HPL News

Adrienne Cain Darough started her library career at HPL's Houston History Research Center and African American History Research Center and went on to lead (and teach) as the Assistant Director for Baylor University’s Institute for Oral History. She's featured in this fascinating article by Susan Bean Aycock in Wacoan: Waco's Magazine – read it to find out more about her work and why oral historians do what they do. 

The Texas Library and Archives Foundation is pleased to announce the Martha Wong Scholarship and the Mark Smith–Gloria Meraz Scholarship. Through these awards, they encourage Texans to pursue a degree from a Texas library/information science graduate program or school librarian certification program. These scholarships have been generously funded by Dr. Martha Wong, Chair of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. 

The two awards, each a $2,000 grant, must be used to help support an individual with costs associated in attaining a degree from a library/information science program or school library certification program. Monies may be used for tuition or required textbooks.

Applications must be submitted to the Foundation via Submittable by 12:00 midnight (Central) on September 15, 2025. Applicants will be notified by October 15, 2025. Questions may be addressed to txlafinfo@tsl.texas.gov.

Left to right: Houston Poet Laureate Reyes Ramirez, HPL Deputy Assistant Director for Communications LaDonna Weems.

Reyes Ramirez was announced as Houston's new (2025-2027) Poet Laureate last week, and HPL's own LaDonna Weems had a chance to interview him at his inaugural reception. Read on to learn more about Reyes and what he's all about!

LaDonna Weems: What does being appointed Poet Laureate mean to you personally and artistically?

Reyes Ramirez: It certifies my belief that any good poet is a member of a community, an active member of their community. Because poetry of that community isn't just words on a page, it's when you put it in conversation with the community, with the people, that it takes meaning. I get to represent the city not only that I'm proud of, but I've been in conversation, and it's taught me so many things. I now therefore get to give it what it's given me in return. It's not only an esteemed honor, but it's a way to elevate my craft, and be more in conversation with the communities and people of Houston. As a poet, it astounds me to even put into words what it means to get to represent Houston, the grandest city of Houston, and get not only Houstonians to be excited about poetry, but to be excited about themselves, to be excited about our history, to be excited about the words we use, our language, and how we can be in conversation with each other. And I think that's what's going to take me to the next level. Everything that I've grown from up to this point will be in service to that.  

LW: What themes and issues do you want to explore and highlight during your tenure?

RR: I want to show how amazing the city of Houston is for art, because Houston itself is a juncture of all sorts of diasporas, of cultures, of peoples that are talking to each other just so casually. I want to highlight how Houston incorporates histories of the South, of the borderlands, of the Southwest, of the West, of the urban, of the rural, of farms, of city skyscrapers. All these things are in conversation with each other. I want to show how Houston not only is a major point of literature for Texas and the United States, but the world, because we host so many different people from so many different cultures and countries and languages.

LW: That's a beautiful answer. It actually leads me to my next question. How do you envision connecting poetry with communities that may feel distanced from it?

RR: One way that I think this role can really connect people more so to poetry if they don't feel part of it is that whether they mean to or not, we're all navigating poetry. We're all talking to each other. We're all navigating the reality which we live in. And language is how we do that. We talk to each other. We may not be able to talk to each other, but we still communicate. Whether it be you're driving your car and you have to honk, or you have to go to the restaurant and you order something. Each of these things are different lines of a poem. If I as a poet can make a metaphor, it's that each thing that we speak or each thing that we do is another line in that poem that is our life. For people it's to understand that whether they want to or not, they're engaging in poetry. They're creating new stories. They're creating new ways of speaking, of being, of being with each other. If you walk into anyone's house, that in itself is a curation, right? The things that you keep, the things that you maintain, the practices that you forget or the practices that you recover. As Houstonians, there are many reasons why we may have lost things. But as Houstonians, there is a reason why we keep so many things, why we keep being proud, why we keep helping each other in our times of need. And it's because truly, not only do we believe in each other's humanity, but I think poetry is a way to say that.

LW: Are there any specific projects or initiatives you plan to launch as Laureate?

RR: Not only am I excited to do the required workshops—I casually teach workshops in the community for various topics and practices, so I'm excited to do that on behalf of the City. I'm also excited to launch an archive that is both virtual and in-person, a collection of Houston poets not only that I know, but the ones that I don't know. What I'm most excited about is to learn and talk to poets who I don't even know. The city of Houston is the fourth largest city in America, gearing up to be the third. It's both scary and exciting to know that there are people I haven't even met who are writing poetry, who are contributing to the language that I'm trying to contribute to. This archive, this collection of Houston poets is going to allow us to be in conversation with each other, to share practices and to incorporate people who, again, maybe won't see themselves as part of poetry, but they keep their families as histories and their stories alive through stories. That's what I want to collect. That's what I want all of us to be proud of.

LW: During your acceptance speech, you mentioned the project of being able to name thirty poets in Houston, so I think that's an amazing ambition. Lastly, who are some poets, past and present, who inspire your work and vision?

RR: That's always the trickiest question. I'm proud to come from not only a lineage of practitioners of arts, but of laborers; of workers, of people who build things, but also people who write things. My mom is kind of like a secret writer. She's always been a writer, but she's never published anything, never wanted to. She inspires me. In terms of named people, growing up I read a lot of Eduardo C. Corral, he's, I believe from Arizona. He taught me a lot of how to navigate languages and suppressed languages and languages we don't even know, realizing that we speak so many languages that we're not even aware of. And yet here we are, speaking them. Roberto Gonzalez, he's a mentor to me who helped publish my first book. In terms of the City of Houston, there's just so many that I'm excited to put in a different context, whether it be Lupe Mendez, who has shown me to be a gracious person in public as a poet, as someone in public who speaks to so many different people. Debra D.E.E.P. Mouton: I served on the committee to help pick her as Houston Poet Laureate, and that's been a point of pride in my life. To always read her work and be like wow, I had a moment in that, even just for so little.  I'm extremely proud of that and I'm inspired by her so much. 

Left-right: Nena Stanaker and her grandson, Robert H. Stanaker, photo courtesy of Brett Stanaker; Amanda E. Dixon and Mayor Louie Welch, MSS0157-0491, HPL, Houston History Research Center; Beulah Shepard.

Read and learn about Nena Stanaker, Amanda Dixon, and Beulah Shepard, three Houston women who followed in the footsteps of HPL legend Julia Ideson to establish neighborhood libraries that would be named for them. If you've never visited these locations, Women's History Month is an ideal time to take a tour.

Stanaker Neighborhood Library, 611 S. Sgt. Macario Garcia Dr., 77011
We begin in the heart of Houston’s East End. In 1950, Houston Public Library (HPL) opened the Central Park Branch at 69th and Canal Streets. Nena E. Stanaker was instrumental in its establishment. A resident of the East End since before it was developed, she petitioned for such neighborhood amenities as streets, streetlights, water, and schools. The year after the right to vote was extended to women, she became a precinct judge and went on to serve for 25 years. Having advocated for East End library services for years, she helped establish a collection of books, housed in various local schools, intended for the use of the neighborhood’s children. Known as the unofficial “Mayor of the East End,” she served on HPL’s Library Board for over 20 years. The Central Park Branch was remodeled and renamed the Stanaker Library in 1967. It received a new address when 69th Street was renamed Macario Garcia Drive in 1981, a new building in 1986 and a remodel in 2012. Today, Nena Stanaker would be proud to call this busy, popular branch her namesake.

TECHLink Dixon, 8002 Hirsch Rd., 77016 
Amanda E. Dixon arrived in Houston in the 1940s to attend Texas Southern University. She settled in the Fifth Ward and worked as a school librarian, taking neighborhood children on field trips to HPL’s Carnegie and Central locations. She and her family relocated to the Trinity Gardens neighborhood in 1965, where she organized the local civic group, Trinity Action Program’s library initiative. Dixon helped the group rent a dedicated space and campaigned to make Trinity Gardens the site of an official HPL location. Her dream materialized in 1971, with Houston Mayor Louie Welch allocating money to purchase land for a new Trinity Gardens Library, and Stran Steel Corporation providing a new building. Dixon passed away just before her namesake library opened in 1972. Dixon Library served the Trinity Gardens neighborhood for decades, until it was irreparably damaged by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. A generous gift by Aramco Americas made it possible for HPL to rebuild and reopen Dixon as a TECHLink center in 2021. Dixon believed, “there is no poverty in a community which reads. Reading is an opportunity to learn, and the more accessible books are, the more people can learn. That is why communities need libraries.”

Shepard-Acres Homes Neighborhood Library, 8501 West Montgomery Rd., 77088
Traveling northwest from TECHLink Dixon, we arrive at the Beulah Shepard-Acres Homes Neighborhood Library. Beulah Shepard moved to Acres Homes in 1948, when she left Louisiana to help her sister with a new baby. She stayed and became active in her neighborhood, her church, and politics. She worked on Democratic campaigns at the local, state and national level, and registered voters between elections. She lobbied City Council for infrastructure improvements like roads, a swimming pool, and a library for Acres Homes, becoming known as its unofficial “Mayor.” Dedicated in 1976, the Acres Homes Library (as it was then known) is a welcoming space full of natural woodwork and light. Shepard passed away in 2010. Two years later, the City of Houston renamed the library in her honor. You can learn more about her life and career by browsing the Beulah Shepard Collection in the HPL Digital Archives.

A fitting tribute to Shepard—and, it can be said, to Stanaker and Dixon as well—is a mural painted on the building’s exterior by Aldine ISD students from a concept by artist Reginald Charles Adams. It depicts the hands of elders stitching together a quilt on which patchwork pieces spell out the word, “Read.” These three locations are among many other HPL libraries named for notable Houston women; if you'd like to learn about more, our locations page is a great place to start!
 

We are thrilled to announce that Shawn Kuehn, special events manager - SPACES, has been recognized in a recent article highlighting the new members of the University of Houston's Board of Visitors. This honor reflects not only his professional achievements but also his unwavering commitment to our community. This new role on the Board of Visitors is a natural extension of his dedication to fostering positive change.

The Board of Visitors serves as a vital link between the university and the community, providing insights and guidance to help shape the institution's future. Members are selected based on their leadership abilities, expertise, and commitment to higher education. Shawn will join a distinguished group of individuals who are dedicated to enhancing the educational experience for all students at UH.

Read full article: UH Welcomes New Members to the Board of Visitors - University of Houston
 

Local civil rights icon and founder of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church Reverend William "Bill" Lawson passed away on May 14, 2024, leaving a rich and celebrated legacy. If you would like to learn more about Reverend Lawson, HPL Digital Archives offer some fascinating primary sources.

Our Audiovisual Archives contain two interviews with Reverend Lawson: one originally recorded in 1974, and a second interview from 2008 (from the Mayor Bill White Oral History Collection) which was also videotaped. These two interviews provide a fascinating historical perspective on his work and life in Houston during the years of the Civil Rights Movement.

Reverend Lawson, Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza and Rabbi Samuel Karff were known as the "Three Amigos" or "Three Wise Men" for their decades-long friendship and interfaith activism in favor of human rights and the betterment of life for all Houstonians. Archbishop Fiorenza and Rabbi Karff were also interviewed in 2008 and 2007 respectively as part of the Mayor White Oral History Collection. 

In December 2015, Reverend Lawson was predeceased by his wife of 61 years, Mrs. Audrey Ann Hoffman Lawson. Mrs. Lawson's funeral program is part of HPL Digital Archives' African American Funeral Program collection and provides a unique perspective into her career as an activist in her own right, and the love and family that she and Reverend Lawson shared. 

The Lawson Collection, or “Lawson Letters,” not only document Reverend William and Mrs. Audrey Hoffman Lawson’s young adulthood and courtship, they also were the primary means of courtship. Beginning in September 1952, young Bill and Audrey exchanged letters for months before ever meeting in person, and what began as a friendly dialogue blossomed into love during the next two years of correspondence. Later in life, Reverend and Mrs. Lawson made their letters available to HPL for digitization. They are available online, an indispensable resource for historians—and anyone who appreciates a great love story!

Houston Public Library (HPL) leadership, staff, and honored guests gathered on Wednesday, September 13 at the Houston History Research Center (HHRC) within the historic Julia Ideson Building for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and rededication of the HHRC's Texas Room. The former Texas Room is now officially known as the Dorothy Knox Howe Houghton Reading Room. Speakers at the event included, HPL Director Dr. Rhea Brown Lawson, Friends of the Texas Room President Mister McKinney and Dr. Rowena Dasch, daughter of Dorothy Knox Howe Houghton. Also in attendance was Dorothy Knox Howe Houghton's second daughter Dr. Adele Houghton. Architectural Historian Stephen Fox gave the keynote address. The ceremony was followed by a reception.

A sixth-generation Houstonian, Dorothy Knox Howe Houghton (1944 - 2018) was a gifted historian, author and researcher, and a fierce advocate for historic preservation in Houston. The archival materials she and her co-authors assembled for the book "Houston's Forgotten Heritage: Landscape, Houses, Interiors, 1824 - 1914" are now housed in the HHRC. She founded the Friends of the Texas Room and served as its president for years, supporting the work of the HHRC, and was instrumental in the restoration of the Julia Ideson Building.  

"Dorothy Knox is a descendant of the founders of Houston as well as the founders of Houston Public Library," said Lawson.

 "This is such an important and fitting honor for not only the founding president of the Friends of the Texas Room, but also for one of the most active members of Houston's historical community," said Mister McKinney of Mister McKinney's Historic Houston, who serves as the second president of the Friends group founded twenty years ago in 2003.

 "Dorothy Knox's spirit of relentless historic preservation through the support of the HHRC archives serves as an example and reminder of the difference that one dedicated person can make, and the results when you can motivate others to follow. Houston's future will benefit from Dorothy Knox’s support of its historical past."

ABOUT THE HOUSTON HISTORY RESEARCH CENTER (HHRC) Created in 1976, the HHRC is Houston Public Library's special collection focusing on Houston and Texas history. Its archival collections include one of the largest architectural archives in Texas, a significant local photographs collection, and a growing Hispanic collection. Other holdings include rare books, pamphlets and maps, and an extensive collection of oral histories. Through HHRC’s efforts, researchers can view original materials from local Houston groups, listen to oral histories, and browse a selection of digitized materials online. Learn more about the HHRC at houstonlibrary.org/hhrc. The Friends of the Texas Room offer continual and invaluable support in the enrichment of the HHRC through donated materials and volunteer effort.
 

Central Library | 1st Floor Gallery
500 McKinney St., 77002 | 832-393-1300

The Houston Public Library presents an exhibition of needlepoint works inspired by paintings, created by local art historian, collector and writer Randy Tibbits. Tibbits describes his craft: 

“For me, paintings and drawings are food for the eye and the spirit. But I’m not an artist, making paintings and drawings of my own. I’m a craftsman translating the artistic creations of others—'appropriating' them in the Warholian sense—and making them into something a little bit mine, in wool yarn and canvas. I don’t know why I do this, except that stitching and the need to make are in my genes. I’ve been doing it for 50 years, off and on, but more recently I’ve worked many pieces as tributes to Houston art and artists of the past—another personal passion. Some of those pieces are exhibited here (and also a few that don’t have anything to do with Houston at all!).”

The exhibit is free and open to the public. Exhibit dates are subject to change.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, Mayor Sylvester Turner is pleased to announce the new Houston Poet Laureate: Aris Kian Brown. Brown is the sixth poet laureate and the youngest to be chosen. 

The selection of Aris was announced last night at a reception hosted by the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) and the Houston Public Library (HPL) with remarks by Mayor Turner, Dr. Lawson, Dr. Irvin, and the 2021-23 Houston Poet Laureate, Emanuelee "Outspoken" Bean.  

“It is an honor to have selected Aris as the next Poet Laureate,” says Mayor Sylvester Turner. “She represents Houston’s literary future with her prophetic poetry. She will continue the Poet Laureates' hard work before her, inspire the City of Houston with her words, and bring out the poetry in everyone. My heart is gladdened to see the Houston Poet Laureate program continue to thrive and become a part of my legacy as Mayor of this Arts City.”

"Poetry, language, and building narrative power are all my life's work,” says Aris Kian Brown.  “As the next Poet Laureate, I am looking forward to being able to share my love for both community organizing and creative expression."

Brown was selected through a competitive process by a diverse group of poets, scholars, literary experts, and community representatives. The Committee consisted of Poet Laureate Emeritus, Emanuelee “Outspoken” Bean; Elizabeth Gregory of the University of Houston; Terri Hamm of Kindred Stories; Rich Levy of Inprint; Eloísa Pérez-Lozano of The Acentos Review; and César Ramos of Raspa Magazine. Non-voting members include Victor Ancheta of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs (MOCA) and Justin Bogert with the Houston Public Library (HPL).

"I am so pleased to join our Mayor and Cultural Affairs Director, Necole Irvin, in congratulating Aris Kian Brown," said Houston Public Library Director, Dr. Rhea Brown Lawson. "We are excited to support Ms. Brown in engaging Houston’s diverse communities served by Houston Public Library through the exciting Poet Laureate program.”

Aris’ two-year term runs through April 2025. As Poet Laureate, she will work closely with MOCA and HPL to implement her Community Outreach Project, “Space for Us: Afrofuturism and the Poetic Imagination.” Brown will conduct a series of interviews with community members across Houston asking them questions like, “What do you hope Houston looks like tomorrow?” and then “stitch” a poem utilizing those answers, allowing everyone to see the poetry that is “already embedded in everyday people.” Brown will also translate the finished poem into the top spoken languages in the city.  

Necole S. Irvin, Director of Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, is excited about Brown’s community project. “Aris will create a unique project that will speak to all residents of Houston which aligns with our office’s goal of equity, inclusion, and accessibility to the arts for all. The project is one that complements the goals of the Houston Poet Laureate program as well, which is to make poetry accessible to everyone.” 

About Aris Kian Brown
Aris Kian is a Houston enthusiast and student of abolitionists.  Her poems are published with Button Poetry, West Branch, Obsidian Lit, The West Review, and elsewhere. She is a 2019 Pushcart nominee, 2020 Best of the Net finalist, a 2021 Crystal Wilkinson Creative Writing Prize finalist, and a 2022 New Voices Contest finalist with Frontier Poetry. Kian is the 2022 recipient of the Inprint Marion Barthelme Prize in Creative Writing for Students with Service to the Houston Literary Community and ranks #2 in the 2023 Women of the World Poetry Slam. As an Inprint C. Glenn Cambor Fellow, she received her MFA from the University of Houston and currently serves as the Narrative Change & Media Manager at Houston in Action. She engages with the socio-mythological landscape of our metropolitan city in her poems and hates taking 610 West Loop.

About the Houston Poet Laureate Program
The City of Houston Poet Laureate Program celebrates Houston’s rich culture and diversity through the work of a poet who represents Houston by creating excitement about the written and spoken word as well as outreach activities, special programs, teaching, and individual works. The role of the Houston Poet Laureate is to stimulate poetic impulse, foster appreciation of poetry in all its forms, and serve Houston residents and visitors with expressions of culture through words. 

February 11, 2023 – May 4, 2023

The African American Library at the Gregory School
1300 Victor Street, 77019 | 832-393-1440

AND Central Library | 1st Floor Gallery
500 McKinney St., 77002 | 832-393-1300

Cover image: “Texas Queens” by Laura Casemore.

L-R: "When It's Time" by John Gilchrist; "Let Freedom Reign" by La'Toya Smith.

The biennial Citywide African American Artists Exhibition is a collaboration between the University Museum at Texas Southern University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The exhibition offers all artists of the African Diaspora in the Greater Houston area the opportunity to show their work to a broader public and art-collecting community. 

The exhibition celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022 and was curated by Michelle Barnes, CEO of the Community Artists’ Collective. The artist prizes were juried by artists Earlie Hudnall, Jr. and Vicki Meek; and Anna Walker, executive director of Lawndale Art Center.

The exhibition is spread over two HPL locations. On view at the African American History Research Center at the Gregory School are works by 47 different artists, including Curator's Choice Award winner La'Toya Smith, First Place winner James E! Walker, and Honorable Mention winners Janice McCloud Warren and AFI ESE. The Central Library's First Floor Gallery will display works by 25 different artists, including Second Place winner Eddie Filer, Jr., Third Place winner Shawn Artis, Honorable Mention winner Emmanuel Olaiyan, and 5A Choice Award winner Maria Modjo. 

In partnership with:
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The University Museum at Texas Southern University

Exhibits are free and open to the public. Exhibit dates are subject to change.