Celebration of Literary Arts
Celebration of Literary Arts Festival
The Celebration of Literary Arts Festival was initiated at DMACC in conjunction with the National Poetry Festival. The purpose of this celebration is to bring noted fiction and poetry writers to DMACC to read their works and interact with students. Central to the festival is the idea that writers can be published and that one can indeed make a living as a professional writer. In addition to reading on campus, writers have evening reading at a local bookstore. Each year the writers read at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines.
2024 Upcoming Events
Kaveh Akbar
Monday, September 16th
Ankeny Campus, Building 2, Room 25B at 11:15 A.M. &
Beaverdale Books at 7:00 P.M.
Free Books! (while supplies last)
Kaveh Akbar's poems appear in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Paris Review, Best American Poetry, and elsewhere. He is the author of two poetry collections: Pilgrim Bell and Calling a Wolf a Wolf, in addition to a chapbook, Portrait of the Alcoholic. He is also the editor of The Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse: 100 Poets on the Divine. In 2024, Knopf published Martyr!, Kaveh’s first novel.
In 2020 Kaveh was named Poetry Editor of The Nation. The recipient of honors including multiple Pushcart Prizes, a Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship, and the Levis Reading Prize, Kaveh was born in Tehran, Iran, and teaches at the University of Iowa and in the low-residency MFA programs at Randolph College and Warren Wilson. In 2014, Kaveh founded Divedapper, a home for dialogues with the most vital voices in American poetry. With Sarah Kay and Claire Schwartz, he wrote a weekly column for the Paris Review called “Poetry RX.”
Selected Writings:
- Martyr! (Opening chapter - introduced by Karen Russel)
- My Empire (poem)
- Nine Poems
- What Use is Knowing Anything if No One is Around
- Author Website
2024 Celebration of Literary Arts Recordings
Previous Celebration of Literary Arts Festivals
2019 Festival
Authors
- Jericho Brown, Poet
- Dorothy Allison
- Jamel Brinkley, Stanford University
- Maggie Smith, Ohio Wesleyan University
Iowa Writers
- Grant Faulkner, Executive Director, National Novel Writing Month
- Jennifer Colville, Prompt Press
- Jacob Dawson, Iowa State University
- John Domini, AWP: Associated Writing Programs
- Lauren Haldeman, University of Iowa
- Kim Magowan, Mills College
- Lettie Prell, SFWA: Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America
- Steve Rose, Simpson College, Professor Emeritus
- Michelle N. Ross, Fiction Editor, Atticus Review
2018 Festival
Authors
- Pam Houston, University of California, Davis
- Justin Torres, University of California, Los Angeles
- Jennifer Chang, George Washington University
- Matthew Olzmann, Warren Wilson MFA Program
Iowa Writers
- Dean Bakopoulos, Grinnell College
- Alissa Nutting, Grinnell College
- Chloe Clark, Iowa State University
- George Barlow, Grinnell College
- Claire Kruesel, Iowa State University
- Jennifer Wilson, St. Martin’s Press
- Ryan Collins, St. Ambrose University
- Paula Smith, Grinnell College
- Michaela Mullin, Nomadic Press
- Emma Murray, Gold Wake Press
2017 Festival
Authors
- Charles Baxter, University of Minnesota
- Kevin Brockmeier, Iowa Writers’ Workshop
- Megan Mayhew Bergman, Bennington College
- Charles D'Ambrosio, Iowa Writers’ Workshop
- Tarfia Faizullah, University of Michigan
- Oliver de la Paz, College of the Holy Cross
Iowa Writers
- Devon Walker-Figueroa, Iowa Writer's Workshop/Poetry Editor Iowa Review
- Ralph James Savarese, Grinnell College
- Molly McDonald, Iowa State University
- Rick Christman, DMACC, Professor Emeritus
- Hai-Dang Phan, Grinnell College
- Ned Balbo, Iowa State University
- Calla Devlin, Young Adult Novelist
2016 Festival
Authors
- Matt Bell, Arizona State University
- Robin Balck, Rutgers University-Camden, MFA Program
- Kevin Prufer, University of Houston
- Ada Limon, Queens University of Charlotte, Low Residency MFA
Iowa Writers
- Tim Bascom, Waldorf College
- Paul Brooke, Grand View University
- Meg Johnson, Iowa State University
- Jennifer L. Knox, Iowa State University
- Magogodi Makhene, Iowa Writer's Workshop
- Ralph James Savarese, Grinnell College
2015 Festival
Authors
- Bret Anthony Johnston, Harvard University
- Makkai, Sierra Nevada College
- Roger Reeves, University of Illinois, Chicago
- Rebecca Hazelton, Oklahoma State University
Iowa Writers
- Barbara Haas, Iowa State University
- Christiana Langenberg, Iowa State University
- Kyle McCord, Grand View University
- Sarah Smith, Iowa Writers' Workshop
- Grant Tracey, University of Northern Iowa
2014 Festival
Authors
- Laura van den Berg, Emerson College
- Evie Shockley, Rutgers University
- Alan Heathcock, Boise State University
- Ross Gay, Indiana University
Iowa Writers
- Jim O'Loughlin, University of Northern Iowa
- Kali VanBaale, Drake University
- Hannah Loeb, Iowa Writers' Workshop
- Larry Baker, Kirkwood Community College
- K.L. Cook, Iowa State University
- Charissa Menefee, Iowa State University
2013 Festival
Authors
- Kyle Minor, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
- Ron Carlson, University of California, Irvine
- Caitlin Horrocks, Grand Valley State University
- Aimee Nezhukumatathil, State University of New York
- Matthew Dickman, Vermont College of Fine Arts
Iowa Writers
- Mary Swander, Iowa State University
- Jeremy Schraffenberger, University of Northern Iowa
- Heather Derr-Smith, Iowa State University
- David Wolf, Simpson College
- Deborah Kennedy, Iowa Writers' Workshop
- Winifred Moranville, Simpson College
2012 Festival
Authors
- Charles D'Ambrosio
- Danielle Evans
- Dorianne Laux
- Joseph Millar
Iowa Writers
- David Zimmerman, Iowa State University
- Grant Tracey, University of Northern Iowa
- Jennifer Perrine, Drake University
- Neal Bowers, Iowa State University
- May Letter, Drake University
- Vince Gotera, University of Northern Iowa
2011 Festival
Authors
- Antonya Nelson, University of Houston
- Steven Schwartz, Colorado State University
- Denise Duhamel, Florida International University
- Dale Young, Warren Wilson MFA Program
Iowa Writers
- Benjamin Percy, Iowa State University
- Grant Tracey, University of Northern Iowa
- B.J. Love, Iowa Writers' Workshop
- Deb Marquart, Iowa State University
- Carol Spaulding-Kruse, Drake University
- Yasmina Madden, Drake University
2010 Festival
Authors
- Jonas Agee, University of Nebraska
- CJ Hribal, Marquette University
- Camille Dungy, San Francisco State
- Kevin Stein, Illinois
- For additional information, contact Celebration of Literary Arts Coordinator, Marc Dickinson, 515-964-6221