The Whole Earth Is a Garden of Monsters: An Evening with Manuel Iris

Winner of the Ambroggio Prize of the Academy of American Poets

This award-winning bilingual collection intertwines the lives of a Renaissance painter and a modern migrant worker, offering a fresh perspective on art and migration.

In this highly imaginative work, the lives of the northern Renaissance painter Hieronymus Bosch (1450–1516) and an imagined contemporary migrant worker named Juan Coyoc, later known as Juan Domínguez, run in parallel as they mirror each other across languages, time, and continents.

By comparing and at times intertwining these two poetic narratives, the book explores themes of art, migration, narco-violence, family, spirituality, and the idea that every human being represents all humanity at any moment in history. Both Hieronymus Bosch and Juan Domínguez become relatable and intimate figures, part of our own story.

Written in simple, sharp language, the book employs surprising imagery and a novel structure to blur the boundaries between reality and fiction, while examining the intricacies of the human condition—from the life of Saint Anthony to the violent acts of narcos across Central America and the U.S.-Mexico border. With formal sophistication and philosophical depth, this work enriches the tradition of poetry about both migration and art, contributing to the literary heritage of Mexico and the United States over the past several decades.

6 pm reception/6:30 pm program
Free & open to the public. Registration required.

Copies of The Whole Earth Is a Garden of Monsters will be available for sale & signing.

About Manuel Iris

Manuel Iris (Mexico, 1983). Mexican-born American Poet. Author of six collections of poetry.

Poet Laureate Emeritus of the City of Cincinnati, Ohio (2018-2020), Writer-in-Residence of the

Cincinnati and Hamilton County public library and library foundation (2023), Writer in

residence of Thomas More University (2023-2024), and member of the National System of Art

Creators of Mexico (2022-2024). His poetic work has received national and international

recognition. Recently, Iris was awarded the 2025 Ambroggio Poetry Prize given by the Academy

of American Poets for his book The Whole Earth is a Garden of Monsters.