13: Poetry, Adoption and California with Lee Herrick Artwork

More Than a Monolith

The AAPI label is an umbrella term for over 50 ethnic groups and when considered as a standalone identity, a monolithic group, the richness of our community is diminished and our different experiences and truths become void. On this podcast, we invite you on a journey to dismantle the stereotypes as we set out to show we are more than a monolith by addressing misperceptions, sharing our truths and exploring personal stories. Each episode is a conversation where we dive into a variety of topics. We explore topics like policy, leadership, culture, racism and share space for hearing personal stories to celebrate the diverse narratives behind the AAPI name. We are one community standing strong together in honoring our multiple perspectives and unique histories.

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More Than a Monolith

13: Poetry, Adoption and California with Lee Herrick

April 25, 2023

Welcome back to a new episode of More Than a Monolith. Today, I have the honor of being joined by Lee Herrick. Lee Herrick is the California Poet Laureate and the first Asian American to hold the title. He is the author of three books of poems: Scar and Flower, Gardening Secrets of the Dead, and This Many Miles from Desire. In addition, his writings appear in a number of anthologies. He served as Fresno Poet Laureate from 2015-2017. Born in Daejeon, Korea and adopted to the United States at ten months, he teaches at Fresno City College and the MFA program at the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe. In our conversation, we talk about his personal experiences growing up as a Korean adoptee, his journey to poetry and his love of California. We are even treated to Lee reading some of his poetry for us. Our chat turned out to be a personal one for me and I’m really fortunate for this time together.