Mission Statement: To celebrate the written and spoken word, bringing together those who create with those who appreciate, with special emphasis on fostering community involvement.
The Southwest Word Fiesta, originally known as the Southwest Festival of the Written Word, was created to celebrate authors who live and work in the Southwest. Festivals feature the heritage of writing and writers in the Southwest, showing how that deep history connects to the present. The festival reveals how the diverse literary genres and interests coalesce and relate. Writers who have produced outstanding work that deserves continued appreciation are honored. People of all ages who want to improve their writing or to make a career of putting words together are encouraged.
The Southwest Word Fiesta deliberately uses the word ‘celebrate’ in its mission statement because the power and freedom of ideas cast in words of subtle art always create, among other emotions, joy. Celebration is cause enough for a Southwest festival. Our Festival also creates a crossroad where people from Arizona, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico AND BEYOND meet and talk literature, publishing, and the myriad topics that engage writers and readers.
The Southwest Festival of the Written Word was founded in 2010 by members of the major cultural institutions in Silver City: the university, the public library, and the Western Institute of Lifelong Learning. The festival takes place every other year and attracts over 800 visitors. Our first festival was in 2013.
In the interim between festivals, we run ongoing projects such as writers’ workshops, a regular radio show (Use Your Words: Writers Speak), school visits, the Poet Laureate Program, Word Feast, book launches, and other readings. One highlight was our organization and sponsorship of the visit to Silver City in 2016 of the Poet Laureate of the United States, Juan Felipe Herrera. Participating authors have included several other internationally-known figures such as Mark Medoff, Ana Castillo, and Denise Chávez.
About our Logo
“Susan Berry asked me to design a logo for the first written word festival. This is what I came up with. Her son digitized it and they eventually adapted it to just the top part. Bonny Maldonado showed me the pendant that was made for her that was beautiful with the half logo on it in silver.”
Meem
