John Herndon was born in Baytown, Texas, and studied modern languages and literature, the classics, and philosophy at the University of Texas (BA 1976, MA 1980). From 1984 to 1997, he was a reporter, columnist and critic for the Austin American-Statesman. He was host of Conversations with John Herndon on KJFK-FM and of the Poetry Journal television series produced by Texas Nafas. Since 1982, he has taught English and Creative Writing at Austin Community College, where he now serves as Associate Director of the Balcones Center for Creative Writing.

One of the founding members of the Adjunct Faculty Association, John Herndon has done more than any other adjunct at ACC to rally for fair pay, job stability, benefits, and a voice in college governance, and he has achieved success in each of these areas. Several years ago when he served as President of AFA, Herndon and other AFA reps and officers (Ann Patterson, Kamil Jbeily, Kitty Henderson, Don Morris, Don Becker, Dan Dewberry, etc.) worked with the board and the administration to pass the employee compensation policy, which set as a goal of the college, competitive pay for all employees-- creating multiple semester appointments (MSTAs) for some adjuncts, and establishing Instructional Associate and College Associate positions (IAs and CAs), which are part-time adjunct faculty positions with full benefits.

Not only has Herndon been an invaluable asset to adjuncts, but he has been a tremendous friend to the ACC community. His service (and that of others) has been admirable in the last 2-3 elections in which he has rallied on behalf of ACC to pass the tax referendum. As a result of his diligence, we now have a new South Austin Campus, and our other campuses are quickly expanding to meet the needs of our growing Central Texas community. In addition, Herndon has helped the AFA cultivate a more positive relationship with the administration.

His books include SURVIVAL NOTES (Latitudes Press, 1987), POEMS FROM UNDERTOWN (Eco-Tropic Books, 1990), WHERE THREE ROADS MEET (Cedarshouse Press, 1995), ROAD TRIP THROUGH THE FOUR SPHERES (Mike and Dale's Press, 1998; 2nd ed. Skanky Possum, 2000), PROOF THAT THE WORLD IS REAL (Tantrum Press Austin, 2000), and MAPPING THE DEBRIS FIELD (Off-the-Books Press, 2003); he has published poems, articles, essays and reviews in Exquisite Corpse, Wormwood Review, New Laurel Review, Sniper Logic, Skanky Possum, Gas, Aileron, Mike and Dale’s Younger Poets, Texas Environment Magazine, and elsewhere. He also writes songs and plays the guitar and mandolin.