J.J. Hernandez

Poet | Writer

Born in the city of Trinidad, Colorado, J.J. spent his adolescence roaming the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, which he believes, have formulated many of his ideals on poetry and place. As a child of farm workers, vaqueros, teachers, and coal miners, he has come to embody the landscape that surrounded his childhood home, while complicating the discussions of identity, as a Latinx child living in Colorado.

At 16 his family uprooted and moved to Fresno, California, where he graduated high school. He earned both a Bachelor of Arts in English Education and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Poetry from California State University, Fresno. While attending Fresno State, J.J. was the inaugural Graduate Artist in the Laureate Lab: Visual Words Studio working under the supervision of Juan Felipe Herrera, and worked to promote a collaboration of words and visual art through various community oriented programs.

​

J.J. Is currently a writing/composition instructor at various colleges across the Central San Joaquin Valley, his work has been supported by the Community of Writers, and has published in various literary journals. 

​