s schedule has been “a whirlwind” ever since.
He already has events booked through December, 25 of which are in April because it is National Poetry Month. There is a book tour with the first partner planned for summer and a special project in the works for the California Arts Council’s website that will allow anyone to write and post poetry about their California experience.
As part of his statewide tour, he is visiting Stan State, his alma mater, on Tuesday, April 25, for a poetry reading, book signing and fundraiser for the Warrior Food Pantry. Any attendee who brings one of his three books of poetry — “Scar and Flower,” “This Many Miles From Desire” and “Gardening Secrets of the Dead” — is likely to get a title page autographed.
As he travels around the state, Herrick says he marvels at its massive size: 155,858 square miles and more than 40 million people. It’s meeting the people, he said, that has been the highlight of his poet laureate experience so far.
“I’ve met eight-year-olds and eighty-year-olds. I’ve met mayors and people in prison. And we are all Californians,” he said. “I just love meeting people from all walks of life, from all backgrounds, who love poetry. I love hearing what they love about poetry or what they like about a certain poem or why they write poetry. It’s so inspiring.”
Born in Korea, Herrick was adopted at 10 months old and brought to the United States. During his early childhood, he lived in Danville with his adoptive family before they moved to Modesto in the late 1970s. His mother is an artist, his father worked in finance, and he grew up surrounded by art and literature in an atmosphere that encouraged creativity.
He attended Stanislaus Elementary and Prescott Junior High schools, then Grace M. Davis High School and Modesto Junior College. At MJC, he thought about majoring in business or law, but found himself falling in love with English instead.
Herrick started writing poetry while he was at Davis High and developed a deeper interest in it at MJC. But it was another love — soccer — that led him to Stan State.
“Back then, soccer was a big part of my life. I really enjoyed playing soccer, and the soccer coach at Stan State reached out to me and asked me to play at the University,” he said. “That really meant the world to me. So, I played soccer for two years at Stanislaus State and became an English major.”
As a Warrior, he immersed himself in studying English, started writing poetry seriously and learned how to be a teacher. He was influenced greatly by the English department faculty members, with his favorites being Mark Thompson, John Carroll (emeritus) and Doug Taylor.
“I had a great experience at Stan State. The professors were rigorous and highly intelligent and supportive. I felt like I had a lot of opportunities to grow and challenge myself,” he said. “My time at Stanislaus State was transformative, and I know I would not be where I am today had I not gone there. It just expanded me as a person and expanded my view of the world. It set me on a course that allowed me to do what I love.”
While he studied English, he also worked as a tutor in the Writing Center, which is where he first learned to teach. From there, he did a teaching assistantship and taught in the CSU Summer Bridge Program for high school students entering the University.
Herrick said he did not expect to earn a living writing poetry, but by the time he left Stan State with a master’s degree in hand, he felt confident that his education and experience would lead him to a successful teaching career in higher education.
“All of these experiences prepared me. I felt ready, I felt qualified,” he said. “I’ve been teaching now for 30 years, and of course we always continue to learn, but coming out of Stanislaus State, I felt prepared, and that was priceless.”
Through the decades since he left Stan State, Herrick has continued to write poetry, publish it, share it freely and be involved in community literary activities. He was the Fresno Poet Laureate for two years and co-founded and co-produced the city’s LitHop, an all-day literary festival. It was the Fresno Arts Council that nominated him to be considered for the California Poet Laureate position.
Looking back, Herrick said, his love of poetry originated from something quite simple. He loved the sound of words.
“My mom used to do crossword puzzles, and I would always play Scrabble with her, and I always liked words. First, just the sound of them. Then the definitions, the implications, all the things that words can do. Language was powerful,” he said.
He also loved music and enjoyed memorizing the lyrics to his favorite songs. He tried writing songs, despite having “no musical talent,” but lyrics are essentially poetry, and that part came to him naturally. By the time he got to Stan State, his skills were polished to the point where he was ready to take a chance on submitting some poems for publication in Penumbra, the University’s literary magazine.
“I was so nervous to submit my work to Penumbra, and so excited when they accepted my poems for publication,” he said. “And so that was formative for me. It felt like some validation. Even though publication wasn’t really what was driving me, it felt good to see my poems in print.”
If publication doesn’t drive Herrick, what does?
“I think there is some kind of fuel or fire or spirit running through a poet,” he said. “Responding to that, trying to know or experience as much as I can, and to feel as much joy in life as I can, those are the things that drive me. To live fully through witnessing, experiencing and writing.”
He hopes to bring that fuel, fire, spirit and joy to each Californian over his term as the state’s poet laureate.
“Poetry can uplift and inspire, it can draw attention to the things we need to change, and it can remind us of joy and give us hope,” he said. “I think it can do so much for so many people, and I think there is poetry in everyone.”
