Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum Mario Duarte will read from his new book published by Ice Cube Press, My Father Called Us Monkeys. “Mario Duarte juxtaposes innocent voices against tragic and tender moments while giving us a moving snapshot of a young Mexican American boy growing up in the Midwest. Duarte’s eye for scenic landscape and his ear for captivating dialogue stand out in this debut short story collection.”—Jose B. Gonzalez

Mario Duarte is a Mexican American poet and fiction writer whose family has lived in the Midwest for over a century. He grew up in Western Illinois and is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the University of New Hampshire. His poems and short stories have appeared in American Poetry Review, Arkana, Digging Through the Fat, Emerald City, Ocotillo Review, Pank, Rigorous, Write Launch, and other magazines. His micro-poetry collection To the Death of the Author was published by La Resistencia Press. Duarte is a Senior Academic Advisor at the University of Iowa, and lives in Iowa City.