@tessathon

Hi, I'm Tess Taylor—poet, playwright, podcast host, and garden enthusiast. Check out my new play Last West, premiering Fall 2025!

Tess Taylor

Buy Tickets! Last West: Roadsongs for Dorothea Lange
Buy Tickets! Last West: Roadsongs for Dorothea Lange
Order Leaning Toward Light, Poems for Gardens, and the Hands that Tend Them
Order Leaning Toward Light, Poems for Gardens, and the Hands that Tend Them
Read AX25: Bitters — Exchanges: Journal of Literary Translation
"Green Tomatoes in Fire Season" on poets.org

El Cerrito Poet Laureate 2024-2025

The Academy of American Poets Awards $1.1 Million to Twenty-two Poets Laureate
The Academy of American Poets Awards $1.1 Million to Twenty-two Poets Laureate
In Rising Voices of El Cerrito’s Young Poets, a Message About Resilience | KQED
In Rising Voices of El Cerrito’s Young Poets, a Message About Resilience | KQED
Donate to Donate to El Cerrito Poet Laureate Legacy Fund, organized by Taylor Schreiner
Donate to Donate to El Cerrito Poet Laureate Legacy Fund, organized by Taylor Schreiner
GoFundMe
Gardening in the Public Flowerfest: On Poetry and Civic Repair
Gardening in the Public Flowerfest: On Poetry and Civic Repair

Upcoming Events:

Poetry in the Garden-The Edible Schoolyard
Poetry in the Garden-The Edible Schoolyard

Intimate Addresses Podcast (Getty)

The SlowDown Show: [encore] 393: "Song In Which We Yet Sidestep Disaster"
The SlowDown Show: [encore] 393: "Song In Which We Yet Sidestep Disaster"
Recording Artists (A podcast from the Getty)
Recording Artists (A podcast from the Getty)
Intimate Addresses-Article
Intimate Addresses-Article
Trailer
Trailer

Articles, Interviews & Podcasts

Poetic Explorations: Cultivating Awareness in the Garden of the Senses, Online 2/1
How Poetry Serves Civic Life | KQED
How Poetry Serves Civic Life | KQED
Match the Taylor Swift Song to the Poem Inspired By Her Music
Match the Taylor Swift Song to the Poem Inspired By Her Music
Non-profits Under Threat!
Non-profits Under Threat!
These Bay Area poets just received $50,000. Here’s what they hope to do with it
These Bay Area poets just received $50,000. Here’s what they hope to do with it
Opinion: Joy is more than a feeling. Listen to what it’s telling you | CNN
Opinion: Joy is more than a feeling. Listen to what it’s telling you | CNN
AFAR Podcasts
CNN: Opinion: Five keys to unlocking a creative, restful life
CNN: Opinion: Five keys to unlocking a creative, restful life
Opinion: The magic art of changing your mind | CNN
Opinion: The magic art of changing your mind | CNN
Opinion: Why gardens and poems rhyme | CNN
Opinion: Why gardens and poems rhyme | CNN
Opinion: 17 syllables a day that are changing your lives | CNN
Opinion: 17 syllables a day that are changing your lives | CNN

Leaning Toward Light Press/Articles

Orion Magazine - 10 New(ish) Book Recommendations for Spring 2024
Orion Magazine - 10 New(ish) Book Recommendations for Spring 2024
Favorite Books of 2023
Favorite Books of 2023
Leaning Toward Light: 2 Things that can help us Rediscover the World. | elephant journal
Leaning Toward Light: 2 Things that can help us Rediscover the World. | elephant journal
Bound Together 2023
Bound Together 2023
Poems for the Gardener and the Cook | Edible East Bay
Poems for the Gardener and the Cook | Edible East Bay
Leaning Toward Light: A Posy of Poems Celebrating the Joys and Consolations of the Garden
Leaning Toward Light: A Posy of Poems Celebrating the Joys and Consolations of the Garden
‘Green thoughts’ for your Labor Day weekend | CNN
‘Green thoughts’ for your Labor Day weekend | CNN
The Real-Life Poetry of Gardening
The Real-Life Poetry of Gardening
Santa Cruz Sentinel Poets dig into gardening themes in new anthology
Santa Cruz Sentinel Poets dig into gardening themes in new anthology
The Boston Globe: A celebration of gardening in new poetry anthology; new exhibition at Eric Carle Museum highlights wildlife and the natural world; National Endowment for the Humanities announces 2023 grant winners
The Boston Globe: A celebration of gardening in new poetry anthology; new exhibition at Eric Carle Museum highlights wildlife and the natural world; National Endowment for the Humanities announces 2023 grant winners
In 'Leaning Toward Light,' tending to life through a garden of poems - 48 hills
In 'Leaning Toward Light,' tending to life through a garden of poems - 48 hills
Leaning Toward Light — EcoTheo Collective
Leaning Toward Light — EcoTheo Collective
August 9, 2023 – KWMR
The Anthologist: A Compendium of Uncommon Collections
The Anthologist: A Compendium of Uncommon Collections
Bay City Books: "Why We Need to Be Wild" and other new books from Bay Area Authors - August 2023 - Local News Matters
Bay City Books: "Why We Need to Be Wild" and other new books from Bay Area Authors - August 2023 - Local News Matters
Poetry Takes Bloom – ZYZZYVA
Poetry Takes Bloom – ZYZZYVA
Alta: 11 New Books for August
Alta: 11 New Books for August
Berkeley in the Nineties by Tess Taylor | Poetry Foundation
Berkeley in the Nineties by Tess Taylor | Poetry Foundation
The Slowdown, Episode 91: Who Among You Knows the Essence of Garlic?
The Slowdown, Episode 91: Who Among You Knows the Essence of Garlic?
‘Beowulf’ and Beyond: A Poet Who Embraced Translation| NY Times
‘Beowulf’ and Beyond: A Poet Who Embraced Translation| NY Times
Leaning toward Light | Tess Taylor | Early Reviews | NetGalley

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