Dr. Carmen Tafolla, State Poet Laureate of Texas 2015 and the author of more than forty books, is a writer, educator, speaker, and performance artist from the west-side barrios of San Antonio. Her work has been published in English, Spanish, German, French, Korean, and Bengali. She is one of the co-founders of CantoMundo, a retreat and creative space for Latinx poets, and is the recipient of numerous distinctions, including the Americas Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Award, seven International Latino Book Awards, El Premio Campoy-Ada, the Art of Peace Award, three Tomas Rivera Book Awards, and Top Ten Books for Babies (from the Fred Rogers Corporation.) Her latest book, Warrior Girl, a novel-in-verse set in San Antonio, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and she is currently at work on the uncensored adult biography of civil rights organizer Emma Tenayuca. In May 2024, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Institute of Letters.
2025 Festival Session