Writer: Wren Fleming
Photo: Sean O’Neal / UNI
Sometimes, simple words say it best. Vince Gotera calls it a “huge honor” to serve as Iowa’s poet laureate for the next two years.
During this time, he’ll lead workshops, give readings and participate in other poetry events around the state. (He encourages the “good folks” who organize cultural events to get a hold of him.)
Gotera was born in San Francisco, spent part of his childhood in the Philippines and has lived in Iowa for almost 30 years. He recently retired from the University of Northern Iowa, where he taught for more than 25 years. These days, he often plays guitar in a band called Groovy News and bass in Deja Blue.
His published works include “Dragonfly” (1994), “Ghost Wars” (2003) and “Fighting Kite” (2007), along with a literary study titled “Radical Visions: Poetry by Vietnam Veterans” (1991). He also wrote “The Coolest Month” (2019), a culmination of poems he wrote for many years during the month of April, which is National Poetry Month. He often drew inspiration from daily prompts and then rounded up his favorites for the book.
Now, as the poet laureate, he’d like to prompt others to write, as well. He hopes to create an Iowa poetry website with activities to encourage young poets to play with language.
“Poetry is fun,” he said. “I often write light poems and feel that should be more valued. Of course, I write serious poetry as well, and I trust it’s all beautiful and also accessible to people of all ages and backgrounds.”
Gotera often posts drafts of his poetry on his blog, “The Man with the Blue Guitar.” He rewrites them until he’s satisfied they’re finished. “To me, it’s a ‘feel’ thing,” he said. “It’s when a poem just feels done, when the themes and the words and the images and the music (of the language) all mesh together in a way I can’t tweak any further.”
Read one of Gotera’s poems below.
One Time My Father Said He Loved Me
By Vince Gotera
One late night in 1962, when I was
around 9 or 10, Papa slipped into my room.
I pretended to be asleep. It was a little bit
strange—Mama was usually the one
who checked on me at night. My father,
a 1960s American male to a T, a WWII vet,
a Bataan POW, was a stoic man, taciturn.
Papa leaned over me. I smelled beer,
though he rarely drank. He whispered,
I love you, Vin. Wanting it to never stop,
I kept my eyes shut. My cheek warmed
to his breath, a lovely warmth I still can feel,
sixty years later, a thousand miles away.
Published in Silver Birch Press, February 2023.
Previous laureates
The Iowa Poet Laureate is an honorary appointment by the governor of Iowa. The program is jointly managed by Humanities Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council to recognize the value of poetry in Iowans’ everyday lives. Four laureates have preceded Gotera in the role:
Marvin Bell, 2002-2004; Robert Dana, 2004-2008; Mary Swander, 2009-2019; Debra Marquart, 2019-2023
