The soothing sound of a tenor saxophone, accompanied by the deep tone of the taiko drum and the slow strum of a guitar carried Juan Felipe Herrera’s voice out of the Poetry Center and down the halls of the Humanities building.

“187! 187! 187!” Herrera yelled. “187 reasons, razones, models, arguments, debates, syllabi, statements, rationalizations... why Mexicanos, Mexicanas, Latinos, Latinas can’t cross the border.”

Herrera, a creative writing professor at UC Riverside, visited the SF State Poetry Center on May 6 to present a collection of poems from his latest book, “187 Reasons Mexicanos Can’t Cross the Border: Undocuments 1971-2007,” which contains 35 years’ worth of Herrera’s life experiences.

In addition to reading from his latest work, he has published a total of 21 books, consisting of poetry collections, short stories, young adult books and picture books for kids, according to Herrera.

“I was the only child in a family of farm workers. My mother was a storyteller. My father was a joke teller. I used to be afraid to speak and poetry was how I learned to express myself,” Herrera said. “The world kept nourishing me with spaces and moments.”

Herrera recalls finding interest in jazz music while in the third grade and started focusing on poetry in middle school during the civil rights movement.

Herrera recited a handful of poems from his book, all of which engaged the roughly 50-person audience to repeat lines of Herrera’s work. Herrera’s poem, “Mission Street Manifesto,” ignited an explosive “Libre! Libre! Libre todos!” as Herrera encouraged the audience to repeat after him. He recited another poem that paid tribute to those who experienced the harsh reality of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.

“Water, wind, fire, smoke, bodies rise/who will live, who will rise/a new land emerges/a new people emerges/a new race/you are alive,” Herrera recited to the tune provided by Francis Wong, Melody Takata and Karl A.D. Evangelista.

Camille Dungy, associate professor in the creative writing department, heard about Herrera’s appearance and brought her entire Nature Poetry class to the event. Dungy said she had never seen Herrera in motion, but had read his work before.

“He was so full of energy, and his work has really good content,” Dungy said. “Plus, a lot of what he talks about, his use of metaphors, we discuss in the class.”

Jennifer Garcia, a prospective student currently attending a community college in the East Bay who said she is interested in earning her degree in creative writing, was touring the fifth floor of the Humanities building when she overheard the music and Herrera’s voice.

“This is why I love poetry. This is why I write. There is just so much expression and emotion and it doesn’t matter what you have to say or how you say it as long as you speak your mind,” Garcia said. “I’ve never heard of him, but I enjoyed every minute. I’m glad I picked the right day to visit the campus.”

The 90-minute, emotion-filled, rhyme fest ended with a brief jam session and a question-and-answer session with Herrera. The SF State presentation summed up his Bay Area visit and it’s back to Southern California for the poet, performer, writer, cartoonist and teacher.

To find out more about poetry events at the SF State Poetry Center, visit their Web site.