Leticia Hernández-Linares and Lee Herrick: November 19, 2015

The Poetry Center presents Leticia Hernández-Linares reading her poetry from Mucha Muchacha, Too Much Girl (Tía Chucha Press, 2015) and Lee Herrick reading his works from Too Many Miles From Desire (WordTech Editions, 2007) and Gardening Secrets of the Dead (WordTech Editions, 2012), followed by the two poets conversing with one another and responding to questions from the audience.

Leticia Hernández-Linares (26:50)

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After Steve Dickison's introduction, Leticia Hernandez-Linares reads "Mucha Muchacha." She performs a song leading into her poem "La Cuchillera," then "La Chuco," and "Tragedilandia" from her book Mucha Muchacha, Too Much Girl. She remarks on raising her two sons in San Francisco's Mission District, and reads "What the Water Gave Me," incorporating a song.

Lee Herrick (25:56)

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Following an introduction by Steve Dickison, Lee Herrick reads "Repertoire" from an untitled manuscript. He then reads "My California," "Fire," "Beach Dreams," and "Why I Travel" from Gardening Secrets of the Dead. Herrick reads "A Thousand Saxophones" from This Many Miles From Desire and concludes with two new poems, "Truths" and "The house is quiet except..."

Conversation (38:19)

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Hernandez-Linares and Herrick discuss how music informs their poetry. The two poets remark on how the Mission District and Fresno, respectively, serve as sources of inspiration and resistance. Among other subjects, they discuss being parents, and the effects on their poetry and other work, and speak to their writing process, offering advice for young writers in response to questions from the audience.

Tags: alejandro murguía, amy tan, andrés montoya, asian american poets, bilingual poetry, brian turner, children, devorah major, el salvador, family, fatherhood, fresno, california, gary soto, gentrification, gloria anzaldúa, hurricane katrina, jan beatty, jimi hendrix, juan felipe herrera, korean american poets, latina poets, lawson fusao inada, lee herrick, leticia hernández-linares, luis j. rodriguez, migration, mission district, motherhood, new orleans, philip levine, poet laureate, poetry and music, political poetry, political song, rage against the machine, rubén martínez, salvadoran american poets, salvadoran civil war, san francisco, sapphire, song, spanish language, star wars, tim z. hernandez, travel, tía chucha press, vietnam, walt whitman, william wordsworth, women poets, wordtech editions

Added to Poetry Center Digital Archive on December 23, 2015.

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Leticia Hernández-Linares and Lee Herrick: November 19, 2015 (Updated a year ago)

Leticia Hernández-Linares (26:50)

Lee Herrick (25:56)

Conversation (38:19)

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