Articles

September 2024 marked the launch of Places We Call Home, a yearlong public humanities initiative centered on the publication of a groundbreaking anthology of Latino poetry by the Library of America.

Widely recognized as the definitive collection of American writing, Library of America editions encompass all periods and genres—including acknowledged classics, neglected masterpieces, and historically important documents and texts—and showcase the vitality and variety of America’s literary legacy.

As part of the Places We Call Home initiative, the Library of America awarded grants to seventy-five organizations across the country to host public programs that foster nationwide engagement with the Latino poetic tradition.

Texas recipients include Abode Press, Gemini Ink, Gulf Coast Journal, Latino Book Review, San Antonio College, and Teatro de Artes de Juan Seguin. To supplement the Library of America grants, Humanities Texas will provide an additional $1,300 to each of these six organizations. Read more about three of these grant-funded projects below.

Places We Call Home is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Emerson Collective.

Teatro de Artes de Juan Seguin, Seguin

In collaboration with Seguin Public Library, Teatro de Artes de Juan Seguin will hold three public programs between October 2024 and April 2025. The first program will feature writer Carmen Tafolla in conversation with Yvonne M. De La Rosa, executive director of Teatro de Artes de Juan Seguin, on October 10 at 6:00 p.m. The organization will also hold a youth poetry workshop in January and an open mic poetry night in April.

Latino Book Review, Corpus Christi

Latino Book Review will offer three virtual programs between December 2024 and April 2025 to showcase the richness of Latino poetry and explore its role in shaping the literary landscape. The first program, a reading and discussion with poet Manuel Iris and poetry scholar Rossy Lima, will explore how the poems in Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology engage with the anthology's core themes of resistance, community, and belonging.

Latino Book Review will also hold a workshop led by Dominican poet and translator Kianny Antigua, during which both aspiring and published poets can learn how to represent the breadth of the Afro-Latino experience in their writing.

The organization's final program will be a panel discussion centered on the challenges of translating Indigenous poetry texts for English- and Spanish-speaking audiences.

Gulf Coast Journal, Houston

In collaboration with Lawndale Art Center and Black Hole Coffee, Gulf Coast Journal launched a lecture series in September 2024. Programs take place on the third Friday of each month through April 2025. Each consists of an afternoon lecture and discussion at Black Hole Coffee and an evening reading and presentation at Lawndale Arts Center. Gulf Coast Journal will invite internationally recognized scholars like literary theorist and University of Houston Arab Studies professor Hosam Aboul-Ela, National Endowment for the Arts Translation Prize recipient Nick Rattner, and language justice author and activist Vickie Vértiz to read their work and present on their respective areas of study.

For Educators

On November 12, Humanities Texas will hold a teacher professional development program in San Antonio titled "Teaching Latino Poetry." The workshop will explore possible classroom uses of Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology by secondary-level English language arts teachers. Workshop faculty includes John Morán González (The University of Texas at Austin) and Natalia Treviño (Northwest Vista College). More information is available in the Education section of our website.