The Writer's Garret Has a Story to Tell

In 1994, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex was hungry for "the examined life worth living." It's not that Dallas lacked a literary scene. To the contrary, the literary arts were almost hyperactive, but so scattered as to dissipate focus and energy. Writers and audiences alike frequently felt unfulfilled and disconnected from one another. The late great Texas arts advocate, Rita Starpattern, not knowing of an existing, stable, year-round literary organization in Dallas used to tell Texans, "Literature stops in Austin."

With this in mind, several area writers -- Mary Anne Andrade, Jack Myers, Susan Loder, Barbara Renaud Gonzalez, and Thea Temple -- founded The Writer's Garret in early Fall of 1994. The Dallas/Arlington group began modestly with a weekly peer writers' workshop, collecting dues for a reading series spotlighting community-talents and "importing" quality outside writers. Two group-members launched a Garret-sponsored program called WORK of Art, offering writing classes and readings for senior citizens.

Within three months, The Writer's Garret had office and performance space (generously donated by Paperbacks Plus), a Board of Directors, bylaws, and incorporation in the state of Texas. Within the year, we had grown to include 100 paying members, professional staff, a partnership with the McKinney Avenue Contemporary (The MAC), and a $20,000 budget. Thea Temple became executive director with Brian Clements as assistant director, while Mary Anne Andrade became the first President, Joe Ahearn our Vice President, Molly Moynahan, Secretary, and Gurumurthy Kalyanaram our Treasurer. Other founding board members included the late Joe Stanco, Jack Myers, John Posey, Dennis Gonzalez, Arnel Trovada, Barbara Renaud Gonzalez, and Pamela Williams.

From the first, The Writer's Garret has understood that literature is a living testament of people in all communities, and we made a commitment early on to keep our board and programs diverse and far-reaching.

Upon obtaining our 501(c)(3) in May, 1995, The Writer's Garret became the first full-service nonprofit literary center in North Texas, dedicated "to fostering the education and development of readers, writers, and audiences by putting them in touch with quality literature, each other, and the communities in which they live and write." Early on, The Writer's Garret was lucky enough to receive an organizational audit through the Center for Nonprofit Management and Hillcrest Foundation. The organizational consultant assigned to us said we had the best mission statement she'd "ever seen."

We also have been twice ranked the #1 literary project in the state and #1 literary arts organization, including this year (Texas Commission on the Arts), and "Best of Dallas" (Dallas Observer). The Writers Studio, our acclaimed reading series and radio program in partnership with KERA 90.1 was named “Best of Big D” for 003-04 and “Best of Dallas” by the Observer in 2005. Our literary magazine ¡TEX! has a history of being the largest circulation of any literary magazine in the country, and 2000-2001 we received the third largest grant in Dallas from the National Endowment for the Arts (right behind the Dallas Opera and Symphony); we have received 11 NEA grants to date, and we were the only arts organization from the Southwest and one of only eight featured nationally in the NEA’s “Learning in the Arts.” Since 1994, The Writer's Garret has put over 500 writers in touch with nearly 1.5 million audience members through publications, literary events, classes, partnerships, and outreach programs.

Our first community partners -- Southern Methodist University, Paperbacks Plus, The McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Classic Residence by Hyatt, Bath House Cultural Center, and Black Images--have since welcomed to our growing circle KERA, ArtsPartners, Dallas Independent School District, The Today Foundation / Newspapers, Arts & Letters Live, The Dallas Institute for Humanities & Culture, the Institute for Interesting People, and others.

The Writer's Garret expresses its mission through programming the way human themes express themselves through literature: by offering something of value for everyone. Philosophically and practically, The Writer's Garret strives to show the immediacy and accessibility of contemporary poetry and fiction--to dispel notions that they are so lofty they "belong to someone else." The Writer's Garret believes that the literary arts are not a luxury, but an essential component of any great society, the intimate, written legacy of who we are as a people. By collaborating with many different partners and pooling otherwise limited resources, we work to strengthen our common cause of developing a rich, vibrant, and diverse literary culture.