Amanda Johnston is the 2024 Texas Poet Laureate, selected by the Texas Commission on the Arts. She earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Southern Maine. She is the author of two chapbooks, GUAP and Lock & Key, and the full-length collection Another Way to Say Enter. Her work has appeared in numerous online and print publications and she recently represented Texas at the National Book Festival. Praisesong for the People is her statewide poetry project celebrating everyday Texans; this project is supported by the Academy of American Poets and the Mellon Foundation. (It includes this beautiful tribute to bus drivers by Naomi Shihab Nye.)

In today’s TCFB blog, we get to know Amanda a little better:

What’s the first book you ever loved?

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein. My mother gave it to me when I was very young, and I was drawn to the risk and play of it. I still read and enjoy Silverstein’s books today.

Your grandson is six years old, such a fun age for books. What is a book you enjoy reading together?

Little Rabbit’s Loose Tooth. My grandson is losing his baby teeth, and it’s fun to read about the soft foods Little Rabbit gets to eat, like ice cream and pudding, and the creative things you can make with a baby rabbit tooth while waiting for the tooth fairy.

What is your favorite taco in Austin?

That’s a hard question! My go-to tacos are the grilled chicken from Veracruz or the Democrat from Torchy’s.

What does being the Texas Poet Laureate mean to you?

It’s an honor to be Texas Poet Laureate and I love being in service to poetry, poets, and poetry lovers across the state. I’m dedicated to amplifying the work of other poets for the literary enjoyment of us all. I’m grateful to the Academy of American Poets and the Mellon Foundation for making my project, Praisesong for the People, possible. I’m moved by each poem that celebrates someone in Texas who positively impacted the lives of these poets. In the spring we’ll share writer guides by award-winning educators to encourage K-12 students to read, write, and share praise poems. I think it’s a beautiful way to engage with literature and spread kindness to the people in our lives.

The last time I danced was…

At the Furious Flower Conference at James Madison University. The conference is held once every 10 years and gathers Black poets from around the world. It was like a big family reunion and, much like a family reunion, there was music, dancing, and a lot of hugs, but there was also incredible soul-stirring poetry everywhere.

It’s an honor to be Texas Poet Laureate and I love being in service to poetry, poets, and poetry lovers across the state.

amanda johnston

Two things that make me laugh are…

Babies dancing and dogs acting like people.

What three authors (living or dead) would you like to have dinner with and why?

Lucille Clifton, Colleen J. McElroy, and Toni Morrison. The food and conversation would be epic!

Besides poetry, what’s your favorite genre to read?

Fiction, especially short stories. I am in awe of how a masterful writer can create a gripping story in just a few pages. Read short stories by LaToya Watkins and Jhumpa Lahiri. 

What’s one of your all-time treasured books to recommend?

The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother, is the autobiography and memoir of James McBride.

My favorite place in Texas is…

At home with my family, or at the library or an independent bookstore, or driving down a Texas highway in the spring watching a sea of bluebonnets roll by.