Fresno Teacher Belongs to a Long Line of Central Valley Poets

Central Valley poet Lee Herrick reads from his poem "My California." Herrick left the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to the San Joaquin Valley 20 years ago to write and teach. While you might not think of this region as fertile ground for writers -- it is. In fact the Central Valley has produced a national poet laureate, a state poet laureate and multiple winners of the National Book Award. Herrick says he chose to live in Fresno because of its diversity -- it's a city where you can hear 90 different languages spoken -- and because of its literary scene.