When Austinite KB Brookins discovered every other major city in Texas had an adult poet laureate program, they hoped to create one.

“Poet laureates (are) essentially stewards of poetry in their local communities,” said Brookins, a local writer, cultural worker and visual artist. “They also are cheerleaders for literacy in general  and the local state, and ambassador(s) in the local community for literacy and the local poetry scene.”

So, Brookins sent a letter to the Austin City Council advocating for the establishment of an official Austin Poet Laureate program through the Austin Public Library, for the allocation of $50,000 every two years for the program and for the Austin Public Library to establish a committee to select the poet laureate.

Maggie Wilhite, one of the original coordinators for Liberal Arts’ Poetry on the Pond, said young adults need to have spaces for poetry, which create tight-knit community that encourages the sharing of diverse ideas and perspectives.

“Arts and humanities are important — they’re an important part of our experience as humans, and poetry is just one way to express yourself,” said Wilhite, the student wellness coordinator for the College of Liberal Arts. “It’s important for young adults, especially, to have a space like that because they’re the ones that are going to move forward and take action.”

Brookins said the letter of support for establishing a poet laureate program took two years. They have garnered support from independent bookstores, nonprofits and both current and former Texans to garner support for the petition. 

At the time of writing, the letter has 261 signatures, Brookins said.

“Austin really markets itself … as this arts city, the music capital of Texas,” Brookins said. “For us to be able to say we’re (an) arts capital but not have any (poet) stewards (or) any position that a lot of comparable cities have (such as) San Francisco (or) L.A … For these other comparable cities to have a poet laureate program, and for us not to, is really Austin not keeping to its promise of being a place that uplifts the arts and uplifts cultural conversation.”