Editor’s note: For Dallas Arts Month in April, this is one of a series of stories from The Dallas Morning News examining how North Texas artists and arts groups are coping and moving forward one year after the start of the pandemic.
— To see more from our Art and the City 2021 collection, click/tap here.
Despite the adversity brought on by the pandemic, Literary Dallas continues to grow. But challenges remain for the scene to gain further respect and recognition.
In late March, Dallas author Sanderia Faye led the revival of Southern Methodist University’s literary festival. Now known as the Dallas Literary Festival, it brought together emerging and established writers, from North Texas and beyond, for three days of online programming.
After previously buying the independent publishers Phoneme Media and A Strange Object, and establishing a Texas-centric imprint called La Reunion Publishing, Deep Vellum Publishing has expanded even more. In October, it hired a new poetry editor, Garland native Sebastián Hasani Páramo, who’s tasked with selecting five titles for the company to release each year. Deep Vellum later acquired Dalkey Archive Press, which is dedicated to reprinting subversive works of fiction that have fallen out of publication.
“It wasn’t just Deep Vellum that had the banner year,” says Will Evans, the publisher of Deep Vellum. “A lot of publishers had their biggest years ever because people kept reading, reaching out and supporting nonprofit organizations like ours.”
Independent imprints in North Texas that began releasing works in 2020 include Surveyor Books, which Dallas writer Joe Milazzo created to feature debut authors, and Dulzorada Press, which specializes in English translations of Latin American literature.
“There is such a wealth of literature, particularly from the Andean and South Pacific regions … that is yet to be discovered by Spanish and English readers alike,” wrote José Garay Boszeta, the founder of Dulzorada, in an email.
These changes in the literary scene build off significant developments from the past several years that have better equipped the city to serve its readers and writers.
Led by Evans and Faye, PEN America’s Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter began in 2019. PEN America is a New York-based nonprofit that guards against threats to free speech and offers literary programs that bring together writers from around the world. The nonprofit has held events in partnership with Dallas groups such as the LitNight Reading Series and the Dallas Literary Festival, effectively placing the area on the national map for literature.
In 2017, author Blake Kimzey started Writing Workshops Dallas, which provides seminars, classes, mentorship opportunities and manuscript consultations, with the express purpose of uniting local writers in a creative community.
A wave of independent bookstores have also opened their doors: The Wild Detectives in 2014, Deep Vellum Books in 2016 and Interabang Books in 2017. As gathering places for writers and book lovers, these shops have served up author readings and panel discussions, among other events.
After shutting down when the pandemic hit last spring, regional bookstores turned to online orders and curbside pickups to stay afloat. Over the summer, many locations reopened with social distancing, mandated masking and limited occupancy.
Fewer patrons can browse the shelves and sit down for a drink nowadays at The Wild Detectives, which has an onsite bar. These are some reasons why the store’s income is lower than it was before the pandemic. But co-owner Javier García del Moral does see people coming in and chatting with each other. “I like to think that the space is still a destination for people who want to have a conversation about literature, and want to feel exposed to new titles,” he says. This month, the bookshop has resumed hosting socially distanced backyard events, including author readings, plays and music performances.
Along with the development of Dallas’ literary infrastructure has come a rise in local talent. Debut books in 2020 by Jenny Bhatt, who lives in Allen, and Carrollton-based Simon Han earned critical acclaim.
Kendra Allen, who won the 2018 Iowa Prize for Literary Nonfiction with her debut essay collection, When You Learn the Alphabet, returned to her native Dallas last August.
“I needed to go back to where I feel safe, where I know things, where I just can be myself,” says Allen, who was previously living in Alabama. “Also, I was just like, ‘I don’t want to live in New York or LA.’ … I think Dallas is the perfect blend of country and city for me.”
But Allen didn’t expect to find a burgeoning literary community in her hometown. Leaders from local organizations, including Faye and Kimzey, have reached out and invited her to participate in their programs. “They’ve just been, like, very, very loving and supporting, and wanting me to be a part of the scene,” says Allen, whose first book of poetry, The Collection Plate, will be published by HarperCollins in July. “I 100% feel like I can stay and live here as a writer.”
And yet, Literary Dallas has more room to grow. Faye would like to see an area university add a master of fine arts program in creative writing. That would attract up-and-coming writers and bring more credibility to the scene. Faye also hopes that more national authors will put Dallas on their book tours. “I think with the way that we’re growing, and the attention that we’re getting, that will happen pretty soon,” she says. “We will soon be like Austin or Houston. When you ask about literature, people will be excited about it.”
For her part, Allen wants the city of Dallas to give more support to its literary endeavors. She says Dallas has a problem where “other people have to tell us that our art in the city is good, before the people in our actual city agree, and jump on the bandwagon.” As a remedy, Allen suggests increased attendance at local events and spreading information about programs by word of mouth.
Evans believes that creating a literary arts center, where Dallas residents can engage with reading and writing, would help the evolution of the scene. “We need to build an ecosystem, and the ecosystem needs to be able to welcome as many people as we can,” he says. “Obviously, we need more resources. We need more money to be able to support writers, and find ways to connect writers with the publishing establishment, so we can get their stories out there.”
Still, Literary Dallas has come a long way in a short while, and it’s shown signs of progress that may extend far beyond the pandemic.
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