Local Poet Manuel Iris Receives a Gold Medal at the International Latino Book Awards

Cincinnati poet and former Poet Laureate of Cincinnati Manuel Iris has received a Gold Medal at the International Latino Book Awards for his bilingual poetry collection The Whole Earth Is a Garden of Monsters / Toda la tierra es un jardín de monstruos.

The award recognizes the collection in the category for a bilingual poetry book by a single author, adding a major honor to a book that has already received the 2025 Ambroggio Poetry Prize from the Academy of American Poets.

The book was published by University of Arizona Press in 2026 after winning the Ambroggio Prize, which was selected by acclaimed poet Giannina Braschi. The Academy of American Poets describes the Ambroggio Prize as an award for book-length poetry manuscripts originally written in Spanish with an English translation.

The new Gold Medal is particularly significant for Cincinnati, where Iris has lived and developed much of his literary career. He served as Poet Laureate of Cincinnati from 2018 to 2020 and has been a Writer-in-Residence at the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library and at Thomas More University. He continues to live and write in the city while working as an educator at DePaul Cristo Rey High School.

The Whole Earth Is a Garden of Monsters / Toda la tierra es un jardín de monstruos is a book about borders—geographical, historical, cultural, and linguistic. The poems place the life of a contemporary Mexican migrant worker in conversation with the paintings and imagination of Hieronymus Bosch.

The book also represents a collaboration rooted in Cincinnati’s literary community. Iris is the author and co-translator of the collection, working with Cincinnati poet and translator Kevin C. McHugh on the English version. The Academy of American Poets recognized the two as co-translators of the winning manuscript and praised their translation for its quality and fluidity.

Iris’s connection to Cincinnati is part of a broader literary trajectory that began in Mexico. He is the author of six poetry collections. His first major national recognition came with the 2009 Mérida National Poetry Award for Cuaderno de los sueños. In 2014, Los disfraces del fuego received Mexico’s Rodulfo Figueroa Regional Award for Poetry and was a finalist for Ecuador’s International Poetry Award Ciudad de la Lira.

His bilingual book Traducir el silencio / Translating Silence received two honors at the International Latino Book Awards, while The Parting Present / Lo que se irá received the Reader’s Choice Award at the Ohioana Book Awards. His work has also been published internationally, including a Spanish-Polish edition of Descifrar lo invisible / Rozszyfrować niewidzialne.

Iris is also a member of Mexico’s National System of Art Creators. His poetry has become the subject of critical scholarship, including a 2023 volume published by the Autonomous University of Chiapas containing essays, reviews, and interviews by twenty-three authors.

The new International Latino Book Awards Gold Medal places a Cincinnati-based poet at the intersection of Mexican literary tradition, American poetry, bilingual writing, and literary translation.

About Manuel Iris

Manuel Iris is a Mexican-born American poet, translator, and educator who lives and works in Cincinnati. He is the author of six poetry collections and served as Poet Laureate of Cincinnati from 2018 to 2020. His honors include the Mérida National Poetry Award, the Rodulfo Figueroa Regional Award for Poetry, the Ohioana Reader’s Choice Award, the 2025 Ambroggio Poetry Prize, and the 2026 International Latino Book Awards Gold Medal. 

Pictured: Manuel Iris. Photo by Angie Lipscomb