Lee Herrick was teaching his Thursday poetry class at Fresno City College when some unexpected guests — with some even more shocking news — showed up.

A few staffers from the governor’s office were the first to arrive, observing the class and taking some photos.

“Then, the governor and the first partner walked in,” Herrick said. That’s when Gov. Gavin Newsom broke the news to Herrick: He was naming him the next poet laureate of California.

“It was a thrill.”

Herrick, author of three collections, is no stranger to the work of being a poetry ambassador.

He served as Fresno’s poet laureate from 2015 to 2017. He’s also the founder of LitHop, a literary festival in the city.

As the state’s 10th poet laureate, he’ll be taking that ambassadorship on the road over the course of a two-year term.

In addition to organizing readings all over the state, Herrick said his goal is to build bridges between poetry and social justice.

“I’m going to ask any curator or organizer to select a local organization doing good work in their own communities with social justice or civic engagement,” Herrick said, “so the poetry audience will be able to interact with that organization and vice versa.

“I think poetry can do incredible things and transform lives individually,” he said, “but also in society as well.”

Schools, prisons could benefit

In terms of where he hopes to visit, some of his priorities include K-12 and higher-education institutions, as well as prisons, where he said he’s read before.

“Those were some of the most memorable and meaningful readings I’ve ever done,” he said. “These are individuals and a part of our community as well. Language and poetry can be liberating.”

Herrick said his own early-life experiences and struggles, after being born in South Korea and adopted by a California couple at 10 months old, is what helped steer him to poetry — and he hopes to help other Californians find the same comfort in it as poet laureate.

Herrick’s commitment to engaging California’s diverse communities is what helped single him out as a candidate, Newsom said in a news release.

“As a teacher, poet, and father, Lee writes movingly about his identity as a Californian and encourages others to reflect on what the state means to them,” Newsom said.

Fresno City College President Robert Pimentel congratulated Herrick as well, saying the school is “extremely proud” of their colleague.

“We are looking forward to his statewide work educating Californians about the importance of literature and creative expression,” the president said in a statement to the Ed Lab.

Fresno boasts history of great poets

Friday’s announcement only adds to the city’s increasingly crowded mantel of top awards and recognition for its writers.

The city has watched multiple poets go on to become U.S. poet laureates, including Fresno State professor Philip Levine in 2011 and another professor from the university, Juan Felipe Herrera, in 2015.

Herrera, whom Herrick has cited as a role model, just had a Fresno Unified elementary school named after him.

Fresno State MFA professor Mai Der Vang was named a Pulitzer finalist in poetry this past May.

While Herrick has seen a “robust” poetry community like Fresno’s firsthand, he wants to raise the profile of poetry even higher as poet laureate.

“There is a poem for everyone and a poet for everyone,” he said. “There is poetry in every person, whether they know it or not.”

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The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab at its website.