Change Font Size:   A A A

Sep 16, 2021

LOGOS Poetry Collective Gains Momentum, Amplifies the Work of Minority Poets


LOGOS Poetry Collective hosted its first annual Wonder in Wyoming Festival this summer.

Since launching in 2019 as a missional community curated by the Rev. Dr. Travis Helms, LOGOS Poetry Collective has continually sought ways to amplify its mission of “evoking transcendence through poetry, ritual, and conversation.”

After two years hosting its monthly, liturgically-inflected reading series in-person at Lazarus Brewing Co. in east Austin (in large part due to support from an EDOT Strategic Mission Grant), LOGOS began partnering with like-souled project EcoTheo Review, an online and print journal committed to “enlivening conversations and commitments around ecology, spirituality and art.” The Rev. Jason Myers, curate of Holy Family, Houston, is a collaborative editor.

Under the constraints of COVIDtide, the two friends began translating LOGOS’ format, which maps elements of the Eucharistic liturgy onto the format of a poetry reading, from analog to digital.

What began as a matter of necessity, it shortly blossomed into an opportunity to introduce more and more communities to LOGOS’ unique way of gathering — and engaged participations with six Pulitzer Prize-winners, and even former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. Online gathering averages of 60-120 participants.

In 2021, the projects merged to create a new canopy organization: EcoTheo Collective, a registered nonprofit with a mission to “celebrate wonder.” The Collective hosted the first annual Wonder in Wyoming Festival this summer, which brought seven renowned poets to the campus of St. John’s Jackson, WY.

In an effort to live into its commitment to justice, ETC established the inaugural Starshine and Clay Fellowship this April, a collaboration with Cave Canem that aims to support and amplify the work and careers of four emerging Black poets.

In 2022, ETC will also begin administering the Lorca Prize for Latinx poets. To learn more about all that EcoTheo is up to — including details on how to attend its September 21, 7 p.m. CDT gathering featuring acclaimed poets Kaveh Akbar + Danez Smith — please visit ecotheo.org.