Modern Women and Myth

Greek and Roman myths leave a long legacy of powerful women, from faces that launch a thousand ships to visions of beauty. But where are those mythological models today? From books like Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton’s most recent memoir Black Chameleon, to Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior to Audre Lourde’s Zami: A New Spelling of My Name, women are redefining what it means to be mythological while simultaneously adding colorful social commentary on our world today.

January 17: Audre Lourde’s Zami: A New Spelling of My Name

January 24: Maxine Hong Kingston’s The Woman Warrior

January 31: Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton’s Black Chameleon

Join Houston’s Poet Laureate Emerita, Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, for this lecture series on how
women are reclaiming the genre. Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton is the first Black Poet Laureate of Houston, Texas. This seven-time National Poetry Slam Competitor, and Head Coach of the Houston VIP Poetry Slam Team, has been ranked the #2 Best Female Performance Poet in the World. Her work has appeared in Black Girl Magic (Haymarket Books), Houston Noir (Akashic Books), and I AM STRENGTH (Blind Faith Books), to name a few. Her collaborations with the Houston Ballet, the Houston Rockets, and the Houston Grand Opera have opened new doors for performance poetry. She had the pleasure of performing and leading a workshop at the Leipzig in Autumn Literary Festival in 2018, where she bridged the gap between the slam and formal publishing communities. As the executive director of VIP Arts Houston, she seeks to build more bridges that amplify the voices of artists in and around the nation. Her love for community transcends the classroom and the stage, making her a mentor to many and a notable force to be felt.