Leading Lights in the New Poetic Vanguard

A recording is available below.

The rise of contemporary poetry has stretched from the top shelf of the local library all the way to the winning stage of America’s Got Talent. What makes this new wave of modern poetry so affecting? In this course with Deborah D.E.E.P Mouton, Houston’s Poet Laureate from 2017 until 2019, we will discover how the bending of form, the shaping of social commentary, and the delight of poetry are leading the genre forward. Ms. Mouton will focus on the poetry of Jericho Brown, winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Patricia Smith, recipient of the 2021 Ruth Lilly Poetry Prize, and her own works. Each one of these extraordinary writers is a credit to the art form and “a testament to the power of words to change lives.”

Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton is an internationally known poet, educator, activist, and author of Newsworthy (Bloomsday Literary, 2019). As the executive director of VIP Arts Houston, she builds bridges that amplify the voices of artists around the nation. Ms. Mouton wrote the libretto for Marian’s Song, a Houston Grand Opera commission, which premiered in March 2020.