The story of a city is told in everyday moments, in words, conversations and memories that linger.
Dallas is seeking guides to help define the city’s voice, with applications now open through Dec. 31 for the next poet laureate and the youth poet laureate program.
The honor recognizes local writers and gives them a platform to encourage creative writing and literacy in the community.
The adult winner serves a two-year term, from April 2026 to March 2028, during which the poet laureate pens works to read at community events and schools. The laureate, who receives a $20,000 honorarium, also hosts literary workshops and produces two annual reports.
Breaking News
At the end of the term, the poet’s works will be published by Deep Vellum, an independent literary press.
The current poet laureate, Mag Gabbert, clinical assistant professor at Southern Methodist University, will serve through March. The current youth poet laureate is Naisha Randhar.
The poet laureate program, which provides a $1,000 scholarship, aims to amplify the voices of young poets and encourage civic engagement through writing.
The Dallas Public Library runs the programs, and the winners will be announced in the spring.
Applications are submitted electronically through the library website.
Related
Ballad for a city seeking its poets
Dallas, O city of skylines and spires,
you’re calling again for the keepers of fires:
a poet to guide you, a youth to inspire,
two voices to carry your hopes a bit higher.
You open the gates with a simple request.
Bring us your lines, bring us your best.
For poetry matters — its whisper, its spark —
it teaches a child how to brighten the dark.
Two years the laureate tends to the flame,
writing for gatherings that call them by name,
in schools, in the neighborhoods, parks without end,
a poet, a teacher, a civic-born friend.
The entry must rise from the pulse of your heart,
not the hum of a ghost no soul can command.
(Though this very ballad, by twist of design,
was touched by that ghost, and still aims to shine.)
But deadlines approach like a chorus that swells:
Dec. 31 for the grown poet’s bells.
The same for the youth’s hopeful song
and in spring, the city will choose who belongs.