The Fresno Poets

This is a formidable, diverse, inclusive, and prolific group of poets–past, present, and future.

Fresno Poets? Fresno Poets!

Did you know that Fresno, California, produced TWO United States Poets Laureate in the same decade? True. One was Juan Felipe Herrera, and the other, the late Philip Levine, who joined the Fresno State English Department in the mid-1960s and drew other great poets and teachers of poetry to that faculty, including Robert Mezey, Peter Everwine, C.G. Hanzlicek, and Corrinne Clegg Hales. Phil was ‘emeritus’ when I was in the MFA program at Fresno State, but he dropped in on workshops, gave readings, brought in amazing visiting poets, and introduced poets in his inimitable style. As a poet, professor, and mentor, he inspired a whole generation of astonishingly good poets who went into the world and wrote, published, taught, and gained recognition. Fresno Poets? I hope future blog posts here will help you get to know us.