Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Glover.
Aaron, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The road that leads me to The Writer’s Garret has been full of surprises. My background is performance; my undergraduate degree is in Musical Theatre, and my graduate degree is from the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Houston.
I worked regionally as an actor for a few of years before a friend mentioned a position at Texas A&M University that had opened up suddenly right before the start of the semester in the fall of 2011, for which I successfully applied. I taught acting and theatre classes at A&M for five years, as well as directing shows at the university and occasionally performing when the opportunity presented itself.
At the beginning of 2015, a close friend who knew I’d been casually writing most of my life encouraged me to sit down and really take the time to put a chapbook together. Over the next year and a half, I wrote and edited the material that went into BioLogic, a collection of poems published in 2017 by INF Press. I’d left the university, and was taking gigs where I could find them.
Another friend recommended me to The Writer’s Garret as an instructor for the Writers In Neighborhoods & Schools program, and I started teaching in late April. Things moved pretty rapidly after that. In June, I stepped up to fill the Educational Outreach Coordinator position, and in November, my Co-Director Michael Clay and I assumed leadership of the organization. That was almost a year ago now, and here we are.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Getting published as a writer, especially as a poet, is like acting in that you’re constantly putting deeply personal material out for others to, inevitably, turn down. It can be really difficult to knowingly sign yourself up for constant rejection, but then that’s the gig, and if you make a practice of it (as an actor auditioning or a writer submitting), you start to develop a buffer that lessens the overwhelming feeling of personal judgment that comes from those rejections. And, like in any activity, the more you audition or submit, the more you learn, and the better you get at it.
Leading The Writer’s Garret has presented very different kinds of challenges. Michael and my tenures are following the founder Thea Temple, who shepherded the organization for 23 years. She was responsible for the creation of most of the programs we still run today, and for keeping the organization going that entire time. There’s a lot of history here, and honoring that is a not insignificant consideration.
At the same time, Michael and I are bringing a fresh perspective, so working out what we want to see happen with what exists is a kind of balancing act. And regarding changes we’ve made or things we’re starting: change is hard, building something new is hard. We knew that. We signed up for a road we knew would have bumps because ultimately we really believe in where that road is headed.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
The Writer’s Garret is a nonprofit that primarily serves the literary and educational communities of Dallas and the surrounding area. We teach classes and workshops in schools, community centers, and social service organizations.
We partner with organizations who work with underserved populations, especially in Southern and West Dallas. We host peer critique working groups and readings for folks in the local literary community. We host a poetry competition in the spring called the Common Language Project.
Our summer program called Rail Writers takes kids onto the DART trains and into the city for an imaginative and literal journey that involves writing and reading their work for passersby. We connect readers and writers with each other and facilitate writing and conversations about literature.
The Writer’s Garret believes that literature is essential. In creating a vibrant, dynamic community comprised of thoughtful, empathetic and engaged people, there is nothing as powerful as language. There is no other organization in the region as actively focused on disseminating this power, especially to folks who could benefit most from it.
I’m deeply proud of the legacy of this organization as a facilitator and advocate for the literary arts, and I’m very grateful to be able to do my part in amplifying those efforts.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Making it through this year! There was definitely a learning curve for stepping into the leadership of a nonprofit, and there have been a couple of moments I didn’t think it would work out. But my co-director Michael and the staff at our office and all of our incredible teaching artists have been so motivating whenever I’ve felt doubtful or overwhelmed.
And there are moments that snap it all into focus; reminders of the life-changing work we’re doing. The power of those moments cannot be overstated. We actually just wrapped our summer Rail Writers program, and the first time I watched the video we had made, it was one of those moments. I’ve watched it dozens of times now, and it still gives me a thrill every time I see it.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1250 Majesty Dr Dallas, TX 75247
- Website: www.writersgarret.org
- Phone: 214 828 1715
- Email: aaron@writersgarret.org
- Instagram: thewritersgarret
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writersgarret/
- Twitter: writersgarret
Image Credit:
Adrian Cardwell
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