The WLT is thrilled to partner with Texas Poet Laureate Amanda Johnston on a series of events in Fall 2024, “Praisesong for the People: Poems Celebrating Everyday Texans.”
On Wednesday, October 30, we’ll be in Dallas at The Wild Detectives with a stellar line-up of poets, including Kendra Allen, Logan Cure, Mag Gabbert, Sebastian H. Paramo, Nomi Stone, April Sojourner Truth Walker, Joaquin Zihuatanejo, and more. This program is in collaboration with The Writer’s Garret.
Join us for a special evening featuring poets from the project celebrating the people who make our communities a place to call home. The program will be introduced by WLT Executive Director Becka Oliver and hosted by Amanda Johnston and will include readings and conversation. This event is free and open to all.
About Amanda Johnston and Praisesong for the People:
The current Texas Poet Laureate, Amanda Johnston is a writer and artist. She is the author of the collection Another Way to Say Enter (Argus House Press, 2017). She has received fellowships, grants, and awards from Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, Tasajillo, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, American Short Fiction, The Watermill Center, and the Austin International Poetry Festival. She is a member of Affrilachian Poets, the cofounder of Black Poets Speak Out, and the founder and executive director of Torch Literary Arts.
Through her project, Praisesong for the People: Poems Celebrating the Heart and Soul of Texas, Amanda Johnston will commission seventy poets across seven regions of the state to write poems celebrating everyday Texans. The project seeks to uplift the intersecting population across generational, gender, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, differently abled, and immigrant communities. Johnston will also share resources with K–12 educators to encourage students to read and write praise poems.