The University of Arizona Press
Flourishing Shadows / Sombras Florecientes
A Chicano Howl
From former U.S. poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera comes a searing bilingual collection that speaks directly to America and all its peoples. Flourishing Shadows / Sombras Florecientes is a lyrical journey through migration, memory, and resistance—an urgent address to a nation grappling with its identity. Blending autobiography and Indigenous, Chicanx, and Beat traditions, Herrera reclaims language as a tool of compassion and truth. With ink drawings and evocative verse, this book honors the migrants who traverse borders and histories, flourishing even in the shadows. A call to listen, to remember, and to act.
More than a poetic critique, this book initiates a conversation—a direct address to readers that invites reflection, solidarity, and action. Drawing on his anthropological training and lived experience, Herrera weaves together the cultural richness of Indigenous Mexico, the urban vibrancy of San Francisco’s literary scene, and the enduring legacy of migrant journeys. Flourishing Shadows / Sombras Florecientes is a vital addition to the Camino del Sol series and a powerful testament to the resilience and humanity of those too often relegated to the margins.
"Juan Felipe Herrera’s extended poem acutely captures the contemporary political climate as he offers insights and urges us to listen and to unite in urgent and brilliant poetry; with a voice of resistance he clamors: We will not be mass deported. With Sombras Florcientes/Flourishing Shadows, Juan Felipe Herrera offers a poem for our times! At once a meditation and a call to action, he is ever rooted in our rich Chicano poetic tradition of resistance and affirmation."—Norma E. Cantú, editor of Chicana Portraits: Critical Biographies of Twelve Chicana Writers
“These trance-like poems appeal to our better senses for compassion toward vulnerable (im)migrants who pursue their dreams to take root in ‘lands that were once theirs.’ They are shadow people flourishing as creators of a brave new way. The calm, measured poetic voice seduces us with masterful strokes of empathetic reasoning to avoid anyone's mass deportation.”—Francisco A. Lomelí, Distinguished Professor, University of California, Santa Barbara
"Juan Felipe Herrera is a titan, a master, and a poetic warrior! In this latest collection, his wise and vibrant voice is a beacon and call to action. He gathers the trajectory of his career in poetry and community, and blows a hard breath into this long-poem for all to hear and heed. The poet invites us to remember who we are, where we’ve been, and what we carry in our collective hearts. He reminds us of our own humanity!"—Tim Z. Hernandez, author of They Call You Back: A Lost History, A Search, A Memoir
“Juan Felipe Herrera's beautifully written book-length poem, Flourishing Shadows, speaks directly to the important issue in our nation today, that is immigration. The topic is highlighted throughout the brilliantly composed stanzas via both historical and autobiographical incursions. In conversation with, ‘America,’ Herrera stresses humankind's right to migrate and specifically, the Mexican people's right to return to what was their homeland up until 1848. This splendid poem includes an outstanding Foreword and a Spanish translation by Professor Lauro Flores.”—Maria Herrera-Sobek, Professor Emerita, University of California, Santa Barbara
