The Inspired City: Dallas Festival of Books and Ideas

The Inspired City, planned by the DMA’s literary series Arts & Letters Live, connects art, people, books, and ideas in creative ways, ignites curiosity, and offers unique experiences for all ages. Hear award-winning authors talk about their latest books and meet them personally at book signings. As part of the 2019 Dallas Festival of Books and Ideas, experience the DMA in new ways through interactive workshops and gallery walks led by authors, activities led by artists, and more.

SPEAKERS:
Rhett Miller Poetry/Lyrics Writing WorkshopAcclaimed singer-songwriter Rhett Miller (Old 97's) leads a hands-on workshop of poetry and lyric writing. Designed for ages 7 through adults. Space is limited.
Rhett Miller and Dan Santat Acclaimed singer-songwriter Rhett Miller teams up with Caldecott Medalist and artist Dan Santat in a riotous collection of irreverent poems for modern families, "No More Poems!: A Book in Verse That Just Got Worse."
Oscar Cásares Tackling the immigration crisis from a human angle, Oscar Cásares's novel "Where We Come From" explores the ways that family history shapes us, how secrets can burden us, and how finding compassion for others can ultimately set us free.
Kimberly Willis Holt This National Book Award-winning author talks about her new middle-grade novel "The Lost Boy’s Gift," a coming-of-age tale with a magical twist that explores friendship, forgiveness, animals, and the power that comes with listening closely.
Brian Jay JonesThis master profiler of creative geniuses (George Lucas and Jim Henson) shares his new biography "Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination." Explore the complex man behind the pseudonym.
Dan Santat Join Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Dan Santat as he demonstrates how to create characters with amazing facial expressions, and then try your hand at sketching faces and masks in the DMA’s African Galleries.
Typewriter Rodeo: Poems on Demand Austin-based Typewriter Rodeo will be on hand with their vintage typewriters to write custom spontaneous poems on any topic you want or inspired by a work of art.
Rob Walker – Talk In this era of digital distraction, Rob Walker’s practical strategies in "The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday" provide a field guide to becoming an explorer of your everyday world.
Rob Walker – Tour Join author Rob Walker on a walk through the DMA galleries, implementing fun and clever strategies of close looking from his book The Art of Noticing. Space is limited.
Jamil Zaki Director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab talks about his new book "The War for Kindness: Building Empathy in a Fractured World." Author Angela Duckworth hails it as a “masterpiece . . . [that] weaves together the very latest science with stories that will stay in your heart forever.”
Sarah Rose Author of D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II reveals the never-before-told true story of the extraordinary women recruited by Britain’s elite spy agency to help pave the way for Allied victory. Praised by author Erik Larson as “gripping” and Publishers Weekly as “rigorously researched. . . . a mesmerizing story of creativity, perseverance, and astonishing heroism” (starred review).
Etaf Rum A Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick, Etaf Rum’s debut novel A Woman is No Man gives us a glimpse inside the controlled and closed world of conservative Arab women living in America. It is both a suspenseful page-turner and an intimate family portrait – a story of culture and honor, secrets and betrayals, love and violence, and a universal tale about the ways silence and shame can destroy those we have sworn to protect. Fans of Khaled Hosseini’s books won’t want to miss this new and powerful voice.
Elizabeth Letts New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Letts is a master at discovering and researching a rich historical story and transforming it into a page-turner. Letts’s new novel Finding Dorothy is the result of her journey into the amazing lives of Frank and Maud Baum and tells a story of love, loss, inspiration, and perseverance. “Beautifully researched and written, Finding Dorothy pulls back the curtain on a fascinating relationship behind the making of The Wizard of Oz.” —Martha Hall Kelly, author of Lilac Girls