Clarke Presents ‘An Asian American Poet on Race and Diaspora’

Join Clarke University for an afternoon of powerful poetry and conversation with the 2024 Iowa Poet Laureate, Vince Gotera on Sunday, October 6. This free event will begin at 2 p.m. in Jansen Music Hall and is open to the public. 

As a Filipinx American, Vince has used poetry to explore race relations in America for over 40 years. He has authored five poetry collections and will soon release his novels in poems Pacific Crossing and Aswang Love. His work has garnered national and international acclaim, including a Creative Writing Fellowship in Poetry from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Global Filipino Literary Award in Poetry, and an Academy of American Poets Prize.    

“It is an honor to host Iowa’s 2024 Poet Laureate and share his message with our students,” said Michael Knock, Associate Professor of History and member of the Mackin-Mailander Lecture Series committee. “Clarke University has dedicated the 2024-2025 academic year to exploring our Core Value of Freedom and Vince’s poetry captures many facets of that idea, from freedom of expression to what freedom looks like to a historically marginalized population.” 

The Clarke University Mackin-Mailander Lecture Series was established in 1997 after Clarke received gifts from two alumnae, Mary Mackin ’34 and Verna Slattery-Mailander ’20, to establish an endowed lecture series. The annual series consists of three lectures, including a prominent outside speaker, a faculty lecture, and an alumni lecture.