Poetry has a new platform in Houston, and it's a welcome one: the Public Poetry reading series. Started in the spring of this year by Fran Sanders in partnership with Houston Public Library and held in various public library locations around town, the series features four poets and a celebrity reader per session. Mayor Annise Parker and Dominic Walsh appeared as guest readers during the first two installations, while poets Rich Levy, Martha Serpas, John Gorman and Carol Munn each took turns at the microphone. The open forum lets the poets share their favorite works, covering topics from family life, to environmental issues, to romantic relationships, to societal decay, to intercultural exchange (and, for some odd reason, a lot of poems about the moon).
(An earlier version of this item incorrectly mentioned Stanton Welch as one of the guest readers instead of Dominic Walsh, and failed to note that the Public Poetry reading series had been started in partnership with Houston Public Library. The Houston Press regrets the errors.)