In 1974, the Eshlemans returned to Los Angeles. The poet began teaching in the Extension Program of the University of California at Los Angeles and, in 1977, under an “Artist in the Community” teaching fellowship through the California Arts Council at Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles. In 1979, he was appointed Dreyfuss Poet-in-Residence and lecturer in creative writing at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena; a position he held through 1984. Thereafter he taught part-time as a visiting lecturer in creative writing through University of California campuses in San Diego, Riverside, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara.