Description

Honor that special someone, a major milestone, or that first sip of coffee with a praise poem! Through times of hardship and joy, poetry connects us to our shared human experience. Praise poems give writers a vessel to carry wonder and gratitude and to deliver loving messages to their community. In this one-day workshop led by Texas Poet Laureate Emeritus Amanda Johnston, participants will explore poetic forms of praise, learn how to identify and celebrate the awe-inspiring everyday moments of life, and craft new works that can be given as gifts to loved ones.

WORKSHOP DATES:
Saturday, Dec 13, 2025, 10am-1pm CT, online via Zoom. 

COST:
Nonmember: $75; Member: $65; Student/Educ/Mil: $53

Amanda Johnston is a writer, visual artist, and the 61st Poet Laureate of Texas. She is the author of two chapbooks, GUAP and Lock & Key, and the full-length collection Another Way to Say Enter, and editor of the anthology Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas, coming Fall 2025 from Host Publications. Her work has appeared in numerous online and print publications, among them Callaloo, Poetry Magazine, The Moth Radio Hour, and others. She has received numerous fellowships, grants, and awards and is a former Board President of Cave Canem Foundation, a member of the Affrilachian Poets, and founder of Torch Literary Arts.