Make the case for your fave San Antonio poet
The City of San Antonio has just announced that nominations are open for the next poet laureate, who will follow in the footsteps of Octavio Quintanilla, the position’s current occupant.
The city’s poet laureate serves a two-year term with a $3,500 honorarium per year. Charged with promoting the literary arts in San Antonio, the poet laureate develops and promotes poetry-themed events and programs alongside local organizations and the city’s Department of Arts and Culture.
Carmen Tafolla, San Antonio’s first poet laureate, was appointed by former mayor and current Democratic presidential candidate, Julián Castro, in 2012. Since Tafolla’s term, Laurie Ann Guerrero, Jenny Browne, and Octavio Quintanilla have served in the position.
Nominations for the poet laureate are submitted by San Antonio citizens for review by a panel of writers and scholars from around the country, who review the nominees’ credentials and recommend a candidate, who is then appointed by the mayor.
“With cities across the country convening in San Antonio this week for the National League of Cities Conference, this is a perfect time to showcase how our city is a leader in arts and culture,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement. “Our Poet Laureate Program is one of many ways our city places significant importance and value on artistic expression in telling the story of our past, present, and future.”
San Antonio was the first major city in Texas to appoint a poet laureate.