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In 1933, the Texas Legislature created the post of Texas Poet Laureate. The post was filled continuously until 1981. Since then the post has been vacant all but a handful of years. The last Poet Laureate left the post in 1994. This project is an effort to convince Austin that the post is important and that Texans want someone in the post. News Background Join Resources The People Say Contact/Us Merchandise You can order T-Shirts, coffee mugs and mouse pads with the message --Texas Poetry NOW!-- over at The Data Wranglers Store at Cafe Press. Depending on the item either $3 or $4 will go towards the campaign. Once we get a new poet laureate, any remaining funds will go towards a endowment to provide stipends for our Poets Laureate. Articles and Websites artsDFW, the monthly guide to the arts in Dallas, published an article in their November 1999 issue. About.com covered Texas Poet Laureate NOW! in their poetry section. Background We've got a list of past Texas Poets Laureate. We're slowly assembling links that provide background information on each of our Poets Laureate. If you're curious, the Library of Congress maintains a list of the current State Poets Laureate. 34 states have a Poet Laureate currently serving. It's an interesting list of poets, including poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks (Illinois) and Sharon Olds. More interesting is that Texas is probably the highest population state that does not have a sitting Poet Laureate. (New York). Politicians Governor George W. Bush can be reached by a a form on the web. He can also be written: Office of the Governor; P.O. Box 12428; Austin, TX 78711-2428. The Governor's office can be phoned at 512-463-2000 or fax at 512-463-1849. Speaker of the House James E. "Pete" Laney can be reached by web form. He receives mail at Room 2W.13, Capitol Building; Austin, TX 78701. His capital office number is (512) 463-1000 Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry receives mail at: State Capitol; P.O. Box 12068; Austin Tx., 78711-2068. His office can be reached at (800) 441-0373 or TDD (512) 475-3758. Your State Senator can be located here. Your State Representative can be located here. Campaign Goodies We've got a page of banners and other ads available for your use. If you want to collect signatures, we've got a petition in html format. And, we've got a information flyer in html format. |
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