International Book Award Winning Poet to Visit LCCC

Schnecksville, Pa., Sept. 1, 2023 – Lehigh Carbon Community College will kick off Hispanic Heritage Month with a performance by Columbian-American poet Carlos Andrés Gómez, who appeared in HBO’s “Def Poetry Jam” and in Spike Lee’s movie “Inside Man” with Denzel Washington. Gómez will perform his original work at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at the Schnecksville campus in the Community Services Center ballroom. Admission is free and open to the public and will be followed by a reception and book signing with Gómez.

Gómez is the author of “Hijito,” for which he was awarded the Foreword INDIES Gold Medal and the International Book Award for Poetry in 2020, and the coming-of-age memoir “Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood,” released by Penguin Random House in 2012. His most recent book, “Fractures,” was selected by Pulitzer Prize-winning former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey as the winner of the Felix Pollak Prize in Poetry.

Hailing from New York City, Gómez has performed at nearly 800 colleges and universities in 47 U.S. states and headlined shows in 26 countries across five continents. He has been featured on NPR, TEDx, Upworthy, Central Park SummerStage, and partnered with John Legend for Senior Orientation, a program to counteract bullying and champion inclusive masculinity among high school students.

A former social worker and public school teacher, Gómez first made a name for himself by winning at the Apollo Theater’s celebrated Amateur Night and later as a member of the renowned Nuyorican Poets Café’s slam team. In 2008, he collaborated with Tony Award-winning tap dance legend Savion Glover on Broadway. Gómez is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College.

For additional information on the event, contact Natalie DeRosa, Director of Student Engagement and Inclusion, at nderosa@lccc.edu.