Poet Laureate

Every two years, a local poet is honored with the Poet Laureate title and honorarium to recognize a career in writing exemplary poetry and their role in sharing poetry with the greater community. The Poet Laureate acts as an ambassador of the literary arts and the City of Dallas by creating and reading poems and presenting their poems at public meetings and events to engage diverse voices, activate the community and broaden perspectives in shaping and furthering the literary arts and culture through creative expression.

The Dallas Poet Laureate program was launched in April 2022 by Dallas Public Library, the Office of Arts and Culture and Deep Vellum, with the appointment of inaugural Poet Laureate, Joaquin Zihuatanejo. Dallas elected Dr. Mag Gabbert as the second poet laureate, to hold the office from April 2024-March 2026.

Over the course of the two-year appointed term (renewable after the first year), the Dallas Poet Laureate is a liaison, advocate and leader who inspires the diverse residents of Dallas to read, write, perform and appreciate the written and spoken word. This includes working with the Express Yourself! Youth Poetry Competition; collecting literary works that commemorate Dallas; organizing literary workshops, classes and events at libraries, Deep Vellum and other sites; holding regular artist-in-residence office hours at the Central Library and other efforts to excite discussion, exchange and participation in poetry, and to engage readers on the culture of written and spoken word in Dallas.

At the end of the term, Deep Vellum will publish a collection of the Poet Laureate's works.

Participation

• Application

• Program Guidelines

Watch this site for more details. Sign up to receive notifications about this program.