Building a Community BEYOND WORDS

“Let a man in a garret but burn with enough intensity, and
he will set fire to the world.”— Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Our devotion to community education begins with our name. The word “garret” comes from the French word garite, a watchtower and refuge during times of conflict. Literally, the word garret is that forgotten attic room with its bare light bulb hanging from the slope of a ceiling. The word garret summons images of old dusty books stacked high in every corner; Fitzgerald and Hemingway scribbling away in 20’s Paris; and artists of all kinds, poor and elite alike, finding the seclusion they need to create. The Writer’s Garret reaches beyond these immediate associations to create a living space with a vision, not just of the town below, but of the past, the future, and of your own inner self. We bring readers, writers, and communities together under one roof, providing a safe refuge to explore new ideas, study old ones, and to create, create, create.

Join our community by taking a class, attending an event, or just dropping by for a hot cup of coffee and a good book.

Board of Sponsors

Richard H. Collins, Philanthropist & Community Supporter; Newspaperman (Today Newspapers); Founder and Head of Today Foundation

Michael & Debra Decker, Philanthropists & poetry advocates; Michael is the former CFO/CEO for Trammell Crow & co-founder of Windgate Partners; Debra is a former Editorial writer for The Dallas Morning News and a community arts supporter

Regen Horchow Fearon, Philanthropist, founder of The Institute for Interesting People

James Halperin, Published novelist, co-founder Heritage Auction Galleries, heads the James and Gayle Halperin Foundation

Randy D. Gordon, Partner, Gardere Wynne Sewell, LLP; co-host, The Writers Studio

Board of National Advisors

Lee Briccetti, Executive Director, Poets House (New York City, NY)

Yusef Komunyakaa, Winner of the 1994 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry; Distinguished Senior Poet at New York University, past Chancellor for the Academy of American Poets (New York City, NY)

Li-Young Lee, Award-winning Poet and memoirist (Chicago, IL)

Bret Lott, Novelist (Oprah “Pick of the Month” for Jewel), philanthropist for literary causes, faculty College of Charleston (Charleston, S.C.)

Tim Seibles, Award-winning Poet; faculty, Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA)

Lynna Williams, Novelist; Associate Professor, Emory University (Atlanta, GA)

Lawrence Wright, 2007 Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction; Staff Writer for The New Yorker, Screenwriter, Novelist (Austin, TX)

Al Young, Poet, Fiction Writer, Anthologist, Fullbright & Guggenheim winner, Jazz Aficionado, Poet Laureate of California (Berkeley, CA)

Board of Community Advisors

Marquetta Herring, Co-Owner of Paperbacks Plus, Small Press Publisher

Billy Bob Hill, Educator, Publisher & Editor (Browder Springs Publishing Company)

Dr. Njoki McElroy, Writer; Storyteller; Adjunct Professor, SMU / Northwestern University

Jack Myers, 2003-04 Poet Laureate of Texas; Professor of English, SMU

Michael Wyatt, Manager, Starbucks Corporation, Dallas

Community Volunteers

To further the goals of The Writer's Garret, we're starting a Community Volunteer Program that will allow us to send readers and tutors into the schools, hospitals, and senior centers of Dallas and the surrounding area. If you would be interested in more information on this project as we move forward, please send an email to gen@writersgarret.org expressing your interest.