Music lures creative talent, and has had Iowa Poet Laureate Vince Gotera hooked on the guitar since age 11. A photo of his vintage Silvertone guitar – his first electric when he was 15 – graces the cover of his 2019 book of poetry, The Coolest Month, a reference to National Poetry Month and his response to the annual challenge to “Write a Poem Every Day in April.”
Gotera not only performs poetry on stage, he is also the bassist in the band Deja Blue and lead guitarist in Groovy News (a duo with his daughter Amelia).
Deja Blue performs throughout Iowa, but every Wednesday they play an open jam at the Screaming Eagle in Waterloo, where they are the house band. When the weather warms up, they will be playing at town celebrations and festivals across the state. For example: “Blues and Brew” in Nashua in July; “Sweet Corn Days” in Lime Springs in August; and “Wood, Wine and Blues” at Storm Lake, also in August.
Some of the music most often requested by fans of Deja Blue includes Allman Brothers, Steely Dan, and others. His other band, Groovy News, frequently plays songs by Lake Street Dive, Billie Eilish, and more.
Vince Gotera was appointed Iowa Poet Laureate in 2024. The honorary title is given in recognition of achievements in poetry and comes with creative, educational, and representative roles. Gotera’s performances for audiences of all ages and his starring role in Poetry Palooza 2025 continue to amplify enthusiasm for poetry throughout Iowa, where he lives and where, until his recent retirement, he put his double Ph.D. in English and American Studies – as well as his MFA in poetry – to work teaching English and creative writing at the University of Northern Iowa (1995 – 2024).
Much of Gotera’s recent writing is classified as “speculative poetry,” exploring sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. His 2024 Dragons & Rayguns book is especially appealing to generations that grew up with ageless space heroes and sorcerer villains in books and movies like Star Wars, Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings.
Fantasy merges with music and updates the classics in Gotera’s “Gawain’s Rap,” a rap poem spoken by Sir Gawain of King Arthur’s Round Table. This poem is included in Gotera’s collection Dragonfly. The poem may be found at https://vincegotera.blogspot.com/2025/02/dragonfly-page-28.html. All of Gotera’s out-of-print books are serialized in his blog and available to read.
Like his multiple musical talents – guitar, bass, and drums – Gotera’s range in poetry also rocks. Some of his poetry blends music with verse. Not only in poetics and topic, but even in playful shape. For example, in his concrete poem “Guitar Dreams,” the words are placed in lines that form the shape of a guitar.
In his poem “Urban as You Wanna Be,” Gotera ribs guitarist Keith Urban about appearing in a late-night TV commercial where the superstar is selling signature guitars. In another musician-themed poem, “Letter to Hendrix in Paradise,” Gotera suggests his late heroes – Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Miles, and Jack Bruce – “should put together a new power trio” now that they are “playing for the King of Kings.”
Some of Gotera’s poems are about making music, such as his “Letter to Bob Boynton, Music Prodigy,” which recently appeared in Rattle magazine – one of the most prestigious poetry venues today. This epistolary poem harks back to when Gotera and Boynton “were playing in garage bands, way back in high school.” Together they made precious memories, but lost “that demo tape” from when “We were really kicking ass that day.” Hear Gotera read the poem here on Rattle.
To learn more about Vince Gotera – his inspiring life in poetry and music – visit Gotera’s blog: The Man with the Blue Guitar (http://vincegotera.blogspot.com).
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