Juan Felipe Herrera holds the Tomás Rivera endowed chair in creative writing at the University of California, Riverside. He is the author of numerous poetry volumes, including Half of the World in Light; 187 Reasons Mexicanos Can't Cross the Border: Undocuments 1971-2007; Border-Crosser with a Lamborghini Dream; and numerous children's books, including The Upside Down Boy, which was adapted into a musical in New York City; Laughing Out Loud, I Fly, winner of a Pura Belpre Honor; and Cinnamon Girl, winner of the Americas Award. He was also awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award in poetry and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He lives and tours with the poet Margarita Luna Robles.