Thanks to Mayor Pro Tem Jose “Chito” Vela and the City of Austin Council Members for recognizing Torch's founder, Amanda Johnston, by proclaiming September 18th (her birthday) as Amanda Johnston Day in Austin, TX.
Help us celebrate by joining us at the Torch Center for a poetry reading by Amanda and to enjoy cupcakes and light refreshments.
Cost: Free and Open to the Public. Tickets are required. Space is Limited.
Date: Friday, September 18
Time: 7 p.m. - The Torch Center at The LINC, 6406 N. I-35 Frontage Rd., Suite 1807, Austin, TX 78762
Amanda Johnston is a writer, visual artist, and the 61st Poet Laureate of Texas. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine. She is the author of two chapbooks, GUAP and Lock & Key, as well as the full-length collection Another Way to Say Enter. She is also the editor of the anthology Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas. Her work has appeared in numerous online and print publications, among them Callaloo, Poetry Magazine, The Moth Radio Hour, Bill Moyers, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships, grants, and awards from Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, Tasajillo, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, The Watermill Center, American Short Fiction, and the Academy of American Poets. She is a former Board President of the Cave Canem Foundation and the founder and executive director of Torch Literary Arts.
Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women. We publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers alike. Torch has featured work by Colleen J. McElroy, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats.
This event is made possible with support from the City of Austin, the Burdine Johnson Foundation, the Poetry Foundation, the Literary Arts Fund, Art Power, Austin Community Foundation, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
Won't you celebrate with us?
Amanda requests one gift: that you continue to support Torch Literary Arts. Please consider donating to support Torch and help fuel our flame for generations to come.
Celebrate Herstory
$25.00 - Celebrate the vast contributions of Black women writers throughout history.
Legacy Circle
$50.00 - Celebrate the voices of our foremothers, like Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and Nikki Giovanni, who paved the way for writers and readers today.
Features
$75.00 - Celebrate Torch Magazine, publishing and preserving the work of Black women writers. Torch Magazine has featured emerging and established Texas writers, including LaToya Watkins, Lisa B. Thompson, Debora DEEP Mouton, Ebony Stewart, and Andrea Vocab Sanderson.
Trailblazer
$100.00 - Honor how Torch lights a path for Black women writers to have their voices, stories, and perspectives heard and held here in the U.S. and abroad.
Thanks to Mayor Pro Tem Jose “Chito” Vela and the City of Austin Council Members for recognizing Torch's founder, Amanda Johnston, by proclaiming September 18th (her birthday) as Amanda Johnston Day in Austin, TX.
Help us celebrate by joining us at the Torch Center for a poetry reading by Amanda and to enjoy cupcakes and light refreshments.
Cost: Free and Open to the Public. Tickets are required. Space is Limited.
Date: Friday, September 18
Time: 7 p.m. - The Torch Center at The LINC, 6406 N. I-35 Frontage Rd., Suite 1807, Austin, TX 78762
Amanda Johnston is a writer, visual artist, and the 61st Poet Laureate of Texas. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine. She is the author of two chapbooks, GUAP and Lock & Key, as well as the full-length collection Another Way to Say Enter. She is also the editor of the anthology Praisesong for the People: Poems from the Heart and Soul of Texas. Her work has appeared in numerous online and print publications, among them Callaloo, Poetry Magazine, The Moth Radio Hour, Bill Moyers, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships, grants, and awards from Cave Canem, Hedgebrook, Tasajillo, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, The Watermill Center, American Short Fiction, and the Academy of American Poets. She is a former Board President of the Cave Canem Foundation and the founder and executive director of Torch Literary Arts.
Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women. We publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers alike. Torch has featured work by Colleen J. McElroy, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats.
This event is made possible with support from the City of Austin, the Burdine Johnson Foundation, the Poetry Foundation, the Literary Arts Fund, Art Power, Austin Community Foundation, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
Won't you celebrate with us?
Amanda requests one gift: that you continue to support Torch Literary Arts. Please consider donating to support Torch and help fuel our flame for generations to come.
Celebrate Herstory
$25.00 - Celebrate the vast contributions of Black women writers throughout history.
Legacy Circle
$50.00 - Celebrate the voices of our foremothers, like Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, and Nikki Giovanni, who paved the way for writers and readers today.
Features
$75.00 - Celebrate Torch Magazine, publishing and preserving the work of Black women writers. Torch Magazine has featured emerging and established Texas writers, including LaToya Watkins, Lisa B. Thompson, Debora DEEP Mouton, Ebony Stewart, and Andrea Vocab Sanderson.
Trailblazer
$100.00 - Honor how Torch lights a path for Black women writers to have their voices, stories, and perspectives heard and held here in the U.S. and abroad.
Getting There
Torch Center at The LINC
6406 N. I-35 Frontage Rd., Suite 1807
Austin, Texas 78752
United States
