Category Archives: Poetry

The Poet’s Role in Social Justice

In Houston, poet laureates were in the news two weeks in a row. First, Mayor Sylvester Turner announced the opening of the application process to become the 5th Houston Poet Laureate. I cheered, but some complained. Then 22-year-old Amanda Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate, stole the show at the Presidential Inauguration, perhaps evenContinue reading “The Poet’s Role in Social Justice”

School, Joy & Revolution: Takeaways from my Time at WITS

I retired from my leadership position at Writers in the Schools (WITS) in September, and the editors of Teachers & Writers Magazine invited me to write an essay about what I learned. When I became the Executive Director in the late 90s, the most talked-about book in our library was Wishes, Lies, and Dreams byContinue reading “School, Joy & Revolution: Takeaways from my Time at WITS”

Where the Arts Collide: Color:Story Exhibition Opens Saturday

Color:Story 2019 is art exhibit that exemplifies this concept– that the arts, when combined, create something greater than the sum of their parts. Artists Leslie Gaworecki and Marlo Saucedo asked poets to submit their work for this project. They chose seventeen writers and created paintings based on the selected poems. The opening for Color:Story 2019Continue reading “Where the Arts Collide: Color:Story Exhibition Opens Saturday”